Leaders ~ Former Leaders ~ History ~ Mission Statement ~ Tamko La Lengo La Umoja ~ Benefits Outside Bylaws ~ How Does One Become a Member ~ By-Laws?

Leadership Team
Officers

Biographies

Mr. Mwesigwa Blandesi, Chairman of the Organization and the Board of Directors, is one of Tanzanian Community  Organization’s founding members. He was elected Chairman of the Organization right when it was founded, and then lead a team of selected members that drafted its bylaws. He has guided the organization since it was founded in 1995 to the present day. Upon the formation of the organization’s Board of Directors, he was also elected Chairman of the Board. His focus has been on building the organization by attracting new members and retaining existing ones, by consistently defining and promoting the organization’s core aims.

Mr. Victor P. Kimaro

Mr. Hamisi S. Warioba,  Member of the Board of Directors, joined the Organization in September 1997 is often referred to as a comedian by members, because of his wit and benign jokes. He is a very thoughtful individual, so thoughtful that even his jokes are, for the most part, penetrated by his thoughtfulness. Hamisi is also gifted with an extraordinary attentive ability that obviously serves him well, when it comes to solving problems. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Mr. Warioba is a man of few words, but who very much believes in compromise. In March 2007, his fellow TCO members came to the conclusion that the organization needed his leadership, and thus elected him Vice Chairman of the organization. During the general election held in March 2009, he elected to not run for the position of Vice Chairman of the Organization, so that he could devote most of his time to effectively serve on the Social Activities Committee. We all feel fortunate to have this accomplished engineer as a member of our organization’s leadership team
 

Mr. Emmanuel Mbise, Assistant Secretary of the Organization, is a very unique individual in a lot of ways, most of which we will not be able to point out. We will, however, give you the perspective that will enable you to discover yourself his uniqueness. Emmanuel, as we sometimes casually call him, commands respect from people of all ages. He is a mild mannered intellectual who appears, and in fact, is reserved, yet sociable. What a combination of attractive attributes! Mr. Mbise is analytical and an extremely well reasoning person. His analytical skills are well founded, when you consider the fact that he is an Electrical Engineer, with a Bachelor of Science in that field. It is very difficult if not impossible to get him to raise his voice. Obviously the esteemed members of our Organization took notice of that trait along with a score of others, when they elected him Secretary of TCO, one year after becoming its member. Mr. Mbise joined TCO in July 2006, and was overwhelmingly elected TCO’s Secretary in March 2007. The Organization felt fortunate to have him as its Secretary, because of the level of his discipline, focus, dedication, and determination, the combination of which is a prescription for TCO’s success. The year 2009 is one of the busiest in Mr. Mbise's life. However, he was gracious enough to continue serving our organization in a lesser capacity as Assistant Secretary of the Organization, than simply declaring himself too busy to serve. That is such an inspiring devotion that each of us is very proud of.
 

Mr. Erick Byorwango, Chairman of the Social Activities Committee, became a member of the Organization in 2000. He was elected Secretary of TCO in 2002, the position he held until March 2005. Following the Amendment to the by-laws that established the position of assistant secretary, he was elected to the new position. Erick is a dedicated, hardworking individual. His quick thinking and self-starting approach has been very beneficial to the organization in the sense of excellence in task execution. It is also fitting to mention that one of his most important attributes is his ability to think critically. No wonder that during the general election in March 2009, members of TCO unanimously elected him back to the position of Secretary of the Organization. During the just concluded election in 2011, Erick was elected chairman of the Social Activities Committee.We are thankful to him for his leadership and dedication to TCO.
 

Mrs. Asha Madoshi, Treasurer of the Organization Asha Madoshi was elected Treasurer in 2002. She is known for her meticulousness, especially, when it comes to financial matters. She does an impeccable job.  Asha is also a masterful organizer and, oh, did I mention that she is a skilled decorator for any imaginable occasion? She is indeed multitalented.  The combination of these talents paired with her background as a banker, makes the organization feel very lucky and grateful to have her as its treasurer.
 

