Undergraduate Projects/Long Essays
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Item The Role of Television in Promoting Popular Culture Among the Youth Case Study: Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture And Technology (Jkuat) And Tangaza College(Tangaza University College, 2011) Wambui, RahabIn a world where technology is taking toll in every society, different cultures are easily spread from one continent to another. Integration of certain cultures has become a daily occurrence and it is affecting everyone and especially the youth. Assimilation of these dominant cultures especially the Western cultures has eroded the importance and the values of our own cultures in the African setting. This culture is mostly incorporated among the youth, hence leading to the increase of the popular culture. Western culture is dominating the television industry, and the most intriguing truth is that most of the programs in the television target the • youth. The youth are a big business and everyone coming up with programs is struggling to get the attention of the youth. Hence in this paper, my major concern is to not only look at television as a communication tool but looking keenly at the content in it, the messages disseminated through television. The youth cling together and are tied by the same commonalities. They perceive themselves as belonging to one culture, popular culture. "Popular culture is the culture of our lives, it is the things we do, the things we like, the things we believe in and the things we learn especial7 from media, in this regard, the television. It gives us identity as to who we • are."(Shirley Fedorak, 2009). Popular culture is a contemporary trend that is gradually growing and its effect is here with us. Television is promoting popular culture in many different kinds and forms through the programs. These programs vary in their categories and they hold great significance in promoting • popular culture. Popular culture in this research work is highlighted in four major elements namely music, fashion, foods and language. Music has dominated youths' space and life, and they have devoted themselves to listening, watching and dancing to the styles they see on television. Most of the kinds of music that we see in local mainstream television stations in Kenya are not local but form the West. They have different messages from a different context and which are not coherent with the African context. Hence the Kenyan youths in their search for identity, they end up aping the musical content form the West, dancing styles and even the language used in the music videos mostly 'slang language or American accent. In fashion, the youth spends lots of money purchasing flamboyant fashions clothes they see on television. In the music videos and fashion shows showcased in television, they have youths as participants. They have skimpy outfits which are indecent and not fit in the African context. Television has also promoted Western foods like chips, hamburgers, pizzas and a variety of junk food. The medium has programs whereby youths in different contexts meet at their 'known joints', and they cling together. In terms of language, the use of slang language especially `sheng', a mixer of two or more languages and the end product is the informal language or slang, is highly used by the youth. Youths use slang language for various reasons, one being that they like disconnecting unwanted persons in their 'private' talks. Some of these persons may be parents, lecturers or any superior person that is not needed to comprehend whatever the youth talk about. Television is a socializing agent. It has more subtle and indirect effect that is affected on the audience through more exposure. By this it shapes our opinion and perception of things hence leading us to forming certain attitudes and ultimately cultures.Item The Millennium Development Goals The progress the Government has made towards eradication of poverty in Kibera slum.(Tangaza University College, 2011) Ochieng, Oduor NicholasWith only four years left before the expiry of the stipulated time set for Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs). The moment has come for the government to look back and assess its performance on what it has achieved since the time it was initiated. The producer is therefore going to carry out a research on the progress the government has made towards the realization of Millennium Development Goal. This research is going to be in form of a documentary. It is going to focus on MDG no.1 which is, "Eradication of poverty and hunger". The case study is going to be Kibera slum. The researcher is going to tour the entire Kibera slum to access the project initiated by the government in collaboration with UNDP as regards eradication of poverty and hunger. These will include, structures such as schools, roads, toilets, hospitals and housing to mention but a few. "The Millennium Development Goals were born out of the Development of the 1990s. 2015 was a generation away now with only five years left every country needs to assess its own performance".Item The Impact of Women Development in The Church: Case Study of the Catholic Women at Holy Savior Parish, Kafue Zambia(Tangaza