tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4697108604814720652024-03-13T00:58:28.873-07:00Iringa Hope Visits 2017Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-40362533409519250852017-10-24T05:50:00.000-07:002017-10-24T05:50:39.616-07:00We are done!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Our visits are done for another year. It is always good to come and see our
members. It is also very instructive to
go to the villages and see what everyone is doing. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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At the end of our visits I generally try to compile a few
numbers that summarize what we have done.
So, here goes-<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--> We
traveled 2,460 miles in our visits this year.
(This is more than it seems since much of it was traveled at 30 mph over
rutted roads.)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->We met with over 1,000 members – about 40% of
our SACCOS members here<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->We interviewed and took information on 55
members – a good cross section of our membership<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->We visited 26 of our villages (there are 40)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->We learned that our SACCOS and AMCOS members are
only overlapping about 50% - that is, on average only about half of the members
of the AMCOS also belong to our SACCOS.
This is different than what we were expecting. We had thought that the two memberships would
overlap almost 100%. It may change yet,
but for now it seems that 50% is what we are seeing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Using this number (ie-50% overlap) it seems that
we are seriously underestimating our total membership. Instead of the 15-16,000 people we thought
were involved in one or the other or both; it is much closer to 20,000!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->Based on our interviews we are finding that
someone who has been a member of Iringa Hope for three or more years has seen
their income rise from $300/year to over $1,000 (we estimate about $1,200). This is over the average family income in
Tanzania ($926/year according to the World Bank)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]-->It looks like our members who received loans collectively
earned $1,125,000 this year. It also
looks like 85% of our members belong to a Diocese of Iringa parish. So, assuming they all tithe (we are told they
do), the Diocese received almost $100,000 from our member’s profits this year!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Overall we can construct what a donation of loan funds to
Iringa Hope is doing. Based on our
interviews and the Joint SACCOS audited report we have found that over a
five-year period a <b>$400 donation to Iringa Hope </b>–<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Generates
$3,980 in family income<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>This pays
for 7 years of secondary education<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>This results
in $398 in donations to DIRA<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>This
either upgrades a home or pays for a brick house for the family<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>At the
end of the five years<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Iringa
Hope now has $510 in loan capital due to the accumulated interest<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>The interest
the member pays has paid for $180 in training programs<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: "Courier New"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Courier New";">o<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><b>The
member now has $150 in savings<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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<b>WOW!</b> Our members never fail to impress us with
what they will do if we just give them a chance.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-54854993156183409872017-10-23T08:51:00.001-07:002017-10-23T08:51:40.741-07:00Ugesa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPh1aBkSSw2eTScrjpdEvWg5fblupAezrF6-lXPetU9vmWu4mq8bgXGt2MK36M9CnGN_sTdm_mnjcsJ-BzOGLYCIzRwUUUpZpb2w41__ugYZeBNCyje6kIV8KD_-clyIlsYynipiOXKU/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSPh1aBkSSw2eTScrjpdEvWg5fblupAezrF6-lXPetU9vmWu4mq8bgXGt2MK36M9CnGN_sTdm_mnjcsJ-BzOGLYCIzRwUUUpZpb2w41__ugYZeBNCyje6kIV8KD_-clyIlsYynipiOXKU/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The trip to Ugesa from Iringa town takes 2 hours, the first half
on good, smooth pavement, and the last hour on a dirt road heading south. The
road travels through pine forests and piles of sawdust.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">This is lumber country.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We remember this road as a deeply rutted, muddy wallow. It was just a few years ago when we found
ourselves driving through water past the floor boards, wondering if we would
stall out and have to wade to high ground. But in October it is dry, the road
has been completely regraded, and is in very good condition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yesterday our car developed a leak in the power steering and this
morning we had an additional problem in that the hood latch broke so we
couldn’t get the hood up. Luckily our
friend Enock Ugulumu from the University was willing to lend us his car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Once we were on our way, Peter received a call from the
chairman of the Ugesa SACCOS, wondering where we were and when we would be there.
The members were already waiting for us.
This is really unusual since normally we are on time and everyone else
is late. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">When we arrived at Ugesa the pastor and the SACCOS chairman
greeted us. The pastor served the </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMeUS36NsfYW7Mrrhlm0ZtoSSyOt1YueglwjYq7vcyRBTepQ72sK6rcpkT19sXd6FcsFv9bAktykOXum-btg-icxiA73OexNXOWv7Fc3Y0CDmzcLI-ysWwbAkv_RZ_hcc5hFeoTQHFRuA/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMeUS36NsfYW7Mrrhlm0ZtoSSyOt1YueglwjYq7vcyRBTepQ72sK6rcpkT19sXd6FcsFv9bAktykOXum-btg-icxiA73OexNXOWv7Fc3Y0CDmzcLI-ysWwbAkv_RZ_hcc5hFeoTQHFRuA/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Ihemi
parish from 2011 until 2014, so we have worshiped with him several times. The chairman and the treasurer are also
familiar to us from many prior visits and from the training sessions. Looking
around it also seems that we know many of the members here from our other
visits.</span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We quickly had chai and then went into our meeting. About 60 members have waited to see us, and
stood and sang as we entered the church. This SACCOS is one of the better run
and more active locations that we have.
They have steadily increased their capital and membership to where they
now have 127 families. (They have also started
an AMCOS here – but it is only one week old.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODhXkj-AZpU7VKXDpuU9tlcWxGHRgxQh6T4Vu3fDC13ijAEy0EATC07YsXr68HI5qik-D2jOJKBsEOoJVjQE9ARiO4MTm59nsf-lqxJ01CoIPoZ9z2bvaVbDSBMRl3ntknHfJqEq3NX0/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgODhXkj-AZpU7VKXDpuU9tlcWxGHRgxQh6T4Vu3fDC13ijAEy0EATC07YsXr68HI5qik-D2jOJKBsEOoJVjQE9ARiO4MTm59nsf-lqxJ01CoIPoZ9z2bvaVbDSBMRl3ntknHfJqEq3NX0/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last year they made loans to 89 people. Once again they had a 100% on time and in
full payment record. They are expecting
to make a $3,000 profit this year and they are asking for a $10,000 loan from the
Joint SACCOS so they will be better able to meet the needs of their members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We complemented them on their excellent work and their great
track record, then turned the meeting over to Venance. Today he is planning on talking about growing
potatoes. Potatoes are the main crop
here and are relatively profitable if done correctly. Venance wants to inform the members of some
new strains of seed and how to better make use of fertilizer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_zbOpfSuPCMSUoD59MGzhUOCy-acBjZ2Tt22-J6fd8shymi_SKDumjY3VKKH6WnqBEIl9HRhFzrOASl5SLDvd6GllSKEVLB3LkjQa3l4gsCVfAkF4lowmxXpPFL0uLZ3HU7ghUtOes4/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_zbOpfSuPCMSUoD59MGzhUOCy-acBjZ2Tt22-J6fd8shymi_SKDumjY3VKKH6WnqBEIl9HRhFzrOASl5SLDvd6GllSKEVLB3LkjQa3l4gsCVfAkF4lowmxXpPFL0uLZ3HU7ghUtOes4/s200/4.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While Venance was doing this we went outside to talk with
some members. The first person we talked
with is Judson Mgyekwa, the chairman of the recently formed AMCOS. Judson is 35, married, and has 3
children. He has been a member of the
SACCOS since 2013 and has taken out about 10 loans. Many loans here are for 3-6
months so members often will take out two or more loans in a year. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Thinking that after taking out so many loans
it would be difficult and confusing trying to recall the details of his various
loans, Sandy decided to take a different approach with him.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29ynTDjBBhJ-zXis1cJpxdA-7hx_ItOww43fbsV39Bn3yTfJeSX3Sp4sksO0EO1s-3AuEtKU_fdERfPK-hL59zS9Q_1542pkrQpDp_GhRZdJFkdQT_JZIHJ8-6DDm9hT-5RJIJguQHcU/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh29ynTDjBBhJ-zXis1cJpxdA-7hx_ItOww43fbsV39Bn3yTfJeSX3Sp4sksO0EO1s-3AuEtKU_fdERfPK-hL59zS9Q_1542pkrQpDp_GhRZdJFkdQT_JZIHJ8-6DDm9hT-5RJIJguQHcU/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Tell us how things were for you and your family before you
joined the SACCOS,” she said. “Before I
joined the SACCOS we had no house, no farm, no real income. We just barely got along.” He replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Judson explained that a friend had told him he should join
the SACCOS-so he did. He first took out
a loan for $150 which he used to rent land and grow potatoes. That year he earned $710. They started a house, invested some of the
money in a business, and saved some.
Since then he has continued to take out loans; using them to buy seed
and fertilizer or invest in his lumber business. Over the past four years he and his wife have
completed a brick home in the country, bought a lot in town where they plan to
build another 7-room brick home, bought the family a motorcycle, started and
grown a lumber business, bought five acres of land, planting three with trees
and two with potatoes. This year he
plans to borrow $550 to plant his crop and improve his lumber yard. He tells us that between the lumber business,
some trees, and his farm his family will have an income of $4-5,000. He firmly believes that without the SACCOS
they would probably still be just getting by.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next Sandy talked to Anzetye Longo, a 52-year old widow with
6 children and 10 grandchildren. She too
has been a member of this SACCOS since 2013 and has taken out many loans. Her first loan was for $75 which she used to
buy some kangas (a type of cloth) in Iringa to resell here in Ugesa. She did well at this and has since borrowed
to increase her stock, gradually building up her business. She now has a duka where she sells kangas,
pots and pans, and general household goods.
She has bought some land and is starting to build herself a larger shop. So far she has invested $1,500 of her profits
in her business which continues to grow.
This year she will probably earn over $1,000 from her shop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BWyGH6RWu5oYRLtQiPgqQ-2EJiyLrTCpDYrw5VQasK8fqDKK14UMUrVLkL4VQOJG12leYZgoEUE31i8iUm9QHo7XzavauqAhovyesGLby2gwspbSqe0t0Ydvg2b6qMnITqE83ItV8Es/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_BWyGH6RWu5oYRLtQiPgqQ-2EJiyLrTCpDYrw5VQasK8fqDKK14UMUrVLkL4VQOJG12leYZgoEUE31i8iUm9QHo7XzavauqAhovyesGLby2gwspbSqe0t0Ydvg2b6qMnITqE83ItV8Es/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When Sandy asked her to tell us how her life has changed she
paused a minute then said, “My life was not good. We had no food. My husband had no regular income. The whole village knew that we were
struggling. It was bad.” She went on to tell us, “I will never leave
the SACCOS because the SACCOS has saved my life.” She told us that her husband died two years
ago, but her life has still improved because of the SACCOS. None of the five older
children could afford to attend secondary school, but she has one child left in
primary, whom she plans to send to secondary school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Both of these members’ lives have been profoundly changed by
this SACCOS. It is truly a privilege to
meet them and hear their story<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Following the interviews and class, we had lunch at the
pastor’s. Tom asked the pastor if the
SACCOS had made any changes that he could see.
He told us there have been many, many changes. In just the last three years, church
offerings have increased 30-45%. The
SACCOS members’ incomes have gone up 60-70-80% or more and there are many new
homes in the parish. Many, many more
children are going to secondary school.
He said he can’t imagine not having the SACCOS in Ugesa.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We are always impressed by the people here at Ugesa. They are amazing examples of what can happen
when someone gets a chance!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-37180786112619322382017-10-21T09:41:00.000-07:002017-10-21T09:41:16.312-07:00Ipogolo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Today we had an easy day – we are going to visit
Ipogolo! Ipogolo (also known as ipogoro)
lies at the bottom of the hill from Iringa town. It took us less than 20 minutes to drive
there.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Since Ipogolo is a SACCOS that lies on the edge of town,
many of the members are engaged in business pursuits or have “town jobs” in
addition to their farm activities. This
means that a week-day meeting doesn’t work well, but unfortunately, Saturday
meetings are not always good either, since most members will be at their
shambas (farms) working. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02Y_IiRmBKVK2KTMa9Mv9gFbDw4kFcXbZVfFppRK-aPv3Ct8yvpVKcXjfF42D1Q1yfjnbJ1iF1vnUN6aMtDSm_f8tTdS_NcP8ZOlyKIppxzTbyhSzFQCZW3wAXG5eOlBBdsZj4kibFRM/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi02Y_IiRmBKVK2KTMa9Mv9gFbDw4kFcXbZVfFppRK-aPv3Ct8yvpVKcXjfF42D1Q1yfjnbJ1iF1vnUN6aMtDSm_f8tTdS_NcP8ZOlyKIppxzTbyhSzFQCZW3wAXG5eOlBBdsZj4kibFRM/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When we arrived at Ipogolo the SACCOS and AMCOS chairmen were
waiting for us. Ipogolo was the site of
our first IDC building and was one of the first villages to have both a SACCOS
and an AMCOS. We went to the SACCOS
office to collect some information. The
Ipogolo SACCOS now has 87 members and the AMCOS has 58. There is only a 50% overlap between the
membership so overall this location is now serving 116 families or about 740
people. Last year the SACCOS borrowed $16,000
from the Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS.
