Ugesa SACCOS

Our day started early (5 AM) as our journey was going to be a long one.  Ugesa is 134 km from Iringa – and the last half is on rough “African” roads.  Today that meant that besides the usual bumps, ruts, and holes, recent rains have filled many of the areas turning them into big swampy areas of indeterminate depth!

We made pretty good time on the way out of Iringa, arriving at Ugesa only 30 minutes late.  After the usual tea at Pastor’s house the SACCOS meeting got underway at 11:15 with 33 members plus the officers present.  The pastor started the meeting with a word of prayer after which the chairman and Itiweni took over.  The meeting proceeded smoothly. Lasting a little over 90 minutes.

This SACCOS is also doing well.  It was started with some funds from a relative of one of the members who put in $3300 in savings.  Currently this SACCOS has 80 members with another 10 waiting to be admitted.  The SACCOS has a 100% repayment rate.  There are many good stories here – but we will only have time for one today due to the rain!

Speaking of rain – while we were meeting it started raining in earnest, a really torrential downpour followed by a steady rain.  We started worrying abit about the already soggy road but we had more work to do – so off to meet in the SACCOS office.

In the office we went over record keeping and books.  This SACCOS has done an excellent job of keeping records – we congratulate them on their work.  Moving on to their needs, we find that they currently have members with $6,700 pre- approved, unfunded projects (they do an excellent job of screening these as you can tell by their repayment rate).  They told us that they have written their partner in the US asking for help, but have not heard back.  I suggested that a letter could easily have been lost – so they asked to record a greeting to their partner congregation and will write another letter for the Diocese to send.

Then we were off to visit a member of the SACCOS.  The couple we visited were empty nesters, parents of five grown children.  So far they have taken out two loans and are waiting for their third.  Using their loans they purchased a milking goat and sold the milk, plus they planted 4 acres of corn, beans, and potatoes.  The profits from these loans have allowed them to build their “retirement” house and install solar panels – so for the first time they have lights!  (Ugesa does not have any electricity)

Following our home visit we had dinner with the pastor and the SACCOS leaders.  It continued to rain and rain.  Following dinner there were gifts and then, as soon as polite, we started for Iringa.

As often seems to happen in Tanzania, available space in our vehicle was occupied by Ugesa residents needing a ride.  In this case our riders were the pastor, a neighbor girl, and a sack of potatoes.  (The pastor was taking the girl to Iringa to see a doctor.)  So, we were off at 2:30 hoping to get back to Iringa by 5:30 or so. 

Shortly after leaving we discovered that the road had swelled the “water holes” to small to midsized ponds extending beyond the edges of the roads and of indeterminate depth.  We should have been driving a Duckboat from the Wisconsin Dells.  The engine sputtered more than once as the water rushed over the hood.  Once it cut out completely and Tom had to push in the clutch while we all prayed it would coast to the other side (it did).  Dirty water came in under the doors giving Tom a wet foot.  After a few hours of this we were very happy to see the asphalt appear in the distance.

Unfortunately our relief was cut short.  The road out from Iringa is undergoing work.  As a result there are several “turn outs” going around areas of the road.  The very first one we came to was just coming to a stop.  We eased around a truck, snuck down the turn out, and promptly ran into a solid wall of trucks stopped on a hill.  There were trucks in both lanes, cars stuck on the sides, and nothing was moving.  It turned out that the turn out we had just come over was too muddy for the trucks which kept getting stuck.  To make things worse, the trucks that did get out had covered the road with mud making it too slippery for the other trucks to make it up the hill.  Well, two and a half hours later we finally got going again and made it to Iringa.  Another busy day tomorrow.

We arrive at the Ugesa church.  The membership meeting will be held here.

The chairman (far left) calls the meeting to order.  The secretary (middle) and treasurer (far right) are at the table with him.

Itiweni makes a point during her discussion.

A member asks if she can call a meeting of the SACCOS - the answer is YES!

We meet with the pastor, the chairman, the treasurer, and the church secretary to discuss their need for more capital.

These empty nesters have built their retirement home and put in lights with their profits.  (Sylone Mwalongo is 62; Anna, his wife, is 50)

I would guess that there were 70 trucks stuck going up this hill and blocking the road.

Sandy did not mind too much - she's knitting a prayer shawl!  In this case the prayers may have been for making it through the pot holes and home in a safe and timely fashion.  