University College, 2011) Kelly, SanicalimbaThis essay is intended to show the dignity of women in today's society by studying the impact of the service of women in the development of the Church and the society at large. This case study intends to show how women are actively involved in the process of development of the Kafue Parish in Zambia in the Archdiocese of Lusaka. It has been my concern to find out how women have been contributing to the development of the Church in Zambia. In this particular instance, I have looked at a particular case that will give an overview of the role of women in the development of the Church in Zambia. A case study of my Parish, Kafue in Zambia was what I came out with to help investigate this scenario. For sometime, I would say 15 years; I have seen great improvement in the way women are trying to contribute to the development of the Parish. As the number of women joining various organizations that exists at the Parish has steadily increased. I have been asking myself why this is the case. Fifteen years ago it was not like that. This has been my experience and that is what the parishioners who have been attending the Parish are also asking. I AM interested to know what cultural values were embraced at that particular time and if at all they were in conflict with values held by the parishioners and the teachings of the church. What then has changed that their development efforts are being recognized? I am motivated to find out what these channels are that women currently have employed in their contributions to the development in the Church. Have they overcome some stigmatizations or rather stereotypes that were there in the past years? We will also investigate what contributions women have made in the whole area of leadership in the church. We will further look at its theological and sociological implications. It is my view that this paper will also help in further research concerning women in the church.Item The Dignity of Human Person The Morality of Human Act and the Problem of Moral Judgment: A Catholic Perspective.(Tangaza University College, 2011) Sendabo, Dawit DanielSocial Darwinism was foremost amongst the philosophies impacting views of human dignity in the decades leading up to Nazi power in Germany. Charles Darwinism's evolutionary theory was quickly applied to human beings and social structures. The term 'survival of the fittest' was coined and seen to be applicable to humans. Belief in the inherent dignity of all humans was rejected by social Darwinists. Influential authors of the theory proclaimed that an individual's worth and value were to be determined functionally and materialistically. The popularity of such views ideologically prepared German doctors and nurses to accept Nazi social policies, promoting survival of the fittest humans.' Clearly this ideology ignored that human life possesses an intrinsic dignity and value because it is created by God in his own image for the distinctive destiny of sharing in God's own life. And also a failure to believe that all humans are made in the image and likeness of God, which calls man to respect all humans based on an inherent dignity.2 Pope John Paul II emphasizes in Evangelism Vitae that "...when the sense of God is lost, the sense of man is threatened and poisoned, as the Second Vatican Council concisely states: "...when God is forgotten, the creature itself grows unintelligible."3Item The Concept of The Will of God (Mpango Wa Mungu) Among the Sukuma Of Tanzania)(Tangaza University College, 2011) Fijolek, AdamWhile having my pastoral stage in Tanzania, mainly in the dioceses of Mwanza and Shinyanga, among the Sukuma people I had a great opportunity to observe many marvelous things. Together with some shorter periods of time in Usukuma which amounts to a bit over a year in total I was often surprised by people's simplicity of life, their approach to their "joy and hope, the grief and anguish" (GS, 1). During my time in Tanzania I made a great effort to learn the Swahili language and the Sukuma culture. Only when I was able to speak some of it, I began to understand the people's mentality more and more. I liked most of the things about the Sukuma, but as I made more significant progress in the knowledge of Swahili I began to discover that there is something wrong with their understanding of God and his salvific will for us. I noticed that there is a certain expression that comes about in people's conversations quite frequently and I realized that it was like a cliché of some sort. The saying was, "Mpango wa Mungu". It literally means: Plan of God or God's Will. Perhaps I would not have paid much attention to it, if not for some particular events. I found myself in some sad situations within a range of two days connected to the death of two innocent infants. Their death was not much a surprise to me, because the death rate of infants in Tanzania is one of the highest in Africa. What upset me and eventually made me reflect deeply on the issue was the approach of people responsible for the maintenance and the medical care of those two children, that is their parents and the 2 medical personnel at hospital. Let us now explain the background against which this saying is so