Combining this with their own capital they made 48 loans. Unfortunately, there was very little rainfall
last year so the crops for some of the members were exceedingly poor. As a result there are 12 members that have
not repaid their loans in full. The
SACCOS officers and loan committee met with all of the people involved and are
collecting most of the funds. There are
a few who remain troubled, but they are getting the village officials involved
and are taking the right steps.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8fhPGo30qUUGN5SbixnCtZu8ThdaGO4fmcazVl8DhHiI8y_z7Y8R8zhmhq39cPxUPAkR6bSMOsA0BUnwpphBdC0sSSh3OA1y9bNqnLzXF1mHLnDvZyPpaOGN-TEJMBQEznlxkAMCWbo/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8fhPGo30qUUGN5SbixnCtZu8ThdaGO4fmcazVl8DhHiI8y_z7Y8R8zhmhq39cPxUPAkR6bSMOsA0BUnwpphBdC0sSSh3OA1y9bNqnLzXF1mHLnDvZyPpaOGN-TEJMBQEznlxkAMCWbo/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom saw some children from the school that Ipogolo runs.<br />As soon as they saw him and his camera they all came running.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When the chairman was asked why there was so much trouble with
repayment this year he explained that the SACCOS decided to give all of the
loans in terms of fertilizer, not cash.
As a result, many people did not diversify like they have other years
(they often raise chickens, pigs, or do other things as well as farming). Then, when the rains did not come, there was
a group of members who got almost no crop.
Without other avenues of income they were really struggling. In the future the SACCOS leaders will be
emphasizing the importance of diversification.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We went next door to the AMCOS portion of the <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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IDC
building. Here they have stacked up some
bags of maize which they are storing, waiting for prices to go up. Unlike Nduli and a few other locations, there
are only 70 or 100 bags here; not the 300 or so that we have found
elsewhere. The chairman explained that
most of the members could not store maize here since they needed to sell right
away to pay bills. Tom explained how the other IDCs are using the bags of maize
to offset loans so the members do not have to sell to repay their loans. The chairman seemed to like this approach and
thought they would use it another year.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
We kicked off our meeting with introductions. There were very few members here today so Tom
gave then a talk about how important it is to attend the meetings. He suggested that they needed to take
attendance and ensure that members are participating. There are so few people here that we<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimnjp2ToKi952S6wMU7ftJowXVJBWf_v_eFS7o7hhA3-FsXVQ_2Tw_f_tSXSDjyJJ1KRjbJ0oE3aLwMRF75Rer9r3eVxq_r1ZxBmlf1jrgm4nWD-D6v56rMfF1D9Cs4P_kHeFXDtbbUVI/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimnjp2ToKi952S6wMU7ftJowXVJBWf_v_eFS7o7hhA3-FsXVQ_2Tw_f_tSXSDjyJJ1KRjbJ0oE3aLwMRF75Rer9r3eVxq_r1ZxBmlf1jrgm4nWD-D6v56rMfF1D9Cs4P_kHeFXDtbbUVI/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
interviewed two men today instead of the usual man and woman.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Venance was with us today and held his class on herbicide
use. We went over to the SACCOS office
and began our interviews. Sandy began by
talking to Gideon Ndegela.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Gideon is 70 years old, married and the father of nine children
and grandfather to 13. He lives with his
wife and three of his grandchildren who are going to school here in
Iringa. He belongs to both the SACCOS
and the AMCOS and serves as the AMCOS chairman. He recently borrowed $450 in fertilizer for
his three acre farm. He told us that he
used to get at most 30 bags of maize.
This year he harvested 68 bags, and he would have done better had the
rains come on time. So far he has sold
20 bags but he is waiting to sell the rest when the prices rise. He expects that when he has sold all of his
bags he will have increased his income by $1,500, making his income from his
farm about $3,000 this year. So far he
has used the income from the 20 bags to lay the foundation for a new home. When he finishes selling his crop he plans to
complete his house, pay school fees for his grandchildren, and save some more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflHfaznXMPhjowvqSUQ9ZxM75WHUTQQ1jTKw96zksGJYUKxS6tRFxrvIMA9xpxsL-CpgcCYoJjb8rWv-0vB40wOXdm8op8T9EadNCJVE-jqBafCfUhbWHZZZhnBxddYBcyW-6s74fZ8I/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiflHfaznXMPhjowvqSUQ9ZxM75WHUTQQ1jTKw96zksGJYUKxS6tRFxrvIMA9xpxsL-CpgcCYoJjb8rWv-0vB40wOXdm8op8T9EadNCJVE-jqBafCfUhbWHZZZhnBxddYBcyW-6s74fZ8I/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Gideon went off to get his picture taken and Sandy started
talking to Batwel Kahemela. Batwel is
52, married, and the father of six and grandfather of one. There are five people living in his home. Two of his children are now going to government
secondary school and two are going to private schools.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When Batwel got his first loan from the SACCOS he was
farming two acres. He borrowed $200 and
bought fertilizer for his fields. It was
a bad year that year, but still he harvested 30 bags of maize. Prices were good, however, so he sold his
crop for $1,500 giving him a $1,200 profit.
He started to build a five-room brick home for his family and added to
his savings.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qrC87sLtlDhDA6bE05wSGQFvV8vaCGLw5kzRkeHb1IiCadRtctQxOJ7zGd-Es_adTnd4tiRl_eCASUASVZmI_Me7i14jAz8tfy9U006NtdS1c6f41wlYpaEHyAK4SG9ynOZqKt4PgMg/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qrC87sLtlDhDA6bE05wSGQFvV8vaCGLw5kzRkeHb1IiCadRtctQxOJ7zGd-Es_adTnd4tiRl_eCASUASVZmI_Me7i14jAz8tfy9U006NtdS1c6f41wlYpaEHyAK4SG9ynOZqKt4PgMg/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
His second loan was for $300. He bought more fertilizer to use on his two
acres. When he harvested his maize he
got 45 bags! Although his crop was
larger the prices were much lower that year so he only earned a $1,150
profit. He used this to send his
children to school and to buy another acre of land. He also increased his savings a little and
finished his new house to the roof line.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Last year he borrowed $400 in fertilizer for his three acres
of maize. The weather at his farm was
not good, but he managed to harvest 55 bags of maize. He has sold 10 bags so far and is waiting to
sell the rest when the price rises. He
thinks he will have earned a $1,700 profit when he is done selling his crop. He plans to finish his house, pay school
fees, and maybe save a little more. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboMMwa0CqTmt8xsYxJqJCzxw9fL4QyevmNKmyRB_mI-b8wifeKgBsZfbs4dwx1HSbwQdNn6gCP1xk2OflC4iVmrSX2jXTg48Xu3GDK0HpLFaWHxFy9_L_Qp2QD9AThieB7LuXILnttNs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgboMMwa0CqTmt8xsYxJqJCzxw9fL4QyevmNKmyRB_mI-b8wifeKgBsZfbs4dwx1HSbwQdNn6gCP1xk2OflC4iVmrSX2jXTg48Xu3GDK0HpLFaWHxFy9_L_Qp2QD9AThieB7LuXILnttNs/s400/3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When were leaving the children came over to see Sandy. She counted with them<br />in English and then Swahili. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When Venance had finished his class he told us that the
members here are very interested in using herbicides on their fields next
year. They have seen others use them and
realize it will help their yields, while saving on labor cost. Gideon, the AMCOS chair, told us that he expects
that this year <o:p></o:p></div>
the AMCOS will be able to provide herbicides and seed in
addition to fertilizer.</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-47624209162763300612017-10-20T11:26:00.002-07:002017-10-20T11:26:56.939-07:00Kidugala<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHOD08OqmMZK52bVTsiaY1e6qXJZsXIbi-3GaY1qW-ok6brdJ9ev6sdh5eHYUgzDJda9TxUtz2h3o5oRaLjpzmQXdhq-KQx-q3catbD6_WtDuP7Q2IyAfnWP70rU0u5_0QmX5XxSwiR8/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOHOD08OqmMZK52bVTsiaY1e6qXJZsXIbi-3GaY1qW-ok6brdJ9ev6sdh5eHYUgzDJda9TxUtz2h3o5oRaLjpzmQXdhq-KQx-q3catbD6_WtDuP7Q2IyAfnWP70rU0u5_0QmX5XxSwiR8/s200/1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The fifth and final visit in Njombe was to Kidugala. We hadn’t been to Kidugala before and were
eager to see their SACCOS. We have met
and talked with their leaders at training sessions, but it is always good to go
and see the village.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After breakfast and checking out of our hotel, we headed off
to Kidugala. Unlike yesterday, this
morning was bright and shiny. The road
we took was dry, dusty, and rutted.
After about an hour of driving we were at Kidugala.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kidugala is actually six villages that have grown up close to
each other. The total population here is</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSAjXd3lMzOZb-AvtY-Y92_iGXZUPJcvWMpp7ANcA_qNJemvwfR_IRwP5tWITDY2vEqdXeJSP5hOWEOL5k3UfE-JQTLBl21OkuvlKYreT8FGSw0Fp0yUkkAE0_ib5JEaGB0aSf0YqZj20/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSAjXd3lMzOZb-AvtY-Y92_iGXZUPJcvWMpp7ANcA_qNJemvwfR_IRwP5tWITDY2vEqdXeJSP5hOWEOL5k3UfE-JQTLBl21OkuvlKYreT8FGSw0Fp0yUkkAE0_ib5JEaGB0aSf0YqZj20/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">
about 600 families or almost 4,000 people.
The SACCOS here has 133 members – so it touches almost 25% of the
residents. They also have an AMCOS here
with 73 families in it. Unlike most
places where 60% of the AMCOS members are also in the SACCOS, at Kidugala only
10 members are also in the SACCOS. This
means that 193 families or about 1/3 of all the people living here belong to an
Iringa Hope co-op!</span></h4>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKWJ_3KtOhG9mZ2prb0dRPrsVqjkAxaDQlC3DGKPW-SlBpKMthutwrGcEpDANG7OpF6qCZ_jDlJUkHPwJuPYGImHiFiiFGIoFBuh7huU0J636G0PaAlrM1Z9ty0HzMRvNToB4aqhg4mc/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKWJ_3KtOhG9mZ2prb0dRPrsVqjkAxaDQlC3DGKPW-SlBpKMthutwrGcEpDANG7OpF6qCZ_jDlJUkHPwJuPYGImHiFiiFGIoFBuh7huU0J636G0PaAlrM1Z9ty0HzMRvNToB4aqhg4mc/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As we pulled in we saw a large group of people sitting and
waiting under a tree; this would be our meeting place. It was really a
beautiful setting for the meeting. The chair of the SACCOS and the chair of the
AMCOS came over to greet us. They
remembered us from last year’s training session and told us how glad they were that
we made it to Kiduagla. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Before the general meeting we met in the SACCOS office with
the officers to go over a few records. The chairman of the SACCOS told us that
the last crop here was very bad. Many of
the members who are farming barely broke even with their crops. He assured us, however, that the farmers
have taken the advice of Peter and Itiweni to diversify their incomes. Most have chickens or pigs or trees or other
things so they will still have</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9H1bKX7ZmUFj8mXANc6m3UTZUvnLgayuwnkOPyrNh6XmV9ZA3oZ2hpQo06nkM1w5VF8zrEXCG6YdekBvMsiJVEUYKUtIZEF2eNFiVpSINR0BcW3ft_Sqj8AFuIZ1O9kQhsA6EFVvSQo/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9H1bKX7ZmUFj8mXANc6m3UTZUvnLgayuwnkOPyrNh6XmV9ZA3oZ2hpQo06nkM1w5VF8zrEXCG6YdekBvMsiJVEUYKUtIZEF2eNFiVpSINR0BcW3ft_Sqj8AFuIZ1O9kQhsA6EFVvSQo/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> some income.
<span style="font-weight: normal;">When asked what sort of profit he thought the members will make this
year, the chairman told us that he estimates that it will be around
$33,000. In a better year they will earn
$40,000 or more; but this year is bad so he has lowered his estimate $33,000. Using a $15,000 loan from Iringa Hope they
made 100 loans this year. Next year they
hope to borrow $20,000 or more from Iringa Hope.</span></span></h4>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The outdoor meeting got underway, introductions were made, and
we asked for </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimE1DVdwxaZaHXgdeRHRdQXTYigCipS8_srcAwbuDQFlYwiUvZU-96a6wkh8twAKyR2fNkED-pc_YlgKpQdcmuQ8mc4odcdiS66V0G0hUyvUsu1DrfeQYt08u8K9Dgt-sRFyxQU4MSz_c/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimE1DVdwxaZaHXgdeRHRdQXTYigCipS8_srcAwbuDQFlYwiUvZU-96a6wkh8twAKyR2fNkED-pc_YlgKpQdcmuQ8mc4odcdiS66V0G0hUyvUsu1DrfeQYt08u8K9Dgt-sRFyxQU4MSz_c/s200/7.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">volunteers to be interviewed. There are almost 60 members here
today, but no one seemed very eager to volunteer. After some coaxing by the chairman, we got
our volunteers.</span></h4>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Gideon started giving his class and we went back to the
SACCOS office for interviews. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjG_6ftkIzW1iAeSL3LQ0spNGy3GZDiB8Eh744mU7690_jSxXfPuvpEESUvfdU5uOyphfNEvPExqiwrLRXZHrzDWt17FCf_9l54m9biMYYIclVMrf2d-BSeBRbPZNaYyTRkzEVpgiMoSA/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjG_6ftkIzW1iAeSL3LQ0spNGy3GZDiB8Eh744mU7690_jSxXfPuvpEESUvfdU5uOyphfNEvPExqiwrLRXZHrzDWt17FCf_9l54m9biMYYIclVMrf2d-BSeBRbPZNaYyTRkzEVpgiMoSA/s200/8.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Atwitye Mbuduln was up first.
