{"id":5852,"date":"2022-10-18T11:49:30","date_gmt":"2022-10-18T15:49:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/lerrn\/?post_type=cu-people&p=5852"},"modified":"2025-04-11T08:39:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-11T12:39:48","slug":"opportuna-kweka","status":"publish","type":"cu-people","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/lerrn\/people\/opportuna-kweka\/","title":{"rendered":"Opportuna Kweka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Opportuna Kweka is a associate professor in the Department of Geography, College of Social Sciences. She has a PhD in Geography obtained from the University of Minnesota, Masters of Arts degree in Demography and a Bachelor of Arts degree in land use, planning and environmental studies from the University of Dar es Salaam. She is a political economist and expert of refugees and IDPs issues. Her PhD focused on the change in the refugee policy in Tanzania and its implication on livelihood and the environment. Her masters was on the Migration of the Maasai pastoralists in urban areas following the El-nino rains in 1998 and other policy related factors. She is the Chair of the\u00a0 University of Dar es Salaam\u2019s Research Chair on Forced Displacement (UDSM-RCFD) and the leader of the IDRC\u2019s funded Project titled Strengthening knowledge, evidence use and leadership in the global <\/strong>s<\/strong>outh on forced displacement: focus on East Africa\u00a0<\/strong>which established the research chair on forced displacement at the University of Dar es Salaam. The leads a team of 32 members, of the research chair from different disciplines, departments and institutions in East Africa who are working on issues of refugees, and internally displaced persons from climate-disaster, development induced displacement (urban infrastructure, conservation and large scale investments) in the region.<\/p>\n

Selected Publications<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Social categorization and local humanitarian help: the limitations of legal categories for refugees,\u00a0Utafiti,<\/em> No 2. Online, October 2022.<\/li>\n
  2. Spaces of Interaction between Protracted refugees in Nyarugusu Camp and the Surrounding Host Community with Rosemary Msoka,Journal of Geographic Association of Tanzania.<\/em>\u00a041 No. 2 p 59-78 in 2022.<\/li>\n
  3. South-South Humanitarianism: The case of COVID-organics in Tanzania, with Richey et al. in\u00a0World Development.<\/em><\/li>\n
  4. Socio-economic Assessment in the Refugees Camps and Hosting Districts of Kigoma Region, work submitted to UNHCR in 2018.<\/li>\n
  5. Mapping of Socio-economic needs, partners and interventions for local integration of Burundian refugees in Tanzania, report submitted to the Solutions Alliance in 2016.<\/li>\n
  6. Mapping of Migration Data Sources in Tanzania: Migration observatory, African, Caribbean and the Pacific in 2015.<\/li>\n
  7. Citizenship without Integration: the Case of Burundian Refugees in Tanzania,\u00a0the African Review: A journal of African Politics, Development and International Relations<\/em>, Vol. 42 No. 2 of 2015, pp 76-93.<\/li>\n
  8. Lessons leant during the Mtabila Closure, research report submitted to IRC in 2013.<\/li>\n
  9. Assessment of the Plan for Internal Relocation of Naturalized Burundian Refugees, a research report submitted to IDRC in 2012.<\/li>\n
  10. Tanzania, a book chapter in the book titled Marginalization and the Plight of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in East Africa edited by Zachary Lomo, Fountain Publisher, Kampala in 2012.<\/li>\n
  11. Being and Staying Pastoralists: In Search of a Livelihood Security for Maasai Displacement, a Paper Presented in a Conference on the Future of Pastoralism, Addis Ababa, 21-23 March, 2011 available on www.futureagricultures.org<\/li>\n
  12. Dual Citizenship for Development?\u00a0Chemichemi Mwalimu Nyerere<\/em>in 2009.<\/li>\n
  13. Refugee caring regime: a paper presented in the international migration workshop in Ghana in 2007, IMI, Oxford.<\/li>\n
  14. A PhD thesis titled: The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programmes on the refugee policy in Tanzania and Implications on Livelihood and the Environment submitted to the University of Minnesota Minneapolis in 2007;<\/li>\n
  15. Migration and land use changes: the case of Maasai pastoralists migration to urban areas in 1999, a master dissertation in Demography, UDSM.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Selected projects:<\/p>\n

    South coordinator for the project Everyday Humanitarianism in Tanzania funded by DANIDA<\/p>\n

    Citizenship in the Great Lakes Region of Africa\u00a0 with CSFM, IRRI and SSRC in New York.<\/p>\n