commonly used. In the case of the first infant, the parents docilely came to terms with the death of their one and a half month old baby girl by saying that it must have been Mpango wa Mungu. They ignored the fact that the child was dismissed from hospital because the doctors claimed that everything was all right. The girl died on the way home from hospital! The latter was a one year old boy who was refused attendance by a nurse at a hospital. She claimed that if it dies, it will be Mpango wa Mungu. The child after an intervention was attended but died a few days later. These two events, as well as many more of lesser gravity, made me reflect on the issue of the will of God among the Sukuma. They were the source of my motivation and inspiration to write this essay. To my understanding it smacked of fatalism. I then decided to delve into the problem more deeply and see what would be the possible reasons of such a conception of God among the Sukuma. The fathers of the Second Vatican Council reassure us that, "At all times the Church carries the responsibility of reading the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, if it is to carry out its task" (GS, 4). The Sukuma's apparently fatalistic conception of the will of God seems to me to be one of the signs of the times emerging in the Sukuma church. Whether the problem stems from the traditional Sukuma understanding of God or whether something has gone slightly wrong in the process of the evangelization of this wonderful people will be the focal point of our investigation. We shall try to identify whether the Christian mission had any influence on the Sukuma's vision of God. The fact of the matter is that as Christians we cannot agree with such an understanding of the God who is love. To change the fatalistic thinking about God among the Sukuma remains a pastoral challenge for all who work among the Sukuma people. The aim of this essay 3 remains ultimately pastoral. Our research was not conducted in Usukuma. In this research I relied mainly on the books of some other researchers of the Sukuma, on a few members of the Sukuma tribe living with me in the community and, as I mentioned above, on my personal experience and observation. We shall attempt to clarify the issue at stake in three main chapters. In the first chapter we will describe briefly the history, geography and some cultural, social, political background of the Sukuma people. We will also present a brief history of the Christian presence in Usukuma. That will help us understand better the mentality of this fascinating people. In chapter two we shall examine the understanding of the will of God among the Sukuma. In order to do that we will first look at the beliefs of the Sukuma, in particular their belief in the Supreme Being and the role of the ancestors in their daily life. Secondly, we shall explain the problem of fatalism which seems to be permeating the Sukuma attitude towards life. We shall also look at God's role in the daily living of the Sukuma. In chapter three we will attempt to present the Sukuma's concept of God's will as a challenge to our Christian mission. In that we shall turn to the pages of the Holy Scriptures. We shall reflect on our topic in the light of Christ Jesus who is the icon of the loving Father. Lastly, we shall give some practical suggestions for a positive development and change of the seemingly biased thinking of the Sukuma. It is worthwhile mentioning that our study will be focused and based on the Catholic understanding of God's will.Item The Church's Response to People Living With Hiv/Aids in Kenya As A New Phenomenon of Biblical "Leprosy(Tangaza University College, 2011) Antuo, Ziem AlbertIn some books of the Bible terms such as leprosy and leper are used in the text of the book. This is evident in both the Old Testament and the New Testament but then they are used extensively especially in the Old Testament with specific reference to the book of Leviticus. Lepers in the Bible are among the many sick people mentioned in the Bible but what is unique about this group of sick people is the attitude of the faith community towards these lepers. In the Bible lepers are often treated as social outcasts in the community because of the prejudice attached to their condition of infirmity. Regardless of the exact symptoms, and diagnosis of these various ailments, becoming "unclean" is the primary concern that all biblical sufferers of leprosy share.' The common prejudice associated with this ailment was that it renders the person unclean and this deprives the individual of an authentic human relationship with the rest of the community. Leprosy in the Bible was a disease for which there was then no cure but sometimes some people did recover from this disease.2 It was a disease which caused fear and revulsion among the people.3 Leprosy was not always seen as punishment, and lepers were not necessarily sinful people but before Jesus there was no suggestion that lepers should be cared for.4 Instead, because they were considered a danger to the community, they were banished until a priest certified that they were cured of the leprous condition (cf. Lev 13:9f0.5 Lepers could not mix with other members of society since this would