Tool Selected: Visualization

Challenge: An increase rate of street children particularly in Dar es Salaam City in Tanzania (East Africa).

The problem of street children is a challenge to most countries in the World, and probably

among the big and complex ones, others being Urbanization, Migration, Climate change, Pandemics and Disenfranchised Youth. In Tanzania an increasing number of street children is a challenge to the Government and to the organizations and stakeholders overseeing this area. Street children like the rest of the children need to have access to their basic rights such as food, shelter and clothes. As it has been elaborated more in the Tanzanian law of child act of 2009 and on the Conversion of the Rights of the Child (CRC).

Recent report by the responsible ministry shows that there is a total of 35,916 children  in

Tanzania living and working on streets. Another report also mentions Dar es salaam City being among the leading cities with a higher increase rate of street children with a total of 5600 street children. This alerts me and my fellow students Ritta and Isabella to explore more on this subject particularly in Dar es Salaam City.

Selection: Visualization refers to the use of pictures, images, graphs, charts and many other visualization tools to represent data/information in a more simpler and easier way to understand.

I selected visualization for the following reasons;

1) so that I keep connected to the people am working with and make sure that we all get the

same concept through out the process.

2) It allows me to present the data I have gathered in a more visual way in which it will be easy

for stakeholders to get the information without using too much effort.

3) It allows the stakeholders to get a clear picture of what am dealing with and be able to

engage into the problem and solution development.

4) It also acts as a base to all other design tools that I can further apply into designing an

appropriate solution to the problem.

Application: After identifying the research area and put our plans together, we gathered our data on streets and took  pictures  of  our  observations,  recorded  conversations  while  we  were  interviewing different stakeholders, collected physical objects/documents obtained during our research and took notes on different online sites that we visited during our desk research.

Then we used visualization technique to draw graphs, journey maps, system maps and the model and layered prototype of our system.

Insight: During our desk research we had our assumptions that poverty could be the major reason leading to the increase number of street children in Dar es Salaam.

After we putted our assumptions aside and go on with research plans and applying visualization tool, we discovered that, child abuse ( sexual, physical, emotional and mental) is the major leading cause for increase rate of street children in Dar es salaam, followed by other reasons such as peer pressure, poor parental care ,family disintegrations and poverty

Approach: Next time, Put my assumptions on the problem aside and try to understand more the problem before I draw out my conclusions.


Tool Selected : Visualization Challenge : An increase rate of street children particularly in Dar es Salaam City in Tanzania ( East Africa ) . The problem of street children is a challenge to most countries in the World , and probably among the big and complex ones , others being Urbanization , Migration , Climate change , Pandemics and Disenfranchised Youth . In Tanzania an increasing number of street children is a challenge to the Government and to the organizations and stakeholders overseeing this area . Street children like the rest of the children need to have access to their basic rights such as food , shelter and clothes . As it has been elaborated more in the Tanzanian law of child act of 2009 and on the Conversion of the Rights of the Child ( CRC ) . Recent report by the responsible ministry shows that there is a total of 35,916 children in Tanzania living and working on streets . Another report also mentions Dar es salaam City being among the leading cities with a higher increase rate of street children with a total of 5600 street children . This alerts me and my fellow students Ritta and Isabella to explore more on this subject particularly in Dar es Salaam City . Selection : Visualization refers to the use of pictures , images , graphs , charts and many other visualization tools to represent data / information in a more simpler and easier way to understand . I selected visualization for the following reasons ; 1 ) so that I keep connected to the people am working with and make sure that we all get the same concept through out the process . 2 ) It allows me to present the data I have gathered in a more visual way in which it will be easy for stakeholders to get the information without using too much effort . 3 ) It allows the stakeholders to get a clear picture of what am dealing with and be able to engage into the problem and solution development . 4 ) It also acts as a base to all other design tools that I can further apply into designing an appropriate solution to the problem . Application : After identifying the research area and put our plans together , we gathered our data on streets and took pictures of our observations , recorded conversations while we were interviewing different stakeholders , collected physical objects / documents obtained during our research and took notes on different online sites that we visited during our desk research . Then we used visualization technique to draw graphs , journey maps , system maps and the model and layered prototype of our system . Insight : During our desk research we had our assumptions that poverty could be the major reason leading to the increase number of street children in Dar es Salaam . After we putted our assumptions aside and go on with research plans and applying visualization tool , we discovered that , child abuse ( sexual , physical , emotional and mental ) is the major leading cause for increase rate of street children in Dar es salaam , followed by other reasons such as peer pressure , poor parental care , family disintegrations and poverty Approach : Next time , Put my assumptions on the problem aside and try to understand more the problem before I draw out my conclusions .