Dr. Mumba Tarmo Masare, Chairman of the Conflict Resolution Committee, joined the Tanzanian Community Organization in September, 1996. He served as the first Chairman of the Cultural and Educational Committee. He is currently the Chairman of the Conflict Resolution Committee and also a member of Board of Directors.
Dr. Masare teaches at Skyline College as the Professor of Political Science and International Relations. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Economy at University of California at Berkeley in 1978.

Dr. Mumba T. Masare is also a published author.
Two of his published papers appear in the following two books about African Politics.
1. African Politics in Congo-Kinshasa from Primary Resistance to Independence:
    As Chapter 10 of:  Aspects of Central African History.
    Edited by Professor Terence Ranger.
    Northwestern University Press, 1968.

2. Background to the Revolution in Zanzibar:
As Chapter 9 of: A History of Tanzania.
Edited by Professors: Isaria Kimambo and Arnold Temu.
East African Publishing House, 1969.

3. Academically, Dr. Masare has always combined the disciplines of Political Science and
Economics.  At Lovanium University, near Kinshasa in the Congo, he majored in both Political Science and Economics and had a minor in Philosophy and Comparative Religious Systems.
For his B.Sc. degree dissertation in Economics he wrote on:
Economic Planning in the Developing Countries.
And for his Licentiate degree dissertation in Political Science and Public Administration, he wrote on:
The O.A.U. and the Liberation and Unity of Africa.
When he came to UC Berkeley he also pursued studies in Economics and Political Science.
His M.A. dissertation in Political Economy is titled:
Industrialization, Culture and Incentives in Russia, China and Cuba:
A Comparative Analysis.
And for his Ph.D.  Dissertation at UC Berkeley, he focused on the post colonial political economy of his own country -- Tanzania, he wrote on:
Socialist Ideology and Practice in Tanzania:
TANU Government Efforts to Control the National Economy: 1967-1976.

4.  In his professional career, Dr. Masare has taught at several Bay Area universities and colleges including: San Francisco State University, East Bay State University, San Jose State University, City College of San Francisco, Merritt College in Oakland, De Anza College in Cupertino and Skyline College in San Bruno.
 

Dr. Mathias Kaaya, Vice Chairman of the Public Relations Committee and Member of the Board of Directors, has been a member of the Tanzanian Community Organization since 1996. He has been a dedicated member of the organization and served on the committee that initially explored ways and methods of registering TCO as a non-profit organization. In March 2005, he was unanimously elected to serve as the first Chairman of the Public Relations Committee. Dr. Kaaya earned his doctoral degree from the University of San Francisco, an M.S. in Pure Mathematics from California State University at Hayward, an M.A. from San Francisco State University, and a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics from San Jose State University. Dr. Kaaya is known for exercising caution in his approach to matters of extreme importance, a wonderful and necessary diplomatic skill. It indeed could not be more appropriate for an individual trusted by his fellow members to run a Public Relations Committee for many years. He currently serves on that committee as its vice chairman. The organization is appreciative for his leadership on the committee and the Board.
 

Mrs. Angela Kavugha Ayo, Member of the Board of Directors, joined the Tanzanian Community Organization in 1997. In 2002, she was elected Chairperson of the Activities Committee that she guided until 2003. Angela’s seamless devotion to the service of the organization being so obvious to the members, they elected her to the Board of Directors in 2003 where she continues to serve. In March 2005, Angela served as chairperson of the Education and Cultural Committee. She has earned so much trust of her fellow members, and the organization as a whole is mightily proud of her devotion and contribution to the growth and prosperity of the organization.

Committee:

•  Executive Committee is the top organization's leadership body responsible for running the overall day-to-day activities of the organization.

•  Education and Cultural Activities Committee is primarily responsible for planning and coordinating educational and cultural programs and activities for the children.

•  Social Activities Committee is responsible for planning and coordinating various social activities including fund raising events.

•  Conflict Resolution Committee responds to requests and mediates conflicts between organization members or members of a family within the organization.

•  Public Relations Committee deals and oversees communication activities with the public at large and other community organizations.