    (Fran\u00e7ais)<\/p>\n

    La Dr Opportuna Kweka est ma\u00eetresse de conf\u00e9rences au d\u00e9partement de g\u00e9ographie du College of Social Sciences. Elle est titulaire d’un doctorat en g\u00e9ographie obtenu \u00e0 l’universit\u00e9 du Minnesota, d’une ma\u00eetrise en d\u00e9mographie et d’une licence en am\u00e9nagement du territoire, planification et \u00e9tudes environnementales de l’universit\u00e9 de Dar es Salaam. Elle est \u00e9conomiste politique et sp\u00e9cialiste des questions relatives aux r\u00e9fugi\u00e9s et aux personnes d\u00e9plac\u00e9es. Son doctorat a port\u00e9 sur le changement de la politique des r\u00e9fugi\u00e9s en Tanzanie et ses implications sur les moyens de subsistance et l’environnement. Sa ma\u00eetrise portait sur la migration des pasteurs masa\u00efs vers les zones urbaines \u00e0 la suite des pluies El-nino de 1998 et d’autres facteurs li\u00e9s aux politiques. Elle est pr\u00e9sidente de la chaire de recherche sur les d\u00e9placements forc\u00e9s de l’Universit\u00e9 de Dar es Salaam (UDSM-RCFD) et dirige le projet financ\u00e9 par le CRDI intitul\u00e9 Renforcer les connaissances, l’utilisation des donn\u00e9es probantes et le leadership dans les pays du Sud sur les d\u00e9placements forc\u00e9s : accent sur l’Afrique de l’Est, qui a \u00e9tabli la chaire de recherche sur les d\u00e9placements forc\u00e9s \u00e0 l’Universit\u00e9 de Dar es Salaam. Elle dirige une \u00e9quipe de 32 membres de la chaire de recherche, issus de diff\u00e9rentes disciplines, d\u00e9partements et institutions d’Afrique de l’Est, qui travaillent sur les questions de r\u00e9fugi\u00e9.es et de personnes d\u00e9plac\u00e9es \u00e0 l’int\u00e9rieur de leur propre pays en raison de catastrophes climatiques et de d\u00e9placements induits par le d\u00e9veloppement (infrastructures urbaines, conservation et investissements \u00e0 grande \u00e9chelle) dans la r\u00e9gion.<\/p>\n

    Publications s\u00e9lectionn\u00e9es<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Social categorization and local humanitarian help: the limitations of legal categories for refugees,\u00a0Utafiti,<\/em> No 2. Online, October 2022.<\/li>\n
    2. Spaces of Interaction between Protracted refugees in Nyarugusu Camp and the Surrounding Host Community with Rosemary Msoka,Journal of Geographic Association of Tanzania.<\/em>\u00a041 No. 2 p 59-78 in 2022.<\/li>\n
    3. South-South Humanitarianism: The case of COVID-organics in Tanzania, with Richey et al. in\u00a0World Development.<\/em><\/li>\n
    4. Socio-economic Assessment in the Refugees Camps and Hosting Districts of Kigoma Region, work submitted to UNHCR in 2018.<\/li>\n
    5. Mapping of Socio-economic needs, partners and interventions for local integration of Burundian refugees in Tanzania, report submitted to the Solutions Alliance in 2016.<\/li>\n
    6. Mapping of Migration Data Sources in Tanzania: Migration observatory, African, Caribbean and the Pacific in 2015.<\/li>\n
    7. Citizenship without Integration: the Case of Burundian Refugees in Tanzania,\u00a0the African Review: A journal of African Politics, Development and International Relations<\/em>, Vol. 42 No. 2 of 2015, pp 76-93.<\/li>\n
    8. Lessons leant during the Mtabila Closure, research report submitted to IRC in 2013.<\/li>\n
    9. Assessment of the Plan for Internal Relocation of Naturalized Burundian Refugees, a research report submitted to IDRC in 2012.<\/li>\n
    10. Tanzania, a book chapter in the book titled Marginalization and the Plight of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in East Africa edited by Zachary Lomo, Fountain Publisher, Kampala in 2012.<\/li>\n
    11. Being and Staying Pastoralists: In Search of a Livelihood Security for Maasai Displacement, a Paper Presented in a Conference on the Future of Pastoralism, Addis Ababa, 21-23 March, 2011 available on www.futureagricultures.org<\/li>\n
    12. Dual Citizenship for Development?\u00a0Chemichemi Mwalimu Nyerere<\/em>in 2009.<\/li>\n
    13. Refugee caring regime: a paper presented in the international migration workshop in Ghana in 2007, IMI, Oxford.<\/li>\n
    14. A PhD thesis titled: The Impact of Structural Adjustment Programmes on the refugee policy in Tanzania and Implications on Livelihood and the Environment submitted to the University of Minnesota Minneapolis in 2007;<\/li>\n
    15. Migration and land use changes: the case of Maasai pastoralists migration to urban areas in 1999, a master dissertation in Demography, UDSM.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Projets s\u00e9lectionn\u00e9s :
      \nCoordinatrice Sud pour le projet ” Everyday Humanitarianism in Tanzania ” financ\u00e9 par DANIDA.<\/p>\n

      Citoyennet\u00e9 dans la r\u00e9gion des Grands Lacs d’Afrique avec le CSFM, l’IRRI et le SSRC \u00e0 New York.<\/p>\n