A Visit To Ihemi SACCOS (IHESA)

We set out this morning at 8:20 AM heading for IHESA, the Ihemi SACCOS.  We were shooting for a 10:00 AM meeting – but, of course, first we had to have coffee with the Pastor and the officers of IHESA (coffee is ALWAYS first).  We finally got our meeting going about 10:45 or so.  The meeting was held in the Ihemi Lutheran Church because of the large turn-out.  After the chairman of IHESA gave some announcements and told the members the meeting agenda; Sandy, myself, and Pastor Brown (from the diocese) introduced ourselves (well, actually I gave a little talk – but what do you expect from a Professor).  Sandy’s remarks were very limited.  She introduced herself as the note-taker, but when she quoted the saying “behind every successful man is an exhausted woman”, all of the women in attendance began ululating and clapping.  They must have identified with the sentiment.    Then it was Itiweni’s turn.  She gave an excellent talk (in Swahili) about the members’ rights, responsibilities, etc.  She spent about 1.5 hours on this and during the whole time the members were taking notes, asking questions, and being very attentive.  We then adjourned to the SACCOS building and reviewed records, repayments, balances, etc.

IHESA is perhaps the most successful of the SACCOS in which we have been involved.  It currently has 108 members with another 20 waiting (they need to save their share purchase of $5 plus an initial savings deposit – about $10).  Their repayment rate over the past two years is 98.5% - with the two non performing loans being due to family illness.  In both cases the members of the SACCOS have decided to reschedule their loans, waive interest, and expect to be repaid. 

IHESA has been profitable as well.  Starting with a base of $14,750 they have increased their capital to $20,621 – a 40% increase.  This increase has been due largely to interest on loans to members with accumulated savings accounting for about 14%.

At the moment IHESA has 44 members who have applied for loans and cannot get them.  The total amount that they need is $13,350 – or about $300/loan. 

At the meeting we announced that we would like to interview 2 or 3 success stories in the SACCOS – definitely a mistake.  There were perhaps 20 to 30 people who wanted badly to tell us their stories.  In the end we went to the homes of 9 people – getting back to town about 7:30.  A long day!

I was touched by the many people who came to say thank-you for the changes the SACCOS has made in their lives.  In the first home we visited, a mother of two small children told us that since joining IHESA and taking out loans for two growing seasons, she and her husband have built a house and even installed electricity. 

Another home we visited was that of the chairman of the IHESA SACCOS.  After 4 rounds of loans at $400 each, he has increased his acreage from 8 to 12, and he has completed his new home, which was built in stages; after the first loan he was able to make the bricks, after the second he could lay the foundation of the house, after the third loan he bought the cement for the floors and walls, the metal sheeting for the roof, and the doors.  Following his 4^th loan he was able to buy a motorcycle, which is the sole means of transportation for the family.

One of our visits was to a small business run by a couple.  This couple told us that they did not have any land and had been trying to start a shop.  When they joined the SACCOS they were able to borrow $300.  With this money they started a shop, and with their profits have enlarged it, bought a home, are sending their children to school, and are saving money.  I had to pry my hand away from this couple as they kept telling me “You have changed our lives – God bless you!” 

Itiweni addressed the IHESA membership.  Of the 108 members 50 had shown up for the meeting (there were two funerals going on at the same time so many members were there).

The members listened carefully and took notes.

When we asked for two success stories a line formed of people wanting to share.

The Pastors and officials recorded a message in the CVP field asking for help in obtaining another $13,350 in capital for loans.

This woman told us that she and her children did not have a house before they joined IHESA.  They now have a good house - with electricity!!

The chairman and his wife shared their story with us.  They built a house, bought more land, and are sending their children and relatives to school!

On the way to the chairman's house - it is located about 15 kilometers off the road.

I had a hard time extracting my hand from this couple.  "You have changed our lives.  God bless you" they kept saying.

Today was spent doing paperwork, meeting with officials, and generally getting ready for visits.  One key item we did was to go over to the regional Joint SACCOS officer and complete the registration by picking up the certificate and signing for it.  It has taken us 8 months to get this registration.  Still, we are the only one granted in the past two years - so I guess we are lucky.

What we are doing is forming a micro finance structure that can grow and support the villages.  At the village level are Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies - or SACCOS.  These then join a Joint SACCOS that gives them direction, training, etc.  Think of the Joint SACCOS (named Iringa Hope) as a central bank and the village SACCOS as a local branch bank.  We are doing this so we can help the local SACCOS develop good management practices and grow their services to include things beyond lending.  We are also working to ensure that in the future, when the SACCOS are big enough, we will have a structure that can borrow money at lower rates from other sources (maybe from KIVA for example).

We also have developed our visit schedule some more.  Right now we are planning on visiting one village per day, six days a week, for the next 4+ weeks!  If the rains hold off and the truck don't break, we may actually be able to do this!

Our Registration Certificate!!!

The First Page Of Our Visit Schedule!

Dinner with a friend and a visit to Ihemi

 Last night Rev. Doricus Kimbavala stopped over.  We had brought him a laptop and wanted him to come out to Ihemi with us on Sunday.  We met Doricas in 2008 when he was the new, young pastor at Ihemi, father of four, his youngest an adorable infant.  In 2010 we learned that his wife had died suddenly, at age 34.  As with so many deaths here, we will never know the cause of her death.