She is 60 years old and married with 6 children and two
grandchildren. She has her two
grandchildren living with her so there are 3 in her household. Atwitye is a
young looking 60-year old with hardly a wrinkle on her face. She has beautiful features, but lack of
dental care, something we take for granted, has left her with half of her teeth
missing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Atwitye has been a member of the SACCOS for 3 years. The first loan she took was for $150. She used this to buy fertilizer for her 1.5
acres of maize. The crop was good that
year so she harvested 10 extra-large bags.
With prices at $50 per bag she made a $350 profit. She used her profit to buy 2 chickens and a
pig. She saved some money and used the
rest to improve her household.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5nsHulE0itK_Q1oGPaC9f_c8bHDAEajCFbhFEn55U-9wlWOQxK6eSkiyGcfftiv0jK6f1GY0hlR39Odk5HGXziIvzawiVm-RwUFSsQlTj7Rkf2DF-yuES9YUkClNnrGy2zf1FyuyqUc/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje5nsHulE0itK_Q1oGPaC9f_c8bHDAEajCFbhFEn55U-9wlWOQxK6eSkiyGcfftiv0jK6f1GY0hlR39Odk5HGXziIvzawiVm-RwUFSsQlTj7Rkf2DF-yuES9YUkClNnrGy2zf1FyuyqUc/s640/9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The next year she again borrowed $150. She used it to buy fertilizer through the
SACCOS (we sold Yara fertilizer through SACCOS last year) and another pig. This year she only farmed 1 acre of maize and
planted the other half acre in sunflowers.
The sunflowers did not do well, but the maize crop was 12 bags. When asked why she got 12 bags from 1 acre
this year and only 10 from 1.5 acres last year.
She told us that the fertilizer she bought from the SACCOS was good
fertilizer and what she bought the previous year was not. (This is a common problem. Dealers tend to “cut” their fertilizer with
worthless additives so they make more money.)
The prices were good that year so she earned about $400 from her
crop. She bought 5 more chickens and
feed for her pigs. Her pigs had piglets which
she sold, and she is also selling eggs in the market. It was hard to estimate her overall profit
from the piglets, chickens, and maize – but as far as we could tell she earned
about $1,100 that year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her third loan was for $150 again. The rains were poor this year she is thinking
that she will only get 5 bags of maize.
Prices are low as well so she thinks that she will only break even on
her maize. However, she has her ongoing
egg business, and some more pigs to sell, so she will still be able to repay
her loan and make a small profit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1xmGH3rn_R5loyWACGEe_3sTBzhFnM1fcB-6_DaaC-hZ0wwird8hxgfCDGMOP2tSkUS5hRFTtPLRzb0gA2PBUFAa-kCa2p_5AbgHEaYkQhWoYmwlrm06TW4diDuVcMct0T7FsufPXB4/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1xmGH3rn_R5loyWACGEe_3sTBzhFnM1fcB-6_DaaC-hZ0wwird8hxgfCDGMOP2tSkUS5hRFTtPLRzb0gA2PBUFAa-kCa2p_5AbgHEaYkQhWoYmwlrm06TW4diDuVcMct0T7FsufPXB4/s640/11.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Paulo Kasiani was our next “volunteer.” Paulo is 37, married and has 2 children. He has been a member of the SACCOS for two
years. Paulo tells us he used to be a
conductor on the bus from Iringa to Zambia.
He earned about $100-120 per month but was gone most of the time. He decided to quit this so he could be home
with his family. He had saved some money
from his job and wanted to start his own transit service. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He joined the SACCOS, put $600 in a savings account, and
borrowed $1,800. (This was the largest
loan that the SACCOS gave. We advise our
leaders to keep their average loans to $500-600.) He used his loan plus some of his savings to
buy a used 10-passenger van and went into the transit business.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Paulo explained that he would pick up people in Kidugala at 6
AM and drive them into Njombe Town. At
noon his van would make the return trip.
He did not know how much profit he was making, but it was enough to
repay his loan, build a new home, and increase his savings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After the first year he decided he wanted to do trucking
instead. He went to the SACCOS but found
that they would not do a large enough loan for him to buy a truck. So he
decided that he would start a motorcycle taxi service instead. He bought four motorcycles and hired
drivers. To diversify his earnings he
also bought a wholesale beverage business.
The beverage business is doing well and he seems to like it. He said that he is also making good money
from the taxi service, but it has presented him with challenges he hadn’t
anticipated. His drivers sometimes go drinking instead of working, and they sometimes
drink and drive. Then, if they have accidents, it’s his responsibility. Still,
based on the numbers he gave us, we estimate that he will earn over $2,800 this
year after he repays his loan – and of course he will still have his
motorcycles and shop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The SACCOS officers served us lunch and we headed down the
road to Iringa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvOBYMQeJ6Q2p7d246fuxE-x8xCyUGuvj3dB-LtbshqqXgP-xa3egypwDd1ofJfvvOHdnEKl0Wz6jv6sVVWv97p9-V6MKLVBKZCFhg0YAu-Angrdn9OTqYDtyJp-cI3gVr15ZSh9XGTc/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjvOBYMQeJ6Q2p7d246fuxE-x8xCyUGuvj3dB-LtbshqqXgP-xa3egypwDd1ofJfvvOHdnEKl0Wz6jv6sVVWv97p9-V6MKLVBKZCFhg0YAu-Angrdn9OTqYDtyJp-cI3gVr15ZSh9XGTc/s400/12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-23644049268602662182017-10-20T08:52:00.002-07:002017-11-01T07:33:14.312-07:00At Kanikelele<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuoqE9MGYagiaYCm9Y7UZny5_MfwxLB06RkVvKC8Z7Da6ECFrIh6g5dKobgxPaZ5JSXFZYJE6VLSl1JiklkUYFPFyCrvbrPc6RGsNl6d6AyP7wfQmkcxQ3t5LAeh9l3EJ7jZbDkEYUQ8/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIuoqE9MGYagiaYCm9Y7UZny5_MfwxLB06RkVvKC8Z7Da6ECFrIh6g5dKobgxPaZ5JSXFZYJE6VLSl1JiklkUYFPFyCrvbrPc6RGsNl6d6AyP7wfQmkcxQ3t5LAeh9l3EJ7jZbDkEYUQ8/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We arrived
at Kanikelele at about 3:00. The people
here had been waiting for us for the past two hours. We had been working as fast as we could, but
there were a lot of questions at our two prior meetings and travel on the rough
roads is slow. When we finally arrived we
were greeted warmly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is the
first time that Sandy and I have been to Kanikelele. Of course, Peter has been here many times and
we have read his reports and discussed his visits with him. Seeing the village ourselves gives us a new
perspective. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The SACCOS
here is called Ituli. They have 111
members – 53 men, 54 women, and 3 smal</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnTuLMZCNeyKQ2gPmv8YQX84E5o-Q1a0Bx2y-TYjljuJ7gwehClhyphenhyphen0DSDURe5q5TJSRgQJyx4jUSeGkJd-Gk4T3V8gB5HbUfwkGGctk90oP-tm131OPo12gEDVIqAYVPetsWVDsxevyg/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHnTuLMZCNeyKQ2gPmv8YQX84E5o-Q1a0Bx2y-TYjljuJ7gwehClhyphenhyphen0DSDURe5q5TJSRgQJyx4jUSeGkJd-Gk4T3V8gB5HbUfwkGGctk90oP-tm131OPo12gEDVIqAYVPetsWVDsxevyg/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
l groups.
They have added 70 new members over the past year and there are still 3
more waiting to get in. They are a
member of the Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS.
Last year they borrowed $13,000 from Iringa Hope. Using this, together with the capital they
already had, they made 80 loans totaling $20,000. We were told by the SACCOS chairman that the
members are very entrepreneurial and that they earned a lot this year. He
thinks that they earned at least $60,000; maybe as much as $70,000 or $80,000. This would mean that the members of this
SACCOS earned over $1,000 each.<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVs3il0gRkWDOH3FvCCDAXP-uAdAaaQAUhC81gNjznSX5-USMXTdIDaENzadmu201_S2gUptsp_TB0RSAazkRN1N3Lt3PUA3WoEgfDozaywykbtHh0JJrZlSZvG4ICvTslaBsvwf2Dl4/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVs3il0gRkWDOH3FvCCDAXP-uAdAaaQAUhC81gNjznSX5-USMXTdIDaENzadmu201_S2gUptsp_TB0RSAazkRN1N3Lt3PUA3WoEgfDozaywykbtHh0JJrZlSZvG4ICvTslaBsvwf2Dl4/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The pastor
opened the meeting with a prayer and the chairman welcomed everyone and
introduced the officers, board members, and visitors. When he gave his greeting Tom once again emphasized
how the members here own and operate everything about their SACCOS. He also reminded them that as members of
Iringa Hope they also owned the Joint SACCOS and its property, including the
car we were driving. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Gideon gave
a class on the use of herbicides. The
people here are very interested in this topic because using herbicides means
reducing their labor costs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy8NxhyphenhypheniIT9pw9swUO7h5RApID8R-50uD0oX_WIWdGI8pw-pk9yDK1uRUKeiofUV_HUsnNP7eaf7WOzU48ZawblGtpIpZJp3VdTIl4oQPoHG0syM6oAByWOqY9GUkQhA_4QkM6CBOEH0/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyy8NxhyphenhypheniIT9pw9swUO7h5RApID8R-50uD0oX_WIWdGI8pw-pk9yDK1uRUKeiofUV_HUsnNP7eaf7WOzU48ZawblGtpIpZJp3VdTIl4oQPoHG0syM6oAByWOqY9GUkQhA_4QkM6CBOEH0/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Since this
village has gone through three loan cycles, we held interviews with two of the
members. The first of these was with Jane Nyagawa, 52 and married with 6
children and 2 grandchildren. She and
her husband have 11 people living in their home. They are working together to support them all
and to send 4 of the children to secondary school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Before Jane joined Iringa Hope she and her husband were not able to farm using
fertilizer. As a result they could only
grow 3 bags of maize (in Njombe they use extra-large bags). They worked as day laborers wherever they
could find work, and in that way they managed to feed their family and send
their children to school, but they could never make a profit and never get
ahead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnKn-Cp-zvGl99kk9OU_lPwpFDMFC5ahzoLLPO51ZJBnvBFQj1oViKmezzMfxIz1UywOelhv5V9vyzUr-Bt0Qj0Unwe9IBHn2yz1Hq6HZLCxIFmU1F3wmoqaeuqic8VcKXCKE9DwhElU/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSnKn-Cp-zvGl99kk9OU_lPwpFDMFC5ahzoLLPO51ZJBnvBFQj1oViKmezzMfxIz1UywOelhv5V9vyzUr-Bt0Qj0Unwe9IBHn2yz1Hq6HZLCxIFmU1F3wmoqaeuqic8VcKXCKE9DwhElU/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After
joining the SACCOS Jan borrowed $250.
With this she bought fertilizer and hybrid seeds. Her yield jumped from 3 bags to 13 bags of
maize. At $45 per bag this is equal to an increase in income of $450. This was
enough to feed everyone and have a little left to sell. The family still worked day jobs, but now
they had enough income from farming to feed the family, so their day labor went
to school fees and to increase savings, plus they had a little left for other
things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Jane took out
a second loan for $500. She used this
loan to buy a second acre of land along with fertilizer and seeds, and in
addition she bought 15 chickens and a rooster.
She started selling eggs and raising chickens along with her
farming. Eventually she had 300
chickens, a steady egg business, and a good crop. She didn’t know how much she earned that year,
but the profits were very big. In an attempt to calculate her income, we
learned that by the time she sold off 200 of her chickens, she had been selling
6-8 trays of 30 eggs a month, at $4 per tray.
Her 200 chickens sold for $5 per chicken, and her two acres of land
produced 26 bags of maize, 13 of which were kept for food, and 13 were sold for
$32 per each extra-large bag. Our rough estimate of her gross income was $1,550,
so her net income was approximately $1,100 for that year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her most
recent loan was for $750. She used some
of it to buy a third acre. She also
bought seeds and fertilizer. She has
harvested 39 bags of maize which, at current prices, is worth $1,480. She is also selling eggs from her remaining
100 laying hens. Finally, she has
started a wholesale fish business. She
told us that once every other week she goes to Njombe and buys $100 worth of
fish. She brings these to the village
where she sells them for $200. Between
all of these activities Tom estimated that she and her family will earn over $1,900
this year. We were impressed by her entrepreneurial skill.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT05xqcvJQTMhhYz4i1BukdZCv9-Uyfs2rRvLc56NdjiAz5Ah48OuiB207warunoIVUeJ6t-xLcBwrg1BSWaeKjYlZs5Tb4kOkcR_owcp93GRFd5U0RPg1P6p3QC-XhS9t08pM-IxuQqc/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT05xqcvJQTMhhYz4i1BukdZCv9-Uyfs2rRvLc56NdjiAz5Ah48OuiB207warunoIVUeJ6t-xLcBwrg1BSWaeKjYlZs5Tb4kOkcR_owcp93GRFd5U0RPg1P6p3QC-XhS9t08pM-IxuQqc/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next up was Gibson
Kyelula. Gibson is 69 and a widower with
4 children and 14 grandchildren. His son
died a few years ago so he has some of his children and grandchildren living
with him, making 10 in his household. He
joined this SACCOS two years ago and has taken out two loans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The first
year after he joined he borrowed $100 from the SACCOS. He used this loan to
fertilize his 1 acre of land and buy two pigs.
