A Stop At Kidabaga

Today we went back down the hill and out the road south to Kilolo.  After driving for about 45 minutes we took a turn off to the west.  Thirty minutes later we arrived at Kidabaga.  Kidabaga has a new pastor, Pastor John Mwlafi, he has only been here since September.  His congregation has about 1,200 adult members at two preaching points. 

We sat down with Pastor Mwlafi and talked a bit about why his congregation wants to have a SACCOS.  First he explained there are a lot of very poor people in his congregation.  Basically there are 2 groups of members – the poor who are largely farmers and kiosk owners and the middle income who own bigger businesses and large (15+ acres) farms.  The first group lives on $50-300/year.  The second group has incomes of $400-900/year.  It is the first group that he is most concerned about.

He explained that at Kitabaga there was a “self-help” group of 12 members that made loans.  Someone from the US (he did not know who) had given this group $700 in 2009.  Since then they have been making loans among themselves of $70-100.  They now had $1,100 (the increase is all due to interest income and fees– they charge 2%/month) which they used.  The group had grown to 32 members with a large group on a waiting list (they did not want to admit anymore since they did not have enough capital for loans).

He went on to explain that this group did not know how to grow their capital and were anxious for help in learning how to run their finances.  They were hoping to incorporate as a SACCOS – but they just did not know how to go about this.

After chai we went to meet the members.  There were 30 members at the meeting.  We introduced ourselves and then Itiweni took over.  She told them the basic steps to forming a SACCOS.  She then went on to describe what was in a constitution and what they would need to do.  Finally she told them about the need to start savings as well as looking for loans.  Once again there were lots of questions.  Many of them were the ones we have heard before!  Can you help us get a constitution?  Can we come to your training sessions?  How does savings help get loans?  How many people does it take to form a SACCOS? 

The pastor thanked us for coming.  As I get up to leave a line of women formed to thank us and tell us “God bless you for coming.” 

As we were getting ready to go for lunch two members came over to tell us how much their lending group had improved their lives.  Abel Mbombwe, 55, told us that his loan had helped with school fees for his children and with living expenses  He had taken out a loan for $70.  Putting this together with $30 he had saved he planted ¼ acre of tomatoes and ¼ acre of Irish potatoes.  After harvesting these and repaying his loan he had made a $200 profit!  (His normal income from his farm is about $100/year  He has taken out the same amount for a loan every year since and insisted that it was “a must” for his family.

Seba Mahenge, 52, had taken out a loan for $70 in 2010.  She had used this together with some of her savings to plant peas.  She had given a tithe first and then used the rest of her profits to improve her home.  She is now on a waiting list for a second loan!

After lunch we stopped in to see the Kilolo cooperative officer.  We are going to go with him to Nyanzwa tomorrow.  We discussed what we were going to do there to fix the SACCOS problems.  After our meeting we went down to the District Executive’s Office.  At this meeting we emphasized how important it was that we get the government’s full cooperation for our SACCOS.  He was very interested in our work and seemed well informed about our efforts.  We had a good meeting with him – we all believe that he will be well disposed to assist us.

We finally got back about 4:30 – a short day!  I’m afraid however that it has to be short since tomorrow we need to leave about 7 for Nyanzwa! 

We arrive at Kidabaga.

First we have chai with the pastor.

Pastor Mwlafi explains that a large number of members of his congregation have incomes less than $300/year.  These are the members he is most concerned about.

Can you help us get a constitution?  Can we come to your training sessions?  How does savings help get loans?  How many people does it take to form a SACCOS?  

Itiweni spent 2 1/2 hours explaining the basics.

As I got up to leave a line of women formed to thank us and tell us “God bless you for coming.” 

Abel Mbombwe told us that a micro loan was "a must" for his family.

Seba Mahenge tithed first then improved her home.

We met with Bosco Ndunguru, the district executive officer, to review our meeting objectives at Nyanzwa. 

Starting Up At Kitowo

Today we took an hour’s drive south of town, down the Pommern road to Kitowo.  A mist was rising along the hills and cows kept claiming the road as theirs.  Kitowo is a typical rural parish.  They have five preaching points with 1,000 members.  The main church is an attractive looking brick structure – however they have a large new brick building they are working on.

Pastor Hezron Kiswaga met us when we arrived.  He has been here 2 years now.  Surprisingly Sandy did not have him in her class at Tumaini and Itiweni did not know him!