result in pollution as this was the common conception. Lepers suffered exclusion with all its effects. In our time the prejudice against lepers may no longer prevail as it was during the biblical period. The attitudes toward lepers might have changed in our world today and the leprosy of our time is curable. By using the term leprosy our time I do not mean to say that it is the same as the "leprosy" of biblical period but we cannot also rule out the possibility that it was prevalent at that time. In today's world there exists another form of "leprosy" which threatens the lives of many people. It is feared by many, no cure has been discovered for it yet, and its victims are to a large extent treated as social outcast. Many are prejudiced about them and will not like to associate with them. HIV/AIDS and people living with HIV/AIDS to some extent can be seen as the "leprosy" and lepers of our time respectively. HIV/AIDS is a disease affecting many people in our world today regardless of age, class, religion and even geography. There are many Christians in the Church who are affected and afflicted by HIV/AIDS. Fr. Abraham Hailu a Comboni missionary priest in his article published in the New People magazine challenges us to see people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS as part of the body of Christ undergoing suffering and in need of our attention.6 He calls on all Christians to respond in the spirit of Evangelical charity. A response inspired and motivated by the teachings of Christ in the Gospels.Item That They May Be One, As We Are One", John 17:1lb:(Tangaza University College, 2011) Luke, MuhindoI developed an interest in writing about the Unity of Christians communio Ecclesiology when I attended an Ecumenical Symposium that took place at St. Paul's National major Seminary in Fort Portal western Uganda. The participants at the symposium were the Uganda Catholic Theology professors and priests, Orthodox Theologians, an Anglican bishop and priests, Seventh day Adventist pastors, some pastors from some Evangelical Churches from around Fort Portal, and some lay representatives from these Churches. The host was the Catholic Theology Seminary as they were celebrating the year of St. Paul. At the end of the symposium, there was an Ecumenical prayer service that was presided over by the Anglican bishop as he was being assisted by some Roman Catholic priests, an Orthodox priest and some Catholic deacons. My interest in Christian unity was further enhanced by my experience of hundreds of Christian ecclesial communities, and Sects within Nairobi city where I got an opportunity to interact through interviews with some members during my Theology research coursework on "African Independent Churches in February 2010. All these are working tirelessly day and night preaching, at times overshadowing different Radio and Television stations everyday.Item Standing in the Gap, The story of slum Sanaa(Tangaza University College, 2011) Mbure, NjeriMy production's main subject is Slum Sanaa, a Community Based Organization established to promote art-based activities in the slums. The Community center uses the mediums of music, dance, drama and visual arts to convey information to the community, with membership open to everyone regardless of tribe, religion, race or affiliations. My co-subject is Jibu, a group under Slum Sanaa, with members aged 8-12 years who come to the centre thrice a week to practice their songs. They have done two singles, `Jikaze' and `Madawa ya kulevya' through the guidance of their teacher Billy Cole Midenyo. 'Standing in the Gap', as a title for me is because I feel that through the mentorship of Slum Sanaa the youths have someone to stand in the gap and make it easier for them to be able to discover and nurture their artistic talents something that is peculiar to the music industry where artists go through difficulties to produce or even get recognizedItem Self-Knowledge: An Essential Key To Efficient Ministry(Tangaza University College, 2011) Philippe, M'boua Bogui DegniThe self is a concept which defines what is most personal and unique about an individual. The self includes the body, mind, and spirit; abilities and limitations; and repressed and remembered experience both positive and negative, bodily experience, relational experience, cultural experience, religious experience. I think there is a great need to know and to accept ourselves just as we are. Those of us with power and social standing have subtle ways of hiding our inner handicaps, our difficulties in relationships, our inner darkness and violence, our depression and lack of self-confidence. When all is well we may fall into conceit or pride; when there are difficulties or failures, we can fall into self-depreciation and depression. How difficult it is to accept our limitations and our handicaps as well as our gifts and capacities. We feel that if others see us as we really are they might reject us. So we cover over our weaknesses. I have experienced my own limits at certain moments, when I realized there was great anger and violence rising up in me with respects to certain members of my family. That truth was first revealed to me by my novice master. He called me one day during my