He also used the manure from the pigs on his fields. That year he harvested 10 large bags of maize
worth $450 – giving him a profit of $300 plus two pigs! He sent two of his grandchildren to secondary
school (the others are still in primary school), increased his savings, bought
2 acres of land to plant pine trees on, and one more acre to farm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The second
year he again borrowed $100 to farm his two acres of maize. The crop looks good so he thinks he will get
more than 20 large bags of maize – earning at least $1,000. With his profits he will again send his
grandchildren to secondary school. He
will also buy some seedlings and plant avocado trees on another acre of
land. In a few years his avocado trees
should be producing enough fruit to earn $2,000 a year. His pine trees will mature in eight to ten
years and will be worth at least $30,000!
Tom points out that he and his family are on the way to being rich! He smiles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sandy asked
him what he would have done had he not joined the SACCOS. “I would be dead.” He said.
Tom wanted to know why he said this.
He explained that when he joined the SACCOS his son had just died and he
had no money to work with. He really
believed that he would have just had to give all of his crop to his
grandchildren and he would have died. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This turned
out to be a very long, busy day, with several hours spent on some very bumpy
roads. It was 7:00 before we got back to
our hotel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-45100775977976281122017-10-20T08:37:00.000-07:002017-10-20T08:37:56.374-07:00Day two in Njombe Region - Ukalawa and Idamba<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFomZRhWfo5VrUmK2up5rzzXGUmOnoYR1T0beDhWOMPBjkarRbuLYvWzeFXhJ9yz0O-ySM_625msnP_6SV_dAr6O1l4ZCQDoxu-ujkzZrTfJg1NVL3eEerSZqXsK-tItec6P-GzffDSc/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYFomZRhWfo5VrUmK2up5rzzXGUmOnoYR1T0beDhWOMPBjkarRbuLYvWzeFXhJ9yz0O-ySM_625msnP_6SV_dAr6O1l4ZCQDoxu-ujkzZrTfJg1NVL3eEerSZqXsK-tItec6P-GzffDSc/s200/1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This morning
we woke to a nice crisp and foggy dawn.
No, we are not back in Minnesota enjoying the fall; we are in Njombe
where the morning temperature is about 49!
Today we visited three locations here in Njombe. The first one is still getting organized, the
second one has submitted their paperwork for registration, and the third has
gone through two loan cycles.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We drove off
into the mist at 7:30 sharp, stopping first to pick up Pastor Gabriel Nduye
from the Njombe Center for Agricultural Development (CAD). Pastor Nduye spent the day with us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-COp9VdFf_OLfiQeDtHfQ0puLvYnT4g0A_t1HMIUHFLCVQ6GuFUoZKTgddqSzuQALbQhgL7Yk48VVIJ4SzJcrMOtKGPisFYG2-5sF1MKxlUeFldXZqpwwNrw30dULP5kfLKkek-mU-E/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM-COp9VdFf_OLfiQeDtHfQ0puLvYnT4g0A_t1HMIUHFLCVQ6GuFUoZKTgddqSzuQALbQhgL7Yk48VVIJ4SzJcrMOtKGPisFYG2-5sF1MKxlUeFldXZqpwwNrw30dULP5kfLKkek-mU-E/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After
picking up Pastor Nduye we headed for Ukalawa.
This is a new village for us. The
SACCOS here is just forming so Peter gave a class on how to organize your
SACCOS. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Arrivng at
Ukalawa we found a group waiting for us.
This group is very excited to get their SACCOS going and it shows. The group originally had 45 members, but when
they started collecting entrance fees the number quickly dropped to 31; they
were all here today. There is always
some attrition when people realize that Iringa Hope is not giving money away,
and that membership has obligations as well as benefits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1RyFBgtv_sr-k9W1Mzpv7SuqnLNk_tVnL6ntzFyNK7LEX6RJiRUVpxTFKvUFVw9_6caCCuadNgcr-Vsv3r5EfnIruH4sgqged1IpzlIspfaxBL48ws84xT_MlQ_FCUkjWzevfGjhDcXw/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1RyFBgtv_sr-k9W1Mzpv7SuqnLNk_tVnL6ntzFyNK7LEX6RJiRUVpxTFKvUFVw9_6caCCuadNgcr-Vsv3r5EfnIruH4sgqged1IpzlIspfaxBL48ws84xT_MlQ_FCUkjWzevfGjhDcXw/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We had an
opening song and prayer. There were
introductions and then I got up to talk to the group. Since this is a new group I decided to talk a
little about why Iringa Hope is different than other groups. I told them that Iringa Hope is different in
many ways. First, our members own
everything – no one else owns anything. Second, our members make all of the
decisions and are responsible for their SACCOS.
Third, we train our members and give them help and support. At one point
I told them they would own the car I was in and asked them please to let me
keep using it until I got back home. This was humor that actually passed the
“translation test;” fortunately they allowed us to keep the car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdCl2aspqMg718DWVBK00MurVifHSPBwncQAztVAHqI6flagCGObjczAdiAIrwvrn-AvjTGs3lkxbcRZZL1UCCmKgy5yhV-wtt7ZTgZyoYNJXt0IrZ1nVC9VLacpZb2DpR_NqVRcTo6M/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTdCl2aspqMg718DWVBK00MurVifHSPBwncQAztVAHqI6flagCGObjczAdiAIrwvrn-AvjTGs3lkxbcRZZL1UCCmKgy5yhV-wtt7ZTgZyoYNJXt0IrZ1nVC9VLacpZb2DpR_NqVRcTo6M/s200/5.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I always like giving candy to the<br />children. This little girl had such a pretty<br />smile.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Peter gave a
long class about what they need to do to finish forming and registering. So far they have collected 1,080,000
TZS. They need to complete some forms
and collect 720,000 TZS more. They told
Peter they would have this done by November 30.
Peter will be back after they have accomplished it. There were lots of questions and Peter spent
almost two hours on his class. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPJNKNNXdMRQTSGt_sQFC89AqkdT0RBAvM9KA9dQiGsCD-IGo9qDWpDlqMX80qR3izIkwmx8FZcIsFLewZmkDVC6H9SNl1t2fi3QbeNLC1FywmdkpVLsnzxCDIhubui6B0CRhE4ohauY/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivPJNKNNXdMRQTSGt_sQFC89AqkdT0RBAvM9KA9dQiGsCD-IGo9qDWpDlqMX80qR3izIkwmx8FZcIsFLewZmkDVC6H9SNl1t2fi3QbeNLC1FywmdkpVLsnzxCDIhubui6B0CRhE4ohauY/s200/8.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We went over
to a small chai house for a break and then headed to Idamba – we were on a
tight schedule today. To get to Idamba
we went back the way we had come, then took a right and continued down the
rutted road. It took us about an hour to
make the drive. As we went along the fog
burned off and the view cleared. It is truly
a beautiful view up here in tea country.
The tea leaves are full and the colors are truly vibrant.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RuPhKtHAAbyCO8J7zZSp9KXsBFjKYuVkJRkIonVEtxwDDMPoxS-tY3Cv5GRgzgcw3lHLEuoFlTM1gXoWPzY0GpudbSRA0KuJZRTRjSIr5CjVJvHvt58Va_2HejIIl8GNXwv78f6bOIc/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RuPhKtHAAbyCO8J7zZSp9KXsBFjKYuVkJRkIonVEtxwDDMPoxS-tY3Cv5GRgzgcw3lHLEuoFlTM1gXoWPzY0GpudbSRA0KuJZRTRjSIr5CjVJvHvt58Va_2HejIIl8GNXwv78f6bOIc/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fog lifted. It is very pretty here in tea country.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We pulled into
Idamba at one o’clock. Once again, the
group was waiting for us. We went right
into our meeting. Idamba parish has a
new pastor. He is very interested in having a SACCOS here. He thinks it will help his parish and he
wants to see the people prosper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As the
pastor talked to the gathering we took attendance. There were 38 of the 52 members here, which
we think was very good. The pastor preached
to the gathering about the need to be faithful and work diligently. Pastor Nduye tells us that there are NO
financial institutions here or at Ukalawa.
They have no micro lenders, farm programs or NGOs. The people living here are very anxious to
get a SACCOS that can help them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86BfwyH9pZP4IG5WS_R2a_jT3eNlC5PR2kC1PlS844qGd-hIDV5ohvHsZTvRO_nzw0KDcI92Yv0KmEqGy9JU5pIRRLayxSiY7qUa_oMuxeeCGN6yX4HqFAN4q9ZeL9tmutaezNPAm1Gg/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh86BfwyH9pZP4IG5WS_R2a_jT3eNlC5PR2kC1PlS844qGd-hIDV5ohvHsZTvRO_nzw0KDcI92Yv0KmEqGy9JU5pIRRLayxSiY7qUa_oMuxeeCGN6yX4HqFAN4q9ZeL9tmutaezNPAm1Gg/s320/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a tight fit but everyone was excited.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Once again,
I talked to the group about how Iringa Hope is different than other SACCOS. I always think that it is important that our
new villages clearly understand our starting principles and appreciate what is
expected of them as “owners and operators.”
Peter of course covers this in detail, but I like to start by
emphasizing the overall ideas. There was laughter when I tell them that Peter
works for them and please do not fire him!
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The class
that Peter gave here was a little different than his earlier one. This group has already collected 1,800,000
TZS and filled in their paperwork. They
have had their initial election and are waiting on the co-op office to take
action. Everyone here is hopeful that
their registration will be completed by the end of next month. We hope so, but we have no control over this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXThmrUHeoYkCTBCOmICWPhNW_on-nKZNXNiLXiJB8hPjR1kG-3aIEOW-SfdGP8rD_mCwsRDPSmcN2RNX9c2f4tGOhPoktzyyAxZjeqevPSrys9rWHr-j1W6q8MrMRdJCQxJqXObx9Dng/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXThmrUHeoYkCTBCOmICWPhNW_on-nKZNXNiLXiJB8hPjR1kG-3aIEOW-SfdGP8rD_mCwsRDPSmcN2RNX9c2f4tGOhPoktzyyAxZjeqevPSrys9rWHr-j1W6q8MrMRdJCQxJqXObx9Dng/s320/12.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We waited
while Peter finished his instructions.
Once again there were a lot of questions. The people here are anxious to get
started. As we wait I talked with the chairman
of the group, with the translation help of Pastor Nduye. The chairman wanted to know how they join
Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS and what that means. He is also very interested in
getting some help with marketing of crops, but I explained that marketing is
done with an AMCOS, which will be the next step after the SACCOS has had a few
successful loan cycles. The group served us lunch after Peter finished his
class and we headed for Kanikelele for
our third meeting of the day!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-28318639035038876212017-10-18T10:02:00.000-07:002017-10-18T10:02:43.076-07:00On to Uhambule<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today we were off to the Njombe region to visit our locations
there. The Njombe SACCOS are being
funded by the Western Iowa Synod (WIS) of the ELCA. We currently have three locations for WIS and
are opening a fourth. We have been to Njombe
before, but we have not visited all of these locations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRKU_p4Tzpj1SvL6YIpH-G22UEHqmvsVxgWeSancHy183OVdKqDKf0ZSxwTaA8w8umFEcjbr5wH9BJxEo3igfmxfV6udQo26ZgYstKWoOLRVewgamzMNAeslanpXdWgnTRs4Bau2UAIA/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRKU_p4Tzpj1SvL6YIpH-G22UEHqmvsVxgWeSancHy183OVdKqDKf0ZSxwTaA8w8umFEcjbr5wH9BJxEo3igfmxfV6udQo26ZgYstKWoOLRVewgamzMNAeslanpXdWgnTRs4Bau2UAIA/s200/1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Njombe Region is adjacent to the Iringa Region, and is
usually a fairly smooth four-hour drive
on the paved road heading southwest of Iringa Town. This summer, however, the
road is under construction so we drove on dusty, rough diversions for much of
the way. Uhambule is located another 30 minutes beyond the main road, again on
a dry and dusty dirt road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Uhambule is an old congregation. It was started in 1943 by a German
missionary. It was perhaps the first
Lutheran church in this area. The parish
itself has about 1,100 members with 600 or so at the main church. The pastor here is new, having been ordained
about a year ago. He is very interested
in learning about Iringa Hope and our work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We arrived in Uhambule about 1 PM. We were surprised at how hot it was (about
90). We had<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9yhx1yhFSi3jDUB7fZ5-qazRK0LDoP6saim0TpJKUqO9dH7UhOhj8fWrid1rjlXdDE7cOMpKuSpDkfUz3HQPV9tryQ88jBAj0Y509WVrJadKVOYWSN20HrzM7066kGl31CnD0vArA0M/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim9yhx1yhFSi3jDUB7fZ5-qazRK0LDoP6saim0TpJKUqO9dH7UhOhj8fWrid1rjlXdDE7cOMpKuSpDkfUz3HQPV9tryQ88jBAj0Y509WVrJadKVOYWSN20HrzM7066kGl31CnD0vArA0M/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The chairman greeted Sandy. We have not been here before<br />but we know the officers from training classes in Iringa.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
checked the weather forecast
for Njombe and found that the high was supposed to be about 63. We learned that Uhambule is much lower than
the city of Njombe and therefore much hotter.