Former Organization Leaders:

Mrs. Christine N. Chacha, Former Member of the Board of Directors, joined the organization in 1996. Right from the outset, she became an active member, as well as an asset. Because of multiple talents that she is gifted with, Christine has made enormous contributions to our organization that are hard to enumerate. We can, nevertheless, attempt to mention a few. With a background in the field of law, she was instrumental in putting our organization’s by-laws into the perspective of the required legal wording. She also has worked on many other projects of our organization. She was a member of the Social Activities Committee, which she served with distinction. Christine continues to serve as a member of the Conflict Resolution Committee.

Miss. Jenes Kikalugaa, Former Member of the Executive Committee, is a founding member of the Tanzanian Community Organization, since it was founded in 1995. She was the first Organization’s Treasurer whose contribution in setting and shaping up of its monetary policy and system helped to a great extent, the success of the organization in general. She served in that capacity until 2001. Upon living the position of Organization Treasurer, Jenes continued to serve the Organization as a devoted member of the Social Activities Committee. TCO is forever appreciative of her continuous service and contribution in so many uncountable ways.

Mr. Mbakileki Mutahaba, Former Member of Board of Directors, joined the Tanzanian Community Organization in 1995. He has, since that time, devoted a big part of his life to the organization. He served as Secretary of the Organization from1996 to 2002. During that period, he worked tirelessly to help in the effort of building the organization. As it turned out, that was the beginning of his mission, because upon leaving the post of Organization Secretary, he assumed other equally important responsibilities. Just to mention the most obvious, he served as Secretary of the Social Activities Committee, which he currently chairs. He also serves as a member and Secretary of the Educational and Cultural Committee, in addition to being a member of the organization's Board of Directors. Mbaki (as he is famously nicknamed) is a deep thinker, indeed, a visionary. His unfathomable contribution to the organization has played big role in the organization's good health.
 

Dr. Ezra Chacha, Former Vice Chairman of the Organization, was one of the organization members charged with the responsibility of drafting the organization’s bylaws. He was subsequently elected Vice Chairman of the organization in 1996, the position he still holds today. Dr. Chacha who is also a member of the Board of Directors, has worked tirelessly for years, to see to it that everything that the organization stands for will never be compromised.

Mr. Domician Mbeikya, Former Secretary of the Organization, joined the organization in 2004. He immediately became a member of the Newsletter group, a sub-committee of the organization’s Educational and Cultural Committee. Besides his membership on the sub-committee, Domician continued to actively participate in many other activities of the organization. Taking note of his unreserved service to the organization, members elected him Secretary of TCO in March 2005. As Secretary the organization, he automatically became a member of the organization’s Executive Committee. Domician is an independent thinker who is also adept in incorporating the ideas of others when making decisions, the attributes that are characteristic of a good leader that he is.

Mrs. Lydia H. Mutahaba, Former Member of Board of Directors, joined the Tanzanian Patriotic Organization in 2001.
At the  time she joined the organization, she resided in Los Angeles, more than 400 hundred miles away from TCO's headquarters and center of activities. The distance did not, however, affect her energy and commitment to the organization, for she attended all the required meetings and participated in various activities of the organization-a testimony to her dedication. In 2002, Lydia was elected member of the organization's Social Activities Committee, on which she currently still serves. Moreover, she is an esteemed former member of the organization's Board of Directors.

Mission Statement
The Tanzanian Community Organization’s mission is to build a vibrant Tanzanian community by fostering caring relationships between its members and help them achieve individual and collective goals. Such goals include but are not limited to social and cultural adjustment in the United States, educational pursuit, and employment viability. We as part of the Tanzanian society away from home also want to contribute to the economic and social development of Tanzania in a myriad of ways. The Organization also seeks to build strong relationships with other African organizations, community organizations, and the community in general of which it is a member. By promoting unity and cooperation among Tanzanians in the United States, TCO advances Tanzania’s national unity, which is the foundation for love, peace, and tranquility that make our nation shine near and far.