When we last visited Doricus we were working with him on starting a SACCOS (micro finance bank) at Ihemi.  One was started at Ihemi in 2008 with 35 members.  It now has 108 members with many on the waiting list!  This is perhaps one of the most successful SACCOS to date with close to 100% repayment, an increasing capital base, and some good savers.

Our visit to Ihemi today (Sunday) was a social one.  We briefly discussed SACCOS, but we are coming back on Tuesday to do a review of their SACCOS with the leadership and members.  Today we went to church (a 2.5 hour service with two offerings and many announcements and talks).   Upon our arrival, the Sunday school children sang for us, after which we joined the pastors for tea.  Following the service we were joined for dinner at the district pastor’s house by several of the church leaders.  It is sad how many of our Ihemi friends have died in the past few years – but it is good to see how well Ihemi is doing.

Looking around we are struck by all of the changes that have been made here since we first came in 2001-2.  For example:

·         There is running water available now (the Well drilling project)

·         They have a flour mill that is producing income for the church (the “mill” project)

·         They have built a new home for the pastor

·         Their crop yields are up 2-3X (the Ag Project)

·         They are planting larger areas and increasing their incomes (their SACCOS)

Everywhere we see signs that things are improving.  The people are better dressed, there are more bicycles, there are cell phones all over (so we can call out), and people can go to Iringa Town to get online.  Of course many things are still the same, and Ihemi, though improved, is still far from prosperous!

At the end of the day we stopped at Aloyce’s house to visit, buy eggs, and pay him for our Easter egg project!  Aloyce and his wife have been dying Easter eggs for the children every year since we started during our visit to Ihemi in 2005.  He tells us that they will need to have 150 eggs this year (each child gets one egg – a big prize that will bring non-members  to Sunday School on Easter Sunday).  Since their Sunday school is about 40 children, there is clearly a big draw here!

Tomorrow we will spend the day going over records at Tumaini University – then on Tuesday we start with SACCOS visits.

Doricus and Sandy watching a video of our visit to Ihemi when he was the pastor there.

We often are welcomed by dancing and choirs.  This time we had asked to meet the Sunday School children (Tom likes to give them candy) so they all came out to sing and dance us a welcome!

Sandy and Mama Imbembi share greetings (she is the widow of the first pastor we met at Ihemi)

The SACCOS building at Ihemi.  We will meet with them here on Tuesday.

The church members sing and dance as they give their offerings.

We stopped and visited Aloyce and his family 

Planning and a radio show

On Thursday and Friday we visited old friends, looked around at things, and did a radio program!  Tom was the “guest” speaker on the Micro Finance radio program on radio Furaha.  He spent the hour talking about co-ops in the US and discussing the formation of SACCOS in Iringa (Tom of course spoke English and Itiweni translated into Swahili - he will do another one discussing the need for savings and how to build the capital base for your SACCOS).  There were lots of call in questions.  (The next day Sandy went over to the radio station and recorded jingles to promote some of their radio shows – so I guess she will be heard in Iringa long after we are gone!)

We went over a visit list with Itiweni on Friday.  So far we are scheduled to visit 14 villages.  After looking things over we added another 8 to the list.  If we keep to this schedule we will be driving out to a village six days a week (I would be surprised if this really works out – but we will try). 

We now have our certificate for the Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS.  After talking to Enoch about this we decided to try to get a training/kick off session in March.  It would be good if I can be here for this session.

Later on Friday we also started working on organizing the information that Itiweni has on the existing SACCOS.  We got through Pommern, discussed reporting needs and timing, and then had to call it a day so that we could get to the radio station for Sandy’s recording. 

Sandy and Itiweni at Tumaini.  We were on our way to the MFI office (Micro Finance Office).  We had just come from the new Science building (we are also working on starting a Science eduation program here).

We stopped and talked to Enock (the MFI director) about our visits and opeing accoutns for the Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS.  Enock was off to do some work in Dar but he will be traveling with Itiweni and I later on next week.

Tom did a 1 hour radio talk show in the evening and Sandy came back to do a series of radio "jingles" for Furaha. 

On Tuesday we arrived at Dar Es Salaam about 11 PM.  We were surprised when Itiweni showed up at the airport to greet us!  She had come down with the Tumaini driver the day before.  We picked up another Tumaini instructor and set off for Iringa on Wednesday morning.  It was a long drive – especially since we had to stop every hour or so for Tom to get out and walk around (his doctor has told him to do this to help avoid embolisms).  Finally we arrived last night about 7 – only to find out that our driver had the wrong keys so we could not get into the house!  When we finally got in about 8:30 or so we were exhausted and went right to bed!

We stop for lunch on our way back from Dar Es Salaam.  Here is Daniel (standing), our driver; Itiweni, (SACCOS co ordinator); Sandy; and another faculty memeber from Tumaini (Amba)

The house where we are staying.