Over five years ago, I accepted an invitation – unclear at the time – to join a dialogue aimed at uniting like-minded individuals from diverse backgrounds to share their time and experience in shaping a more harmonious future for all.
Last week, those individuals formally established the Tuko Sawa Society Tanzania (TSS), invited me to serve as their patron and convened in Butiama to present the posthumous title of “Professor of Harmony” to Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, Tanzania’s founding president, honoring his lifelong commitment to human development.
In the words of its founder, Dr Regina Kessy Wilkinson, members of TSS are “united by a shared vision to restore a harmonious worldview, promote mutual care and foster community leadership in the stewardship of our environment.” Its stated goals include advancing education, protecting public health, creating employment, and preserving the environment.
These goals are not new; they are commonly pursued by both governments and civil society. What sets TSS apart, however, is a refreshing shift in mindset – especially in today’s era of donor dependence and the sustainability risks posed by donor fatigue.
Instead of forming an organization focused primarily on seeking donor funding, TSS unites people from all walks of life – students, teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs, domestic workers, and lawyers – to harness their collective capacity toward shared goals. Though TSS is not a political organization, this approach reflects the self-reliant spirit championed by Mwalimu Nyerere.
The Global South is caught in a trap – at times, a self-inflicted one. By embracing a development model heavily reliant on donor funding, even when seemingly justified, we have conditioned an entire generation to believe that the only path forward depends on external resources and borrowed models of development.
When invited to join, some of us initially viewed TSS through the familiar lens of a traditional NGO reliant on donor support. Along the way, many left after realizing it was something different. Those who remain are reawakening our human capacity to collaborate within communities and shape our own destinies. At the risk of being asked to step down as its patron, I don’t see TSS as rejecting assistance altogether – but rather, as building a foundation rooted in independent thinking that, in time, will foster partnerships grounded in mutual respect, equality, and dignity – not only between organizations but also within the communities we aim to serve.
TSS offers a powerful reminder: That the strength to transform society lies not in waiting for help, but in recognizing and organizing the potential that already exists among us. It is this return to self-belief and shared responsibility that makes the Tuko Sawa Society not only a tribute to Mwalimu Nyerere’s ideals – but a timely model for communities across Tanzania and beyond.