 

During chai Pastor Kiswaga started telling us why he thought that a SACCOS was a must for his parish.  “The people here have nowhere to get capital for their shambas (farms).  They see how well the CVP plot is doing and want to use the same methods.  It seems they are stuck in poverty without some way to get capital.” 

He went on to tell us that in his parish most members have 4 acres to plant.  It costs them about $80-90 per acre to plant “using traditional methods with CVP spacing.”  After harvesting and selling their crops they get about $190-200 per acre for their crops.  Most can only afford to plant part of their land (3 acres or so) – so they make about $300-350 per year.

“We have seen how we can make much more using the CVP methods.  If we can borrow $300 we can plant one acre using the CVP methods and 3 acres using our older ways.  When we harvest we will get $800 from the one CVP acre and $600 from the other three acres.  This means that our members could make $850-900!”  He was clearly excited for his parish.  Just think, a $300 loan could take his members from extreme poverty to being “lower middle class” by Tanzanian standards!

After chai we went next door to the church for the meeting.  After prayers and introductions Itiweni gave them a seminar on how to organize a SACCOS.  The members were somewhat subdued – they had been working in their fields all morning and were tired.  Still, as the seminar went on you could feel the excitement building.

After Itiweni had finished speaking the pastor got up and spoke to his parishioners about how this SACCOS was their chance for a new life.  He expressed his pleasure over having Tumaini, the diocese, and Iringa Hope helping them.  After he finished we left the members who continued with their meeting.   If they decide to elect officials they will be able to participate in our training session next week.

We went over to look at their CVP plot – what a stark contrast with the fields planted the traditional way!  The corn in the traditional fields was about 4 feet high.  The CVP field was over 6 feet and lush.  On the way we had passed a building with a sign over the door announcing “Kitowo SACCOS.”  I asked the pastor about this.  “Yes,” he told me.  “There was a SACCOS here at one time.  It only served one extended family and was closed when they moved.  Later on there was a government SACCOS nearby – but they did NOT offer long term loans (i.e.-6 months) and were no help to our members.  It is gone now too.”

We left Kitowo expecting to see them at our upcoming training course and went back to Iringa.  Once in town we got busy making arrangements for next week’s training session.  First we stopped at the Iringa cooperative store.  We have decided to provide all of the attendees with the proper paperwork to keep their records.  Most of the established SACCOS we visited are using plain paper for keeping their records, and the newly organized groups don’t have any of the necessary supplies.  Since we are insisting on consistent record keeping and auditing we want them to get a good start. 

It was a good thing we stopped at the store ahead of time because there aren’t enough record books in stock to supply our course.  We need to have 23 copies, which is more than they normally sell in months, so the books will be shipped to us from Moshi. 

We wound up the day back at the University making arrangements for printing constitutions, copying various papers, etc.  Next week’s training sessions are coming fast!

The mist was rising as we drove along towards Kilowo.

As we approached the church we were greeted by a group of women working on their shambas.

It is an attractive brick building.

While we had chai the pastor told us why he believed they had to have a SACCOS.

At first the members seemed tired and worn out, but as Itiweni gave her seminar they started to get excited.

After the seminar the pastor told his members that this was a chance for "a new life!"

On the way to their CVP demonstration plot we walked by the new church they are building.

The CVP corn is over 6 feet tall - the other corn is maybe 4.

When we got back to Iringa we went to buy the forms that we are planning to give the leaders next week.  Lucky we went now - they did not have nearly enough on hand.

Back To The Future At Itungi!

For those of you who may recall we visited the SACCOS group at Itungi on the 1^st of March.  At that time we found that the group was anxious to do something, however the leadership seemed to have grown tired and disillusioned.  We had suggested that they needed new leadership to revitalize their efforts – so today we went to church at Itungi and stayed to have a meeting with the group afterward.

The church service started on time with a full house.  The pastor here seems to be a real fireball at preaching accompanied by lots of “Amens” and ululating (making noise by swinging your tongue from side to side) by the women.  The pastor invited all of the parishioners to stay for the meeting after church – and to our surprise they all did.  At one time Itungi had 100 SACCOS members, but the number had decreased to 30 when the SACCOS failed to get outside funding and the leaders did not know how to use savings to fund loans.

At the SACCOS meeting Itiweni presented a brief seminar on what will be in a new constitution.  Enock then conducted a session on what makes a good leader.  We polled the members to see if they agreed that they needed new leaders – it was unanimous.  Itiweni conducted the nominations, insisting that there be at least two nominees for each position.  The members voted and the Itungi SACCOS now has new leadership!