The main crops here are maize and sunflowers, but they often have spotty
rains and uneven yields. The area today
was very dry and windy. The dust was
blowing and it was hard to see very far.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The first thing we did was have tea with the officers. The Uhambule SACCOS currently has 61
members. It was just registered and
started making loans with a 1-year term at 2.5% per month. Their members all pay five- months’ worth of
interest “upfront.” This allows them to
make more loans. Tom suggested that they
shorten their lengths to nine or ten months so they have time to collect their
loans, do their book keeping and get ready for their next loan cycle. They thought this might be a good idea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last year they borrowed $7,500 from Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS
(IHJS). Putting these funds together
with their own savings, share sales, etc. they made 44 loans for a total of
$13,000. It looks like they will get
100% repayment this year so, after repaying Iringa Hope plus their expenses
their SACCOS should add about $2,800 to their capital. This year more of their members want loans so
they are hoping to borrow $15,000 from the IHJS.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Following chai we went over to the meeting room to talk with
our members. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There were about 34 people at our meeting – a good turnout
for this size membership. They
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNgMVXgWvO2LLsUs7b3HZfO_M-ZTnuKlaOGbMhTiiVvHCeBLFbwnLiOTW2TlrdCFRuydcnKd8Q3CsTqhJFepoCkTOQmLWwswscgfJYKy9YKJjtb4qcbpzPZl89j46r9eBwWxle251yyM/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGNgMVXgWvO2LLsUs7b3HZfO_M-ZTnuKlaOGbMhTiiVvHCeBLFbwnLiOTW2TlrdCFRuydcnKd8Q3CsTqhJFepoCkTOQmLWwswscgfJYKy9YKJjtb4qcbpzPZl89j46r9eBwWxle251yyM/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Today Gideon gave the lesson on agronomy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
introduced their board, their officers and committee members. The Village government chair was at the meeting. He is very interested in learning more about
Iringa Hope. Peter greeted the members
on behalf of the Micro Finance Institute (MFI), then one by one we introduced
ourselves. Tom gave a short talk about
how Iringa Hope belongs 100% to its members.
He went on to emphasize that <u><b>they </b></u>run their SACCOS and they make
their own decisions. There were a lot of
smiles and proud faces here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today Gideon, the MFI’s agronomy intern, gave the
lesson. Venance, our main </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">agronomist,
had to stay in Iringa to have his tooth pulled and needs to take a few days to
recuperate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As Gideon started his lesson we went next door to talk with Mynesta
Lulenga, the assistant chair. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3ANwKTCgh7q-VlMLweHOZIpTs2cK0b-I1-9H0sRcii5K-1WESG0TrNvShIWUW8owSvMflr931pWk3P61eVlzZF9cv-2rt_CnGd7aywMmQFqGOzSHLj84rcd4TI9n6a0B4yy0OlFd4kQ/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO3ANwKTCgh7q-VlMLweHOZIpTs2cK0b-I1-9H0sRcii5K-1WESG0TrNvShIWUW8owSvMflr931pWk3P61eVlzZF9cv-2rt_CnGd7aywMmQFqGOzSHLj84rcd4TI9n6a0B4yy0OlFd4kQ/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mynesta is
37, married and the mother of two. Her
oldest is just starting secondary school and her youngest is in primary
school. Mynesta farms 2 acres of maize. Last year she borrowed $110 to fertilize her
fields. She told us that her fields did
not get much rain this year so she only harvested 15 bags. The prices here in Njombe are much lower than
in Iringa, which, as you may recall are also quite low. She will only get $15 a bag instead of the
$25 in Iringa. Still, there are tariffs
and shipping costs to send her crop to Iringa so it is better to sell it here
than send it elsewhere. She is starting
to sell her crop now, and thinks she may wind up with a profit of $120 or so.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii30qcD4S_ja2Z8T4NGqpC-M-uVv5blyZNSpUZc0XRfTS2UQQoj3qfLC9ErPCgEkVlCkeRYUq26VAqA0Euh7ozI-rAMu-j3xvugH7J4an7g-OXpENMt7K02ei238GF9A9-Zp7olrErFuM/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii30qcD4S_ja2Z8T4NGqpC-M-uVv5blyZNSpUZc0XRfTS2UQQoj3qfLC9ErPCgEkVlCkeRYUq26VAqA0Euh7ozI-rAMu-j3xvugH7J4an7g-OXpENMt7K02ei238GF9A9-Zp7olrErFuM/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sandy asked her what the SACCOS meant for her and her
family. She told us that two years ago
she could not plant at all. Before that,
she had only occasional harvests and never made much of a profit. This year the $120 that she has earned will
allow her to send her son to secondary school and pay her youngest son’s
fees. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">She went on to tell us that she also thinks that she did not
use enough fertilizer. This is a common problem. People try to save money by using less
fertilizer, not realizing that they lose more in yield than they save in
fertilizer. This coming year she plans
to borrow $150 and use it all on her fields.
She has a great laugh and seems very happy.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADiiYU2TEZPv51v_SFEQ4BHgfqP15A6rBkZhBzfNCWYEKcXS4JEQ1Xi0igXE_GEhyphenhyphenQdcaWfuYuANduhVFUH8rkcH0FnjEBYU86Bh8NwI43mv16-vgbIZiwMGuHH46G68nRrbapSPI0Uk/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhADiiYU2TEZPv51v_SFEQ4BHgfqP15A6rBkZhBzfNCWYEKcXS4JEQ1Xi0igXE_GEhyphenhyphenQdcaWfuYuANduhVFUH8rkcH0FnjEBYU86Bh8NwI43mv16-vgbIZiwMGuHH46G68nRrbapSPI0Uk/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Elisha Mbeni was our next volunteer to be interviewed. He is
67 and married, with 7 children and 11 grandchildren. Elisha has 3 children in
college, and he and his wife are helping them with their college fees. Last year he borrowed $450 to farm his 5
acres of maize. He too says that the
rain he had was not good – but he still got 105 bags of maize. He is selling his cop now and thinks he will
have a $1,100 profit when he has paid all of his expenses. He smiles as he tells us that he will be able
to pay for all of his children’s expenses this year. One of his children completed college, so he
will have only two left to pay for.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">How has Iringa Hope helped him? He was able to buy all of his ag-inputs ahead
of time, so he had them on hand when the rains came. In a season of little rainfall, being able to
plant at the most favorable time made a big difference in yield. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Elisha thanked us for helping his family. We told him that thanks are due to the people
of the WIS. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When we went back to the meeting, Gideon was just finishing
his class. This is the first time we
have seen Gideon present a class and he seems to connect well with the people
in the class. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWxYnbiGsHh1zJc6ZFtUSZrLLF_wqF28gO-SrEARYitWEUOfCyzq3vcts26fPkcxTNzP2XUg9jVWnmIputaiFZKTvnxxpBDQ0WGhNewFC9LQdrsSoObID67SS7qh4Zqol3QVP6usT654/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisWxYnbiGsHh1zJc6ZFtUSZrLLF_wqF28gO-SrEARYitWEUOfCyzq3vcts26fPkcxTNzP2XUg9jVWnmIputaiFZKTvnxxpBDQ0WGhNewFC9LQdrsSoObID67SS7qh4Zqol3QVP6usT654/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before we left everyone went outside for a picture.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The chairman asked us to be seated for the presentation of a
gift. Mynesta started beating a drum and
the women started to dance and sing.
“Thanks for the SACCOS. We will
grow our SACCOS,” were the words that were repeated while they danced. When the drumming stopped and the women
brought us a gift of eggs and a special type of salt that is from here (it has
minerals in it and is supposed to be good for your heart.).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJm-VOpsmDIhQRyCTea_SChZ8FPZo7l0jX5pznW_EHWuckkGki1wXQkoVEgyyT_5QC9Nfihy4rNEyI7lgbV1uMkPow7FhlkPq2UbUBw2QUtZ4BYP80OcOsKYrP40nsIKTNIGxuBcl3ros/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJm-VOpsmDIhQRyCTea_SChZ8FPZo7l0jX5pznW_EHWuckkGki1wXQkoVEgyyT_5QC9Nfihy4rNEyI7lgbV1uMkPow7FhlkPq2UbUBw2QUtZ4BYP80OcOsKYrP40nsIKTNIGxuBcl3ros/s200/9.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We had lunch at the pastor’s house, then loaded up the car and
went to our hotel in the town of Njombe.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-5243437830417743752017-10-17T09:14:00.000-07:002017-10-17T09:14:07.821-07:00Today it’s Kitapalimwa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today we were
at Kitapalimwa. Kitapalimwa is a short
30 minutes northwest of Iringa, on a dusty road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4L-62KvhJ8cj4_HKm0xvajZj0aBUGcwqoyXBS9EhJE_JVjVvmUwXNGCTCfKT7UfcMyqPON4_lnMm3Hqp5ovVTQKeBQjUhictIW5ydIjFN63zqO8fRr5Uq70C85NEcypw_66N0wni-Os/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4L-62KvhJ8cj4_HKm0xvajZj0aBUGcwqoyXBS9EhJE_JVjVvmUwXNGCTCfKT7UfcMyqPON4_lnMm3Hqp5ovVTQKeBQjUhictIW5ydIjFN63zqO8fRr5Uq70C85NEcypw_66N0wni-Os/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">When we
arrived Kitapalimwa members were already gathering in our meeting room.</span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">There are a </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI4L-62KvhJ8cj4_HKm0xvajZj0aBUGcwqoyXBS9EhJE_JVjVvmUwXNGCTCfKT7UfcMyqPON4_lnMm3Hqp5ovVTQKeBQjUhictIW5ydIjFN63zqO8fRr5Uq70C85NEcypw_66N0wni-Os/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">few children playing in front of
the building and some goats and donkeys wandering around. The treasurer greeted us, then invited us into
the pastor’s house for chai. The
chairman wanted to give the members a little more time to arrive before we
start. The day was hot and the room was
getting hotter as we sat having tea. Tom
decided that tea was the wrong drink for a hot day. There are almost no trees and the ground is
dusty and dry. </span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">During our
conversation the treasurer supplied us with some of their SACCOS
information. There are 38 members here,
an increase of 3 from last year. There
are 8 more working on joining so they expect to have 46 by the end of the
year. The membership is split evenly
between men and women. They do not yet
have an AMCOS but they are working on forming one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last year they borrowed $15,000 from Iringa Hope to add to
their capital. They lent $23,000 to
their members with an average loan of $500.
They are charging 3% per month and had 100% repayment. When we visited them last year they told us
that there were two other loan programs in their village. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8shhQ1Aq7r0RV1NoNS3v3UNFLljHqgTzobCHe3wSd5pUG2SdNYIOBNRCX_ZujcM-r17Imk5pjnKBNA9dr2ak7XXT7wDI_Z-9fy45-u6SatmkLlIXRmwDNuUpgg-x6dwn4RH3Su0p3JkU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8shhQ1Aq7r0RV1NoNS3v3UNFLljHqgTzobCHe3wSd5pUG2SdNYIOBNRCX_ZujcM-r17Imk5pjnKBNA9dr2ak7XXT7wDI_Z-9fy45-u6SatmkLlIXRmwDNuUpgg-x6dwn4RH3Su0p3JkU/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Apparently they have both closed now so Iringa
Hope is the only one left.</span></h4>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We went to
the meeting room to get things started. There
were 26 people here for the meeting, a good turnout for this location. They introduced their board members,
officers, and advisers. We extended our
greetings, Venance started his class, and we went outdoors to start our
interviews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsuFkKoc6DSXnkV0Azrox0F4xE57k-cvevekiDHogLq5axdUlXtrCjVulr6xgexdP8TgD89zz1ScA04jbqWNGa6EkdoXQ6TdkBf2viJlMbnVigUQlmj4qke578JViSdSrbjwo4_LeAgRk/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsuFkKoc6DSXnkV0Azrox0F4xE57k-cvevekiDHogLq5axdUlXtrCjVulr6xgexdP8TgD89zz1ScA04jbqWNGa6EkdoXQ6TdkBf2viJlMbnVigUQlmj4qke578JViSdSrbjwo4_LeAgRk/s200/3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The people
here at Kitapalimwa always have interesting things to tell us and today is no
exception. Yudota Sanga, age 44, is
married and the mother of six and grandmother to three. She has been a SACCOS
member for three years. She uses her loans
to farm her 7 acres. Since she has been
able to borrow she has hired laborers to help in her fields and used fertilizer
and hybrid seeds. She tells us that
before she joined Iringa Hope she had trouble planting her fields and could not
fertilize them so her harvest was poor.
School fees were difficult to pay.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sanga’s
first loan was for $250. She made a good
profit that year (she does not recall how much), enough to send three of her
children to secondary school and one to university.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp894aYAXrIkkhtOh3i8zMl5_nQYpETclNHnU9mcHn7__fGHXpqx7KpUPGF2G-vl-CilB8tyxKmJ-DxK6ZxitqpndjbTx9iYmSSFN_un9_gkAlXfoF8oIrEO4g6dtNiw-CfjzQ2w393nc/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp894aYAXrIkkhtOh3i8zMl5_nQYpETclNHnU9mcHn7__fGHXpqx7KpUPGF2G-vl-CilB8tyxKmJ-DxK6ZxitqpndjbTx9iYmSSFN_un9_gkAlXfoF8oIrEO4g6dtNiw-CfjzQ2w393nc/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The second
loan she got was for $300. Once again
she earned a good profit and was able to pay all of the children’s school fees,
her son’s college tuition, and still had enough to increase her savings and
improve her household.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her last
loan was for $300. She planted 6 acres
in maize and 1 acre in tomatoes. She is
now selling her maize crop. The tomato
crop was good, but the prices were so low she is letting them rot in the field
(we have heard this elsewhere). When she
has sold all of her crop she will have made a $2,000 profit! She tells us that this is about what she has
been earning since she started with Iringa Hope. It is enough to send all of the children to
school, improve her household, save some money, and maybe have a little left
over. She tells us that whatever she
earns she always spends on her children first.