Spiritual year and told me that he could perceive that I was carrying a deep sense of anger. He could see it, he said, in my actions and behaviors. He said that this problem was affecting my relationship with the other members of the community. He told me that I was aggressive. Of course I did not agree with him. I told him I have always been a quiet man and very focused. He asked me just to think about what he had just told me. Since then, I have never been at peace with myself. Deep inside me, I started feeling the need to know why my novice master mentioned to me that I was carrying anger in my mind. What could be the origin of this anger? Some years later, I talked to a counselor about my troubled mind. He helped me discover things I never suspected in my life. I have discovered that my actions were motivated by a sense of winning approvals, acceptance, and love. I was searching ways to affirm myself, to demonstrate that I was capable, that I was somebody. And to achieve my goal, I have developed an ability to 'sacrifice' my emotions and feelings, and anything that I loved. I ended up loosing my sense of self-appreciation. Unless someone else appreciated me or my actions, I was not able to be pleased. My counselling sessions helped me on one hand to understand that the root of this problem was to be found in my early age, through my family background and in the other hand I discovered that I do not have to live my present life with the motive to prove to others, especially some family members, or myself that I was somebody. I learned that I do not have to compete with other people, but that I could work hand in hand with them to have a better result. I have often come head-to-head with my own handicaps, limitations, and inner poverty. I did not always find it easy, especially when my failure was evident to others. But then I began to realize that in order to accept other people's disabilities and to help them to grow, it was fundamental for me to accept my own. I have, after all, learned something of my own character. I am gradually learning to accept my own shadow areas and to work with them in order to diminish their power over me. How many people, just like me, are more or less governed by instincts and drives that originate in the beautiful and painful experiences of childhood? How many people still believe that to be a success and to be admired, means that we be competent in what we do? But for most of us, it is not enough just to be good at something. True success, we feel, comes from the recognition of others. This desire for success and admiration can be a good thing, for it encourages us to work well and hard; however, such a desire for success can draw us away from acting justly and serving others. It is true that everyone needs approval and recognition, but if the lack of these causes intense anxiety and anguish with a feeling of being unworthy and unloved, then something is wrong with the person's self concept. I believe that the development of a healthy personality brings a person closer to God and others.Item "Saved In Hope": Investigation Into The Meaning Of Salvation(Tangaza University College, 2011) Missangia, Missawo, JuliusAre Catholics saved? This is the most vital question, I suppose, to many Catholics or other Christians. It certainly crosses denominational lines. The inspiration to take up this research resulted from a significant incident I encountered during my pastoral experience from June to August 2009 in Tonga Parish in Western Kenya. As a young Passionist religious, interested in having an enriching pastoral ministry. I had an opportunity of meeting various people in the Small Christian Communities. One of the main questions that came up very often in such meetings was: Are Catholics saved? People were looking at me for an answer. The concern of people in these Small Christian Communities is raised by Christians of other denominations who look down to the Catholic in the area. They refer to the Catholic Church as gunda (Luo term), which means a place that was once inhabited, but now is abandoned and un-inhabited. The common phrase used by the members of these religious groups when introducing themselves is, "I am so and so and I am saved-. This is a provocation for some Catholics, who are tempted to do the same. Provoked by this situation, I feel motivated to engage myself in a systematic research on the Catholic concept of salvation. The study is divided in three chapters. Chapter one investigates on the biblical meaning of salvation. Particular attention will be paid to the soteriology of St. Paul, certainly the most mature doctrinal stage in the New Testament. Chapter two in a more historical perspective examines the main post-biblical soteriological ideas employed by the Church; mainly focused on Christ's salvific work as described in St. Paul. We shall present the thought of the Church Fathers, the Middle Ages, and the Reformers in particular Martin Luther. Chapter three in a more systematic manner offers a comprehensive response to the issues discussed in the previous two chapters. This will be elaborated in the light of Second Vatican Council, post-Vatican II theology and the reflections of the twenty first century theologies.