While this was happening the other congregation members were watching and listening.  After the vote the pastor told them that this was the future in their parish and they should think long and hard about joining.  We think there will be more members before too long.

We made arrangements for the three new leaders to attend our training session.  We also gave them a list of things they need to do before we can enroll them in Iringa Hope.  Specifically they will have to complete and vote on a new constitution (we will help of course), certify their votes and list members; complete our training courses, and contribute their required savings and share purchases.

As we were finishing one of the women stood up to speak.  “God bless you for seeing the need here in Itungi.  God has blessed us all this day by giving us the opportunity to improve our lives.  With this good start I believe our SACCOS will progress well.”  There was much applause and she was clearly very pleased.

We had a quick lunch with the pastor then headed for town.  Itiweni had some work to do at home, Enock wanted to see his wife (she has been gone to school in Moshi for the past several months), and we needed to do some shopping (also just crashing sure sounded nice).  These 7 day weeks just seemed to fly by!

We were back out to Itungi this morning.

They have a very pretty brick church.

The service was packed.

Itungi has many subsistence farmers.  As a result they get a lot of offerings "in kind."  This means a big auction after services.

To our surprise most of the members stayed for the SACCOS meeting - even though only 30 of them belong.

At the close of the meeting this woman rose to speak. "God bless you for seeing the need here in Itungi," she began.

We had a quick lunch with the pastor - it was starting to pour outside.

The pastor here is a bachelor so the men did the cooking!

Ipogoro – The Economics Are Compelling

Today we went to Ipogoro, a suburb of Iringa, so our drive was short.  The pastor at Ipogoro is Nixon Emwitwla, who speaks excellent English.  After chatting with him we took a brief look around the church compound before going in for chai.  “Compound” by the way is a bit of stretch – but not much!  Ipogoro has a nice church building next to a huge new church building that will seat 1,000 that is still under construction.  The pastor explained that the existing church will become an educational building.  Next to these buildings is a nursing/education/early child development building and the parsonage – quite a complex!  The landscaping is also very well done.  Overall this is a huge difference from yesterday’s visit!

When we sat down to chai, Pastor Nixon told us about his congregation and how generous Augustana Lutheran has been to them.  They have 12 evangelists, 3 assistant pastors, and 2000 members!   Their membership is growing so they are hoping to finish the new church in the next 2 years.

During our discussion of SACCOS Pastor Nixon told us that the members are concerned since they can not apply the methods the Ag. Institute is teaching them since they do not have enough capital.  He told us that they have decided that they really need a SACCOS in their parish.  He cites the need to reduce and prevent poverty and hunger among the congregation and help members send their children to school.  He tells us that Ipogoro has a very high number of widows and orphans and an equally high poverty rate.

The economics of having a SACCOS is clear and very compelling.  Without a SACCOS most members struggle to plant two acres with their traditional methods.  This yields them about $200/yr to support their families.  If they use the spacing and crop residue as they are being taught, they can raise this to about $300-400.  If they can get a loan for $200 they can plant one acre using the hybrid seed and fertilizer and the other 3 acres using the traditional seed.  This will yield them $600 profit from the one acre plus the $300-400 from the other 3 acres – for a total income of $900 – a threefold increase!

Pastor Nixon told us that they started organizing last March.  Since then they have raised 1,773,000 schillings (about $1200) through membership fees, shares, and savings – very good!  They currently have about 120 members.  They started work on a constitution but decided to wait until they could get one from us.  When Itiweni last visited them she gave them a seminar on the basics of a constitution.  As a result they have organized and elected officials, a board, and have appointed advisors.  They are hoping to start making loans later on this year – but they can’t open a bank account and register without more capital.

Following chai we went into the meeting.  Most of the officers were there along with a number of the members.  Enock presented a seminar covering the basics of the constitution and the rights of members.  Following this, Brown gave a description of some of the SACCOS we had visited.  He told them about the successes at Ihemi and Ugesa.  He told them about the other SACCOS starting up and their savings.  When he was done there were many questions.  Finally, after 30 minutes or so we had to bring the meeting to a close.