Everything else can come later she says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cIEEZlUQLvra3ssduRbAVfSQ6fTcjk1XqoQu4Cn9hEAFO3yfElxOxs5Dao0wGxH0_GS1_O2krpZAch3LtyN5Rm2s25TX20hn5M6I6Nubpa9dqZHSVSVAq46bV1qW1kb05eR5AUveLWY/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_cIEEZlUQLvra3ssduRbAVfSQ6fTcjk1XqoQu4Cn9hEAFO3yfElxOxs5Dao0wGxH0_GS1_O2krpZAch3LtyN5Rm2s25TX20hn5M6I6Nubpa9dqZHSVSVAq46bV1qW1kb05eR5AUveLWY/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Oscar Kotika
was our next interviewee. Oscar is 24
and a rarity among our members. We very
seldom meet an unmarried man. Sandy asks
him if he plans to get married. “Yes” he
said, “But first I want to build a house so I have a good place for my wife and
children.” He is a man with a plan!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Oscar has
been a member here for two years. He has
built his savings up to $150. His first
loan was for $450. He used this to buy
seed, fertilizer, and rent eight acres of land for raising maize and
tomatoes. From the five acres of maize
he harvested 118 bags, for a profit of $1,700.
His tomato crop was good, but the
market for tomatoes in Iringa was poor.
After selling that crop of tomatoes he took his earnings to Morogoro,
rented four acres of land and planted another crop of tomatoes there, because
the Morogoro market is more favorable for tomatoes. (There is a problem with shipping to
international markets from Iringa so Morogoro often has better tomato prices.) His
total profit from his two tomato crops was about $1500. He used his profit to buy an acre of land and
start building a house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last year he
again borrowed $450 for ag-inputs. He planted 5 acres of maize and 2 acres of
tomatoes. Oscar, like many of the
farmers we have heard from this year, said that rainfall was poor and his crops
suffered. His timing on his tomato crop helped him, so he was able to make
enough money off tomatoes to pay back his loan. Compared to last year’s 118
bags of maize from five acres, this year he harvested only 40 bags from five
acres. He is holding on to the maize to sell when market prices are higher. If
he can sell for 80,000 TZS per bag, which many farmers predict will be the
price by December, he will see a profit of 3,200,000TZS or about $1600. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHk7gFBUMYmNNrXr7N4I94aob7uhDE6z9RBLQ65FVB2a4dOSXq-ZMxuSLLwe9P2U8Qzbs08WEzpYOyT24rHUy6fvvczGWaLGNqGqAaMlU2EhrsAkUJtjXZlc0ZiB6B7ZFcgqaaDhe3rI/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIHk7gFBUMYmNNrXr7N4I94aob7uhDE6z9RBLQ65FVB2a4dOSXq-ZMxuSLLwe9P2U8Qzbs08WEzpYOyT24rHUy6fvvczGWaLGNqGqAaMlU2EhrsAkUJtjXZlc0ZiB6B7ZFcgqaaDhe3rI/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tom is once
again giving candy out to kids. When he
gives to a few, more seem to come out of no-where. He took some pictures of
them so they could see for themselves what they look like. They were highly entertained by the wuzungus
(white people) and Sandy had several of them check out her white skin, in
apparent wonderment that skin could be that color. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On our way
back to Iringa we dropped Venance off at the dentist to see what they could do about
his toothache. (They are going to pull
it tomorrow so he will not be going with us for a few days). We stopped in at the Micro Finance office at
the university and came upon a meeting of church leaders. The Bishop waved us over to greet us. He told us that Iringa Hope is famous among
the various churches in Tanzania. He said the President of Tanzania wanted to meet us and wondered if we had time? (Probably not this year)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbhFRjZbHoBjwW-3Cd5JutECDCx20eer7Xpmi7ZscGe-yw7nmVScA7ZfOGr78XdR_SuYhCJORXWIUGvVEJiS1fEgNYMkyXdxo_mbOfkxlY25FDajxYbGWdv7aRKShfKxvheWlawh6PpM/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="866" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbhFRjZbHoBjwW-3Cd5JutECDCx20eer7Xpmi7ZscGe-yw7nmVScA7ZfOGr78XdR_SuYhCJORXWIUGvVEJiS1fEgNYMkyXdxo_mbOfkxlY25FDajxYbGWdv7aRKShfKxvheWlawh6PpM/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We talked
with a few of the many friends that we have in the Diocese then headed
home. Tomorrow we leave for Njombe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-17469834774801111542017-10-16T11:14:00.001-07:002017-10-16T11:14:33.841-07:00On to Ihemi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The SACCOS
at Ihemi was the first one started using the Iringa Hope constitution, training
procedures, etc. That was in 2008, two
years before we started the Micro Finance Institute at the University. Today Ihemi is one of the largest, and
arguably one of the best run SACCOS in our network. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOyFVOZkXI-VlnI7MjchiNVJlbvIWunJeS4RIidTI6Kgm3XNai3LVm0xsXuTxwL-V5CL_q2Oaray508qAELtvWFzn3xIENoXFcpP0U0zyMaJCg8_u4l6bod9n55Vv1L8OqbFP3r07_2g/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOyFVOZkXI-VlnI7MjchiNVJlbvIWunJeS4RIidTI6Kgm3XNai3LVm0xsXuTxwL-V5CL_q2Oaray508qAELtvWFzn3xIENoXFcpP0U0zyMaJCg8_u4l6bod9n55Vv1L8OqbFP3r07_2g/s200/1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trees are in bloom along the way<br />back to Ihemi.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ihemi is on
our way back to Iringa, just south of the highway. We have been coming here
since 2001 so we know many, of the people. With three funerals in the parish
today, they would have liked to reschedule, but we had to stick with our
schedule. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The SACCOS
treasurer met us outside the SACOS office and invited us in to look at their
records. Ihemi SACCOs now has 130 members – about 85% of whom belong to the
Ihemi congregation. They have made a
profit every year since they started in 2008.
Their loan repayment rate is 100%.
Last year they borrowed $30,000 from the IHJS and, together with their
capital, they made loans to 101 of their members. Their average loan last year was $600. Their average profit was $1,470. A few other statistics that they provided are
–<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Their
members used their profits to send over 320 children to school including 160 to
secondary<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAaO5FCgA35nBoEzoINxy52IJa1o5iVYfFkZ1HWX565mpVtENwoUhb05Y6NmAMx31NzXl4s9sIF82KdST9xQR7FWVGK6au50PDhgUOYaadIpRDGd0v2UVsF2kvj9F3K4ERxjx85uhSM0/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAaO5FCgA35nBoEzoINxy52IJa1o5iVYfFkZ1HWX565mpVtENwoUhb05Y6NmAMx31NzXl4s9sIF82KdST9xQR7FWVGK6au50PDhgUOYaadIpRDGd0v2UVsF2kvj9F3K4ERxjx85uhSM0/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ihemi SACCOS is located in<br />the building we built for a flour mill.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
school, 40 to University or trade school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Their
members donated $11,600 to the church.
(This represents well over half of all donations in the parish)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Most
of the members have now build brick homes with metal roofs. This is a change from when the SACCOS was
started; at that time almost all of the members lived in mud homes with thatched
roofs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<h4 style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today the general meeting was held in
the church since the meeting hall where we normally meet had been invaded by
bees. Along the way we stopped at a long
building that was built by the Germans for a training center. The Germans build this a number of years ago,
then seemed to lose interest and never started the school. Last year Tom had suggested that they re-purpose this building as an AMCOS warehouse. Today the SACCOS
officers wanted to </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAM-UuoP3zc6NK-EDe0VMWC7jTQsmyt1kJW-6ARu-EIRW9FeWS4W2R5z0O0G75qSeRcWzZ-aNfdAzTZvwvMkU7EMn30aTzHbe4acoT9SS5buF81dqp6VATl9hr6btenTsnJY_CSUsTHFo/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAM-UuoP3zc6NK-EDe0VMWC7jTQsmyt1kJW-6ARu-EIRW9FeWS4W2R5z0O0G75qSeRcWzZ-aNfdAzTZvwvMkU7EMn30aTzHbe4acoT9SS5buF81dqp6VATl9hr6btenTsnJY_CSUsTHFo/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">show us that they had indeed “re-purposed” the building. There are 148 sacks of maize in storage waiting
for prices to go up. They are planning
on adding another hundred bags. They
have also started work on registering their AMCOS.</span></span></h4>
<h4 style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span></h4>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There were only 22 members who made
it to the meeting. Some of them plan to go to the funeral when the meeting
is over. (Funerals last a good part of
the day here.) Today we stayed at the
class, so we got to hear (but not understand) Venance’s class. Members were
attentive and many were taking a lot of notes.
When Venance invited questions, there were several, and much discussion
by the group. When the class was over, Sandy and I were asked to address the
members. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLWu8wRh2yr0D0JHVdsO44ICVQz-XlDKsbfS1NsRtLsOk51SowkLzrHTgS9AxM-XQ9t0THrKEXBraKdcjolVPM_6SW7Db0QUSkwhuTRR2e2aOmhDqBYAL_9X3Sms90h4tsTLtwx9by3c/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGLWu8wRh2yr0D0JHVdsO44ICVQz-XlDKsbfS1NsRtLsOk51SowkLzrHTgS9AxM-XQ9t0THrKEXBraKdcjolVPM_6SW7Db0QUSkwhuTRR2e2aOmhDqBYAL_9X3Sms90h4tsTLtwx9by3c/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today our interviews were done after
everyone else in the class had left. The
first member we talked to was Isaiah Sanga, 49, married with 4 children. Since he has been a member here since 2008
Sandy decided to change her questions.
She asked him to tell her what his life was like BEFORE joining the
SACCOS and what it was like now. Here is
what he told us –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“I started by saving $50 the first
year. I now have $300 in savings. The changes are –<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When I joined the SACCOS we lived in a three-room mud hut with a thatched roof. I now have a five room brick home with electricity and a metal roof. We
used to eat ugali, beans, and vegetables; now we eat ugali, rice, vegetables, fruit,
and have meat every week. Then I farmed
one acre, now I own and farm five acres and employ three men part time. My
oldest child will be starting college, while my two middle children are in
secondary and the youngest is in primary.
Without SACCOS I would have had a hard time paying for their school.
Then I walked everywhere or rode a bicycle. Now I
own a motorcycle."<u><o:p></o:p></u></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 3.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3.5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He went on to say that his last loan
was for $300. He farmed potatoes and
maize. So far he has sold his potatoes
and is storing his maize to sell later.
He expects that he will earn a $1,100 profit this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCa4aI_8m1bMUoy5XX-4GO9cb8IiezZWQmskH4HustF-EnJ16CizKAqDboE3bqwqZBJfGSHZJDllnc8wXw9KrkQo1Tp1QABhBLPGuP822Uw_vR3BLxy739PjUBcalIzZ1xaAgRjQaJvM/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWCa4aI_8m1bMUoy5XX-4GO9cb8IiezZWQmskH4HustF-EnJ16CizKAqDboE3bqwqZBJfGSHZJDllnc8wXw9KrkQo1Tp1QABhBLPGuP822Uw_vR3BLxy739PjUBcalIzZ1xaAgRjQaJvM/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sandy next talked with Happy Kyamba,
46 and married with 4 children and 4 orphans who are living with them. She has been a member of the SACCOS since it
began in 2008. She told us that she and
her husband originally saved $25. Her
first loan was for $100 which she used to open a door to door clothing
business. Since then she has taken out
loans every year to build her business.
She covers a wide area selling clothes and sometimes her son transports
her on the family motorcycle. Soon he
will be unable to help, however, because she will be sending him to the university.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Happy told us that she also has used her
profits to build a house for her mother.
Her mother had been living in a two-room mud hut so she built
her a four-room brick house. Her plans
for future profits include building a 12-room guest that she will be able to
rent.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When our interviews were concluded we
were invited to the pastor’s house for lunch.
One of the cooks and hostesses today was a friend’s daughter whom we
have watched grow up. She will soon be a
first-year theology student at the University of Iringa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxA0-ZFUWTAuufjhVVoAH0LqqsPQdSU_8RjZPrCfR6nW5keLP4Er4GO4YcA9gKgvtFNsqsjatXlJPuVCk5y29_2WqdyM7HxY6BmPa7cwByY8fEAlnpbCi7p1XfR8DNq4xPc1QRt0riYCM/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxA0-ZFUWTAuufjhVVoAH0LqqsPQdSU_8RjZPrCfR6nW5keLP4Er4GO4YcA9gKgvtFNsqsjatXlJPuVCk5y29_2WqdyM7HxY6BmPa7cwByY8fEAlnpbCi7p1XfR8DNq4xPc1QRt0riYCM/s320/8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As we were leaving Mama Mbembe came
to say how happy she was that we came.