Tamko La Lengo La Umoja
Lengo pana la umoja wetu (Tanzanian Community Organization) ni kuendeleza nakudumisha umoja wa kitaifa ambao ndio msingi wa upendo, amani na utulivu katika taifa letu, ambapo madhumuni ya Umoja kijumuiya ni kujenga jumuiya hai ya Watanzania kwa kuhamasisha wanajumuiya kujenga uhusiano wa kindugu miongoni mwao, na kuwasaidia kufikia malengo ya kinafsia na yale ya kijumuiya. Miongoni mwa malengo hayo ni kama vile kuelewa muundo wa kijamii wa taifa la Marekani, kufahamu na kufanya mabadiliko muhimu ya kitamaduni (mila na desturi) nchini Marekani, kujipatia elimu, na jinsi ya kujiandaa kwa ajira. Sisi kama sehemu ya jamii ya Tanzania iliyoko mbali na nyumbani, pia tunataka kuchangia maendeleo ya kijamii, kielimu, na kiuchumi ya Tanzania kwa njia mbalimbali. Umoja wetu pia unapenda kujenga uhusiano mzuri na jamii nyingine za Kiafrika, vyama mbalimbali vya kijamii mahali tunapoishi, na jamii nzima kwa jumla kwa vile sisi pia ni sehemu ya jamii hiyo. Kwa kuhimiza umoja na ushirikiano miongoni mwa Watanzania hapa Marekani, Umoja wetu unaendeleza umoja wa kitaifa ambao hulifanya taifa letu kung’aa karibu na mbali.

Benefits Outside Bylaws
Although the bylaws state the benefits that the organization provides, some of them are not obviously stated because they either do not rhyme with the format of the bylaws, or they are their byproducts. So we think it is important to mention them as follows:

•  First, the organization provides Tanzanians here with a sense of oneness, which mirrors the national unity at our homeland. This means despite the fact that there are more than one hundred tribes in Tanzania, speaking more than one hundred languages, we look at each other, identify and treat each other as Tanzanians. It is a vital element that serves our community extraordinarily well, just like it serves our country very well. Unity for our organization is an inviolable guiding tenet upon which everything we do is predicated. It does not only galvanize us, but also provides us with a sense of security and confidence.

•  Second, while at first glance it may not look like a separate entity from the first benefit of the organization, a closer look reveals that it is. TCO has been, and continues to be instrumental in guiding Tanzanians who are new to this country specifically in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mostly young people that come to reside in the Bay Area and its vicinity, have been helped in a myriad of ways including finding places to live, finding employment, getting advice on educational, social and legal issues. In sum, this provides them with a rather amicable environment conducive to association, paving the way for stronger friendships, collaboration, and the like.

•  Third, the organization provides an open field for organizing and holding various individual social events. It has become a nucleus for such activities. The activities include but are not limited to wedding ceremonies, birthday celebrations, graduation ceremonies, holidays’ get together and religious events.

•  Forth, it is increasingly becoming evident that TCO is starting to play an admirable roll in supporting small businesses individually owned by some of its members. It plays a roll in the sense that its members now are actively participating in activities that promote those businesses, are direct consumers or pay for services provided by members of the Tanzanian community.

•  Fifth, members of our organization take personal, any tragedies like death when it unfortunately happens to one of our members, our members’ relatives, or to any Tanzanian – member or not. Members participate in every aspect associated with such situations, helping and comforting those affected. The organization also gives financial support to those affected by the tragedy according to the provisions of the organization’s bylaws.

•  Sixth, members are committed to the education of their children. Volunteer members, working with parents, teach children the language of Kiswahili – Tanzania’s national language. They also teach them Tanzanian culture, and in details explain traditions and customs that the culture encompasses. Furthermore, whenever members meet, they make sure that their children are present and learning by observation and participation.

Prospective member has to be a Tanzanian (born in Tanzania), an offspring of a Tanzanian, or a spouse of a Tanzanian. (Then she/he will have to do the following: )

•  contact any member of the organization’s Executive Committee, or visit our website to obtain a copy of the by-laws. (click here for By-Laws in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format)

•  locate the membership application form available on TCO’s website in the ‘Contact Us’ section. An individual can also contact any member of the organization that she or he knows, to get information on how to contact members of the Executive Committee. Then the prospective member should read the bylaws and if she or he is in agreement with them, must print, sign and date an attached agreement form.

•  send the signed agreement form, along with a $25.00 one-time sign up fee and at least one-month regular fee of $15.00 to the organization’s Treasurer. Upon receipt of the individual’s form and fees by the Treasurer, he/she becomes a member of TCO effective the first day of the following month.