As we were closing, the chairman rose to give us a report on their work.  It was a very well prepared and thoughtful report – we all appreciated it.  In his report he stated that they needed 10,000,000 schillings more in capital (about $6,700).  This is the same number that the pastor had told us earlier.  Pastor Nixon told us that they hoped to make their first loans in time for the fall planting; this is possible but they will have to hurry.

As we were leaving they asked us if we thought that they could use the Parish bank account to hold their funds for now.  It is normally not a good idea to mix funds this way, but without a constitution and a start on registration they can’t open a bank account – so we said, “OK” with reservations.

Overall we felt that this group would succeed and do well – but we were concerned about whether or not they would get enough capital to be able to make this fall’s planting!

Back in Iringa we quickly changed clothes and went to a wedding.  It was the wedding of Obeid’s son.  Obeid is a music director from Tumaini who was Sandy’s office partner in 2005.  The pastor presiding at the wedding was one of Sandy’s students from that year.  It was a very interesting wedding – all 2 ½ hours of it!  There was lots of singing, some dancing, a 40 minute sermon followed by a 20 minute address from the bishop. 

We got home from this just in time to get ready for the reception.  This is supposed to start at 7:00 – but we suspect it will not get going until 8 or 8:30 – after all TIA (this is Africa).  (At the reception Obeid, the music director at Tumaini University and the father of the groom, told us that they desperately need brass instruments - anyone want to send to Tanzania?)

We went over to look at the new church that Ipogoro is building.

Ipogoro currently has 2,000 members.  The new church will hold 1,000 of them.

The existing church is part of their "compound.  It will be used for education.

Pastor Nixon talked to us about the need for a SACCOS in the parish.  It will triple the income of the members and relieve the poverty that exists here.

Their SACCOS started organizing last year.  They have selected leaders, board members, and advisers.

While most of the attendees took notes and asked questions this member had a hard time staying awake!

At the end of the meeting the chairman gave a very good report of their work so far.

When we got back to Iringa we went to a wedding at Cathedral.

It was 2 1/2 hours long with lots of dancing, a 40 minute sermon, and a 20 minute address by the bishop.

At the reception Obeid told us that they desperately need brass instruments at Tumaini - anyone want to send him one??

Back Down The Road To Mlafu

This morning we went back down the road to Dar, turning off at Ilulu, we passed by Itungi, and 30 minutes later were at Mlafu.  As we turned off the road at Ilulu a man ran out and waved us down – it was Doricus Kimbavala (you may recall that he was the former pastor at Ihemi who went out to visit the IHESA SACCOS with us).  He had just come from Mlafu where he was visiting his children.  Since the death of their mother they have been staying with their aunt while Doricius goes to college in Arusha. 

When we got to Mlafu Sandy recognized the pastor.  Pastor Daison Mpesa was another one of the students from her communications class at Tumaini in 2005.  He told us that after graduating he was sent here to Mlafu and had been here ever since.

We went into the parsonage and talked awhile over chai and chapatti.  Mlafu has 4 preaching points.  The congregation has 300 adult members (and 770 children!).  Pastor Daison told us that the parish was very poor.  (Looking around I would have guessed that it was one of the poorest parishes we have visited.)  They have a CVP which is doing well and it was through the people from the Ag Institute that they first heard about SACCOS.  Today was the first time they have received any instruction in how a SACCOS works and how it can improve the quality of life in a community.

Our meeting and Itiweni’s class were held in the church with 11 men and 9 women in attendance.  Brown gave them an introduction, Tom and Sandy extended greetings, and finally Itiweni started the seminar.  This seminar proved to be longer than most as the members had many questions -- What makes a good SACCOS leader?  How do we start?  How much should we save?  Can we get help with the starting capital?  How many members do we need?  Who can join?  Where can we get training?  What can we use loans for?  What can we use for collateral? 

Good questions and lots of serious people who really want to have a SACCOS.  We promised to provide them with a constitution.  We also invited them to send three people to the training sessions.  Finally the pastor got up.  “Thank you, thank you for coming so far to see us!  We really need help in this.  Our members want to do better but we need training and help.  Bless you for helping us. . .”  His talk went on.  He told them they should all start saving for the startup capital.  Itiweni suggested that maybe they could each save $2/month.  The pastor told them the richer ones should save $3 or 4/month.

When we left the church Pastor Mpesa rode with us to show us the way to the home of Doricus’s sister.  We were met on the road by his oldest daughter who walked with us to the house and introduced us to her brothers and sisters.  Ebenezer, the youngest, had been a baby when we saw him last.  The younger children were amused by the stories we told them about what they were doing the last time we saw them.  