She is the widow of the pastor who welcomed us here in 2001, and she has
been greeting us each time we come to Ihemi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 3.5in; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3.5in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-26950905034534872742017-10-16T10:34:00.001-07:002017-10-16T10:34:48.337-07:00Kiponzelo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yesterday the chairmen of Kiponzelo and Ihemi called Peter
Silayo, our Field Agent, and asked if we might reschedule our meetings for
today. It seems the government announced
that they were awarding deeds to land around the houses in Kiponzelo today and
the members of the SACCOS had to stand in line to get their deeds! Meanwhile the chairman at Ihemi told us that
there had been 3 deaths – the wife of one of the SACCOS members, a member of
the Ihemi congregation, and a well-known man from the village. Funerals here are always held promptly so
there would be three funerals on Monday that most of the members needed to
attend. We decided to go ahead with the
meeting as planned, since our schedule doesn’t have any “wiggle room,” allowing
those who were available to attend the meeting and Venance’s class.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLNf-eqbsi00p3PCox_wlw76nFrzhih4RVaop0aiCJZCYpbsLoKY5im64ehGhZxY1m0fZ6EHGptvmDsKOJqzEDjKhmEutF8EYgPXyBlk0II81XpkgX1Fj9OqVJR7S0y8qAOkkwO7xEoM/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="532" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjLNf-eqbsi00p3PCox_wlw76nFrzhih4RVaop0aiCJZCYpbsLoKY5im64ehGhZxY1m0fZ6EHGptvmDsKOJqzEDjKhmEutF8EYgPXyBlk0II81XpkgX1Fj9OqVJR7S0y8qAOkkwO7xEoM/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Kiponzelo is 40 miles west of Iringa, the first 32 miles on
the highway another 8 miles on a “good” dirt road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As we drove up we saw lines formed at the government center,
waiting for their deeds. Getting deeds to land is a new thing here; most of the
homes in the villages do not have deeds for the land around their homes, so
getting one is indeed a big deal. They don’t hold deeds to the land they farm
either, and would be able to get those today as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The SACCOS usually meets in the government building, but
since it was busy issuing deeds, we had to meet in the rather small
SACCOS office. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We expected attendance to be
low, so we would all crowd in.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Kiponzelo
has 92 members and we would</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfGYlj3lq_6cntLXV8QDp7ttNxF68QYlWpI52e9dO5PZ5fLUjpoEdSr9ikBt1hyw7_MpMMMQZHqyl0aKAW3YGvA7i4ahlmCp_zqj5u0o10NMJj9quSONnNDQ9GjPMkwu11wNAK4OhTbw/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfGYlj3lq_6cntLXV8QDp7ttNxF68QYlWpI52e9dO5PZ5fLUjpoEdSr9ikBt1hyw7_MpMMMQZHqyl0aKAW3YGvA7i4ahlmCp_zqj5u0o10NMJj9quSONnNDQ9GjPMkwu11wNAK4OhTbw/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
normally expect a little over half of them on a
week day.<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">With the government meeting
taking place we wound up with 19 at our meeting, with some coming in late,
after receiving their deeds.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We were
reminded about how many Tanzanians can fit in a room – always one more!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The chairman here has had a motorcycle accident and could not
come. He has asked if we would please
stop by his house so he might greet us.
Since he is not here the Secretary starts the meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last year the Kiponzelo SACCOS lent its members $11,000;
using $5,000 of its own capital and $6,000 they borrowed from Iringa Hope. With this capital they made 46 loans, leaving
40 people who had applied but received nothing. This year they hope to borrow
$12,000 from Iringa Hope so they can give loans to more members. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The chairman of the SACCOS had a motorcycle accident in
September, and couldn’t attend, so the secretary opened the meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03ievcHqxlHooYB9cbUJ-Utp7RrTgYF2gfXKQxSvTTahNwqKSmlg8NrXM7fKVmb3leCJ6h6C78mC6kL7F6OW-wk02_Cw5cE0ype27teuHr1mOS2Gtbz2z64K9HOApzyKdk_Ei4trY7YA/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg03ievcHqxlHooYB9cbUJ-Utp7RrTgYF2gfXKQxSvTTahNwqKSmlg8NrXM7fKVmb3leCJ6h6C78mC6kL7F6OW-wk02_Cw5cE0ype27teuHr1mOS2Gtbz2z64K9HOApzyKdk_Ei4trY7YA/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After opening remarks and introductions, we left the office
and held our interviews outside. First up
was Msafiri Kavindi, 38 and married with two children. Msafiri has been a member here for two years
now. He joined after he heard from some
other members how they had prospered from their loans. After joining Msafiri saved $90 at the
SACCOS. He then made a plan and applied
for a loan of $150. With these funds he
planted and fertilized ½ acre of carrots.
His carrot crop was very good and he earned a profit of $1,000. He used these funds to buy a motorcycle (he
paid part now and will pay part later) so he could take his crops to Iringa
town for a better price. He also
increased his savings to $330 and paid his children’s school fees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He has now applied for a loan of $500. He plans to rent some more land and plant ½
acre of carrots, ½ acre of eggplant, ½ acre of peas, and ¼ acre of
peppers. If he gets a normal crop he
thinks he will easily pay off the rest of his motorcycle, pay his son’s
secondary school fees, and be able to buy the land he is renting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPUsv3aYQGZ1VFWtBPmiJEQJXa5jaEbNpFcQuP_goJ4m3ql8JXnnzC8L9wa69stQPx7uSQVVLmrmOu8w-He9JAW-TPAuwv6l_JcplQsZ1hjNa8Iy-CPEq9fvOPNLlO7krXTXxc74P9C4/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkPUsv3aYQGZ1VFWtBPmiJEQJXa5jaEbNpFcQuP_goJ4m3ql8JXnnzC8L9wa69stQPx7uSQVVLmrmOu8w-He9JAW-TPAuwv6l_JcplQsZ1hjNa8Iy-CPEq9fvOPNLlO7krXTXxc74P9C4/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next up was Regina Bangi, 38 and married with 3 children;
Regina has her 3 year old with her today.
Whenever he sees us white folks he starts crying. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Regina has been a SACCOS member for 3 years and she has taken
out two loans. Her first loan was for
$200. She used it to buy fertilizer for
her 2 acres of maize and 1 acre of sunflowers.
The maize did very well, but the sunflowers did poorly. Still, when she had sold her crop, paid her
loan, and all of her expenses she had earned a profit of $450. With this she paid the school fees for her
two older children and increased her savings a little.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9iCfFyduQlF-51lclVFuA2pi0E5-KLNwtCZcq8FoPjdkSaJorDz4urBKmkb9-3HVnEOrOJHZMJNCZv-6bh_tldvHRS52GiEHBAnKP4m-2pMGRLwkmExsLv9LOEGUOPnCtZqekYUR_3E/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm9iCfFyduQlF-51lclVFuA2pi0E5-KLNwtCZcq8FoPjdkSaJorDz4urBKmkb9-3HVnEOrOJHZMJNCZv-6bh_tldvHRS52GiEHBAnKP4m-2pMGRLwkmExsLv9LOEGUOPnCtZqekYUR_3E/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The second loan she took out was also for $200. The crops this year's were not as good, but she
will still make a profit. She thinks
that when she has paid back her loan she will probably earn $400 or so. She, like many of the farmers we have
interviewed, is waiting for the maize prices to increase before she sells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">She hopes to borrow more this year. She thinks that she can do better by improving
her farming practices and is very interested in Venance’s classes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YzJxHETP0nATLTId_2J-mcGm9QGGvqrugKklHm1cagEaTlpZ72bOBROJOoMlrd3_hFH31Vky3mg9Wt3uDoWnKEIXM95k4OhVhFFPLpkCVLh5mgf7qrWzILYW59NjV54V6dHN9yf575Q/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="525" data-original-width="788" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8YzJxHETP0nATLTId_2J-mcGm9QGGvqrugKklHm1cagEaTlpZ72bOBROJOoMlrd3_hFH31Vky3mg9Wt3uDoWnKEIXM95k4OhVhFFPLpkCVLh5mgf7qrWzILYW59NjV54V6dHN9yf575Q/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The SACCOS chair has asked if we would please stop by his
house so he might greet us. He pulled
out his x-rays for us to see. He has
broken his shoulder in 3 places and fractured his elbow in two places. He will most likely be at home for a month or
two. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After greeting him and wishing him a speedy recovery we left
for our meeting at Ihemi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-28162321548620034972017-10-15T10:41:00.000-07:002017-10-15T10:41:12.305-07:00Usokami<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This morning we went to church at our new partner parish,
Usokami. We have joined a second church
in Minnesota so in addition to our long time partner pairsh of Ihemi we now
have a second partner parish of Usokami!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG54oU3qWkg9Fe1REAdTJCez4fbHqjKSGr5BRdEkJktOA7T5b26kE2nN7QwW_e6w7l7JCAj4L7sWYjO1iZk5OvQ92esvG3Ip1zrfoUjX9rdISj-GnFHbbjGMoyihDEarANUZ__09xK518/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG54oU3qWkg9Fe1REAdTJCez4fbHqjKSGr5BRdEkJktOA7T5b26kE2nN7QwW_e6w7l7JCAj4L7sWYjO1iZk5OvQ92esvG3Ip1zrfoUjX9rdISj-GnFHbbjGMoyihDEarANUZ__09xK518/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Usokami is located 64 miles from Iringa. The first half hour of the drive is down the
tarmac towards Ihemi. Shortly before you
get there you turn onto a gravel road and head south. About 90 minutes later you will arrive at
Usokami. The drive is a pretty one,
passing through trees, open spaces, and fields.
The road is pretty good – much better than we have been driving on
lately.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Leaving at 7 AM we have arrived at Usokami at 9. We know the new pastor here – he is an old
friend of ours from Ugesa, Pastor Pascal Fyataga. He is a very inspirational leader, but he
does not speak any English so we have brought along another friend of ours,
Pastor John Mhekwa, to translate for us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15UT03WX08wVSWZ3H9wFNFd_Vlm-4dNbec3KSzsxFpjHJv3J0xTt6CcW8LrOMiRRR-scQbwh9Pk2vLTxaWlaZ03fle7PikrouxI88euXlik6U9kiXD61A0VNv9MFVdSugUs9aYvjOrVA/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg15UT03WX08wVSWZ3H9wFNFd_Vlm-4dNbec3KSzsxFpjHJv3J0xTt6CcW8LrOMiRRR-scQbwh9Pk2vLTxaWlaZ03fle7PikrouxI88euXlik6U9kiXD61A0VNv9MFVdSugUs9aYvjOrVA/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When we got out of our car a group of children and some mamas
came running over. It’s a children’s
choir that is singing us a welcome song.
In the background we can hear the congregation singing some songs. Soon there are a few musicians joining the
children and the dancing begins. Pastor
Fyataga gave us a huge smile, hugged us, and told us how happy he was that we
were there. He and his family have been living in Usokami for 18 months.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pascal invited us in for chai and said the people of his
congregation would have a good time singing while they waited for us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbAx_WhfDpFeF0x51mnquhAO7rtkK9RSvTmKdLHaG0DDZPUxiU0yjoBAya9pdyftFPpdrObCkxrWCMcNE8X3u3Av410dudcyCG2ynYVQ6djemyIJgYOceV2ofJ5TXLOnpaoxeORESj4k/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYbAx_WhfDpFeF0x51mnquhAO7rtkK9RSvTmKdLHaG0DDZPUxiU0yjoBAya9pdyftFPpdrObCkxrWCMcNE8X3u3Av410dudcyCG2ynYVQ6djemyIJgYOceV2ofJ5TXLOnpaoxeORESj4k/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Sandy taking the picture there are (left to right)<br />Tom, mama Pascal, Pastor Pascal, Pastor Mhekwa,<br />and the church secretary.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Some places chai is just that – tea. Today, along with sweetened tea, chai
consisted of eggs, chapatis, and mandazi (fry bread). After chai Pastor Fyataga gave us a tour of
the new parsonage. It is nearly
complete. He proudly told us that the
people at our new church, Family of Christ, had sent the funds for this and
some other projects. The members of the
church have been making the bricks and doing the work on the building so the
only cost has been to buy materials. It
is a nice house with a large meeting area for him to host with, several large
bedrooms, including one for guests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A choir lined up to lead the procession into the church. The procession became quite long, with some
dancing figures and</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeXZl5dWp2aZ0EWg_19gLA0-R4Wh2vUpyMO57kA2-TXglVntUNR1r2ajiKx-D2JggdPesHwCloVm7llzZdVSXdmDKtGuHeKMArJ7e5PX2xfoomiIUdsnWIZvEYv4PFliDR09LNsLZwoU/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeXZl5dWp2aZ0EWg_19gLA0-R4Wh2vUpyMO57kA2-TXglVntUNR1r2ajiKx-D2JggdPesHwCloVm7llzZdVSXdmDKtGuHeKMArJ7e5PX2xfoomiIUdsnWIZvEYv4PFliDR09LNsLZwoU/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;"> instrumentalists, which were mainly percussion, but also a
retired evangelist with a guitar. When
we were touring the house, Pascal asked Tom if he would preach today. Never one to decline an opportunity to speak
without interruption, Tom accepted the invitation. So he preached. </span></h4>
<br />
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The church is pretty full, and unlike in Minnesota, late comers
sit in the back. The front pews filled
up first. The congregation, including
members of one of the preaching points had turned out to welcome us. The youth choir sang and danced, the first
versus of Psalm 1 were read, followed by a </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBtNUrrHSdYdyHNH5bvQioBQ21G9P96tJDKyf8mMwk1-VGZPAzxQ9jlXsK2PnQeiw6-dLmQDD3CNDF4Ih0QaONzdXgs6mQ7zSAg0nzN-6FbNweD77wJB-LYgX2VQBjQS3BMWLGwOdHzE/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKBtNUrrHSdYdyHNH5bvQioBQ21G9P96tJDKyf8mMwk1-VGZPAzxQ9jlXsK2PnQeiw6-dLmQDD3CNDF4Ih0QaONzdXgs6mQ7zSAg0nzN-6FbNweD77wJB-LYgX2VQBjQS3BMWLGwOdHzE/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">lengthy liturgy, a second lesson
from 1<sup>st</sup> John, and then another choir! All of the evangelists were in attendance and
were introduced to us, along with the church leaders. Usokami, like most churches here, has a main
church where the Pastor lives and several preaching points where evangelists
live and hold services. An evangelist is
someone trained by the pastors, and maybe having some classwork, who supports a
congregation that is too small for a full time pastor. </span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">These preaching points will gradually grow in
size until they are large enough to support and pastor at which point they
become a new parish.</span></span></h4>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Usokami has 6 preaching points. There are 4 men and 2 women evangelists. They all welcome us and say they hope that we
can visit their preaching points some time.