It’s good to see so many familiar faces when we make our visits.  

There was enough rain the night before that the road was very muddy and slippery.

We had to stop and ask directions from this woman.  It turned out she was on her way to the meeting (she rode along with us).

When Sandy got out she immediately recognized the pastor.  He had been one of her speech students when we taught at Tumaini in 2005.

As we had chai the pastor told us how they really needed help to be able to afford to follow the teaching of the Ag Institute

The church is a very attractive brick structure.  I was told that their partner (Our Saviors Lutheran in Stillwater) had helped them build it.  Asanta Sana!

The 20 people who came were very serious.  They asked so many questions that the seminar took 30 minutes longer than usual.

The local government official was there.  "Can I announce this to everyone in the area next time?  We really need this type of training here."

The pastor talked for a long time at the end.  "We need to start saving for this now," he told them.

We drove back down the rode to Doricus' sister's house.

His daughter came running down the road to greet us and introduce to the children - they had changed since 2008!

What a delightful family!

A Day At Kilolo

Today we went back down the way we had come yesterday to Kilolo.  Since Kilolo is only 45 kilometers from Iringa it was a far shorter drive.  While yesterday’s drive was punctuated by mud, sliding vehicles and terror over the possible plunge down a mountainside, today’s drive had herds of cattle to contend with.  (It also was over the best part of the road we were on yesterday.)

When we got to Kilolo the pastor suggested that we start the meeting right away.  The group waiting for us was rather small consisting of 2 pastors, 3 evangelists, the parish secretary, and 2 people from other preaching points.  We started the meeting with introductions and general statements by Tom, Sandy, and Itiweni.  By the time Itiweni started her seminar people were showing up.  Soon there were 25 people at the meeting – 14 women and 10 men.

As Itiweni went along the questions started coming.  Can we just do savings?  (Yes)  Do we need a constitution and can you give us one?  (Yes and yes)  Can we come to your training session?  (Yes)  Can we send 4 people instead of 3?  (Yes)  And so on.  The question and answer period lasted at least half an hour.  There was clearly much interest and excitement here.

After the meeting I asked the leaders a little about their group.  It turns out that the Kilolo group started meeting in January.  By February they had elected leaders (3 men) and decided that they would start saving to get enough money to start a SACCOS.  They were each planning on saving 5,000 Tsch/month (about $3.30).  With 30 members (16 women and 14 men) they already had $200 saved and were hoping they could give out one or two loans by the end of the year.  

They told me that they had decided that they had to start a SACCOS when they realized that none of them could apply the farming methods they were learning because they did not have enough capital.  As they were talking about this problem they came to realize that many church members were also having trouble with their dukas (small shops) since they did not have enough capital to buy the stock they needed.

The pastor told us that everyone is very excited to start a SACCOS.  They want to make it a success and “win the respect of the Iringa Diocese.”  He said he believes that showing that Christians are willing to lead the way for the community will help spread the Word of God.

As we were leaving the church some of the attendees came over to say “God bless you for coming.”  People kept telling us this and shaking our hands until finally the pastor gave Tom his son’s hand and said he should lead the way out of the church.

We had “chai” (tea with chapatti, hard cooked eggs and white buns) with the pastor and several of the SACCOS members (some of them are members of other churches) and church elders.  We talked some more about SACCOS and what the other parishes are doing.  They told us they want to ask their partner for help in starting their SACCOS.  We told them that they needed to write to their partner and we would be happy to meet with them when we get back in the US, but any request needed to come from them.

We left early enough to get back to Iringa and make some more arrangements for the upcoming training session.  Since it is so hard to get out to some of these villages, and since there is only Itiweni to do the training, we decided to make a series of training videos to send out to the villages (Sandy and I have brought 2 portable DVD players to try out.  We will work to send more if they are happy with them.).  Overall we decided that we should make 5 DVDs for now and try to get enough copies to send out to all of the SACCOS.

The biggest obstacle to our travels today was the large amount of cattle on the road!

If not roaming over the road they were pulling the wagons.

Kilolo is a pretty brick building just off of the main road.

Our first greeters were some children (actually the first greeter was a boy without any pants - but that picture has been censored)

When we started the meting there were only a few members there.

Before long the group had grown to 25.

After the meeting people kept coming up and saying "God bless you for coming."

We ended the day at Tumaini where Itiweni and I did some work.