The pastor tells us that all of these preaching points now have churches
with roofs thanks to the gifts from Family of Christ. However one of the preaching points has grown
so much that they are starting to build a larger church there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Following the introductions, it was our turn to get up and
give remarks. Tom went first, greeting
everyone from Family of Christ. He
talked a little about the work we do in Iringa, and mentioned our long
association with the pastor. There was
lots of clapping and cheering. Then
Sandy got up. Sandy knows a lot more
Swahili that Tom does. While Tom’s greeting
was very short, Sandy gave a long greeting in Swahili – everyone laughed and
clapped and hooted for her. She went on
to tell everyone why we are here and then told the story of how we first met
Pascal. He laughed along with everyone
else. She was clearly a hit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gy6CWdi0TV49WIZSYbS7yNdNi99_JkjdrY5JiA5xZlE3eZC_x4WYKInYei_DaS4fPbjMyL0Z4CKz16DWUHwCF-hmWAFU6QTptGmQaIkG7ntzJKJYSoRQwhRjgUK_LZVwV30DQpSADcE/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2gy6CWdi0TV49WIZSYbS7yNdNi99_JkjdrY5JiA5xZlE3eZC_x4WYKInYei_DaS4fPbjMyL0Z4CKz16DWUHwCF-hmWAFU6QTptGmQaIkG7ntzJKJYSoRQwhRjgUK_LZVwV30DQpSADcE/s200/7.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">For his sermon Tom’s topic was “Who is my neighbor?” Pastor Mhekwa read the text on the Good
Samaritan from Luke 10. The sermon, including interpreting lasted about 40
minutes, which in the US may seem like a long sermon, but folks here are used to an
hour or more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today there were two offerings. People process up and around
the offering plate and put in their offerings.
Then there was a baptism. Gaspar
Lulenga was baptized today. He was very
cute and made not a sound when his head was splashed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Then there was communion, more singing, and gifts! The congregation gave us some very pretty
</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8P-pu4KiNM0UB1LP8SGVmI8nwlHV1O013sD6poeJnM8p1B7haShQwiuWQRJj8JZu4KwCYlpDj_p2xuSlZqvXAuW_Lhzzm47u0ifSN54yVfo2ZZ-JHIAsRnrXviJHaStj2Gp1T6exd8So/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8P-pu4KiNM0UB1LP8SGVmI8nwlHV1O013sD6poeJnM8p1B7haShQwiuWQRJj8JZu4KwCYlpDj_p2xuSlZqvXAuW_Lhzzm47u0ifSN54yVfo2ZZ-JHIAsRnrXviJHaStj2Gp1T6exd8So/s320/9.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">congas and baskets. The congas had to be
danced up and draped over us, then a song and dance took place in front of the
altar. They presented baskets, one for
us and the remainder for Family of Christ.</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Finally, the service was over – it was a normal 3 hour
Tanzanian service, but it seemed much shorter than this. Today there were some offerings “in kind” so
there was an auction on the steps. There
was corn and peas and rice and beans that were being auctioned off. Tom bid high for some peas and potatoes for
Pastor Pascal and some peas for Pastor Mhekwa. Proceeds from the auction go to
the church, so a high bid is always welcome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After the auction the group sang and danced with us back to
the pastor’s house for lunch with the parish deacons, evangelists, secretary
and pastors. During lunch we learned a
little more about the congregation.
There are 612 members, 235 of whom are children. 175 of them live in town and are largely
merchants, lumber traders, etc. The rest
live in the more rural preaching points and are largely farmers. The farmers here farm about 2 acres. Most of the congregation earns about
$300/year for a family of 6+.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The pastor is aware of our work with Iringa Hope. He says that he wants to have a meeting to
discuss trying to start a SACCOS here.
He says that there are no SACCOS in town. There are no loan programs, no AMCOS,
etc. He would like to see his parish
start a SACCOS. He knows that this would
help his members increase their incomes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tom explained what an Iringa Hope SACCOS is and how it works,
(during which time Sandy fell asleep). Time will tell if they have the
leadership and interest to get one going.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmrp-HqoAes86AI4AT5CsWqXYOu-tSUAxWCZynrkV6pN0BMiGVfxfZtCT4GHWMWNS5FkbGxAKz43XkZ-HK_qzhZw-iq8FipPbKUcJn1T5Gm3i56BTYWaaPpT6rMrRTR96hiaXK8Cph1g/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGmrp-HqoAes86AI4AT5CsWqXYOu-tSUAxWCZynrkV6pN0BMiGVfxfZtCT4GHWMWNS5FkbGxAKz43XkZ-HK_qzhZw-iq8FipPbKUcJn1T5Gm3i56BTYWaaPpT6rMrRTR96hiaXK8Cph1g/s320/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As we were leaving Pascal suggested we stop by the Kilimahewa
preaching point and see where they are hoping to build a larger church. Then he, the evangelist, and the church
secretary all got into our car along with us.
The existing church at the preaching point is quite small. There are
over 120 members of this preaching point so one can easily see that the small
church building can’t hold them all.
They have already laid the foundation for a new church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When we leave our friends we like to say “tutaonana tena” (we
will see you again) instead of “kwa heri” (good-bye). Then we were off to town,
and just one more stop for chai with Pastor Mhekwa and his beautiful family. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJU2W5uAWxfuINQwy6NKqIKv8sZ4YSchcGdZikAyNKBxnWmG9_ZiQs8CP4oxgz8bueNcT1orUrO_Stpw1UVtUuHz5DyDd3ApVovcv0Sy2yH4col6RtXp1Eq9HQeSAtjmEdn1D4DyQ6fk/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="666" data-original-width="888" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbJU2W5uAWxfuINQwy6NKqIKv8sZ4YSchcGdZikAyNKBxnWmG9_ZiQs8CP4oxgz8bueNcT1orUrO_Stpw1UVtUuHz5DyDd3ApVovcv0Sy2yH4col6RtXp1Eq9HQeSAtjmEdn1D4DyQ6fk/s320/13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-48627369736232694732017-10-14T07:42:00.000-07:002017-10-14T07:42:42.246-07:00The Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS annual meeting<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-a37l8rPajSZdHvP5hsiMYGjbHYXvbSSBn4XKJb7CZs99FDVrk74lmGU3LDNSx-kuX2mEKjDIvwZQv1m7EqwjJ7uQTWTxvXH8-Ehg_Xd-uqoVAmzN_WYM9T9Mq3BW0i9Ja7fmm84DdU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6-a37l8rPajSZdHvP5hsiMYGjbHYXvbSSBn4XKJb7CZs99FDVrk74lmGU3LDNSx-kuX2mEKjDIvwZQv1m7EqwjJ7uQTWTxvXH8-Ehg_Xd-uqoVAmzN_WYM9T9Mq3BW0i9Ja7fmm84DdU/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We got there in time ot greet the members. We always enjoy this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today we attended the annual meeting of the Iringa Hope Joint
SACCOS (IHJS). The IHJS is the governing
body for our SACCOS. It controls loan
funds, loan policy, membership rules, etc.
It is the group that collects funds and hires the Micro Finance
Institute (MFI) to run things – so technically it is Itiweni’s and the MFI’s
boss!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Since the IHJS general meeting is held in October we have
never been to one before. We normally
come in the February-March time frame and so miss the meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3627gXRPeKpgmJ3vNiW3SOioqKg_4TuJzWi7sxI57UcbnjFtQSYU9L8Cn6HmTejsNAZlRYutKVpV_ICLmvtwH3iQ_dc7Rk6sRNCYRp3yWrmzrwY9004rC953RNbTFfqqzgxd-iYOrny4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3627gXRPeKpgmJ3vNiW3SOioqKg_4TuJzWi7sxI57UcbnjFtQSYU9L8Cn6HmTejsNAZlRYutKVpV_ICLmvtwH3iQ_dc7Rk6sRNCYRp3yWrmzrwY9004rC953RNbTFfqqzgxd-iYOrny4/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I met with the IHJS before the general meeting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The IHJS board invited me to meet with them prior to the
general meeting. So Sandy and I went
over about 9:00 this morning to visit.
They wanted to express their gratitude for the Rotary grant and ask if
we had any advice for them. I talked a
bit about watching loans to the AMCOS (our new Farmer’s Co-ops) since they do
not have the same underlying credit as our members. I also advised them to develop and implement
a “CD” that they could use to encourage our members to save more. We also talked a bit about moving funds
around and how to better control this.
But mostly I told them how proud I was of them and their excellent work!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Around 10 we went over to the general meeting place. There was some concern about the size of the</span></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
meeting so the board had issued invitations to each SACCOS to send only 2
representatives. There were also the
Regional, District, and local co-op officials and a few other government
officials plus the board members and the supervisors. All together there were about 75 or so people
attending.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQfn0kJxVFLz4DbgscSZ5q0p4sJ7ofV6RuDXARz5W0Q_5XNZH57X1WdJRkcNPPJageCUD4VZU8XITeAxoQhRDwOU-ZqnA-hnFYnWQ7lqCXuK402h1j2st3sqFGbHf4VY05HowWm_Y0J8/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcQfn0kJxVFLz4DbgscSZ5q0p4sJ7ofV6RuDXARz5W0Q_5XNZH57X1WdJRkcNPPJageCUD4VZU8XITeAxoQhRDwOU-ZqnA-hnFYnWQ7lqCXuK402h1j2st3sqFGbHf4VY05HowWm_Y0J8/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were 75 or so people at the meeting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The meeting got started late as many meetings here do. Absalom, the IHJS board chairman, called the
meeting to order. There were many
introductions and then I was invited to address the group. I am always so proud of these elected officers
and this is what I tried to express in my remarks. They spend a lot of time doing their best
work for their members. They are paid
very little (each SACCOS decides how much but $5-10/month is typical) yet they
bring so much to their work. Without
these people Iringa Hope could not possibly function. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguGH5COkB30_WB9dBTwhIcTMB60Erdb3D1Dl6YQaRFgwf0jacVICVmyheg1AF5cmUVtqtz3NgU-k-1hR0Pa6GQZX4PyqE5Ht3k89vgpNS_BFUZVjZRCAnCnkIwgh_B5pht0gn1d6wv4r0/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguGH5COkB30_WB9dBTwhIcTMB60Erdb3D1Dl6YQaRFgwf0jacVICVmyheg1AF5cmUVtqtz3NgU-k-1hR0Pa6GQZX4PyqE5Ht3k89vgpNS_BFUZVjZRCAnCnkIwgh_B5pht0gn1d6wv4r0/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The IHJS chairman, Absalom, started the meeting.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The formal portion of the meeting started. There are 11 items on the agenda for
today. These include a review of our
audit report, actions on loans collections, increase in membership, admission
of a new SACCOS, next year’s budget for the MFI’s work, formalization of Jefa
Duma’s employment and salary, and a few other items.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Our audit has once again had no issues or problems. The Commissioner has told us that we are the
ONLY group in Tanzania to have a perfect audit every year – great work! The new Registrar was in attendance
today. We have always had a good
relationship with the former Registrar, John Kiteve, but he has now
retired. The new Registrar seems very
impressed with our group. He talked a
little about growth and diversification of incomes. He made a few comments on collections. Some of the members questioned him on our
fees to the government. (He invited them
to a meeting in the capital so they could complain directly to the Ministry)
Overall he seemed very happy with the group.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The meeting lasted 4 hours.
We were very impressed by how business-like things were conducted. The membership clearly understands that they
are in charge and takes this responsibility very seriously.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6nxPeO5ShBMJ-DlvbgsFtT5HlXFzsHgtAaKSwziQ4MN97fMYcuhKx6C6wg5stJEgAJacXK7-3c7Zt7WGT_IThXZYriSswlU-SWpp-485MOfhq-CgP47zoy3K72LQpmYexrnLjVb96FA/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp6nxPeO5ShBMJ-DlvbgsFtT5HlXFzsHgtAaKSwziQ4MN97fMYcuhKx6C6wg5stJEgAJacXK7-3c7Zt7WGT_IThXZYriSswlU-SWpp-485MOfhq-CgP47zoy3K72LQpmYexrnLjVb96FA/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Members asked good questions. It is clear they take thier<br />role very seriously.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The budget was passed, Jefa Duma was hired and his salary
agreed on, SACCOS are sending in funds to the IHJS, and so on. The meeting was clearly a success and
everyone was smiling.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We went outside and took a picture of the group. I talked with Robert George (the new
Registrar) awhile. He promised to hurry
up the registration of our Joint AMCOS (it has been stuck for 6 months) – but
we will see. Tomorrow we are off to Usokami
for church. It is a 2 hour drive so we
are leaving at 7.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ju9CFaT546uz6pG19y27auO72gklG0I7kOK52-TqBI3Ci-vvWuI2vpI_ApmHloX2oqGqwRWFUKc5wQSz88fh0t3kwPSdIlbb3F3ser0kKaxd7VJ5_wf3GJb4ud_citmXHeylxm-WkJE/s1600/1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="648" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ju9CFaT546uz6pG19y27auO72gklG0I7kOK52-TqBI3Ci-vvWuI2vpI_ApmHloX2oqGqwRWFUKc5wQSz88fh0t3kwPSdIlbb3F3ser0kKaxd7VJ5_wf3GJb4ud_citmXHeylxm-WkJE/s640/1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After we adjourned I took a picture of the group. Can you spot Sandy?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-19776789574173287542017-10-13T10:43:00.000-07:002017-10-13T10:43:13.162-07:00At Bomalang’ombe<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We arrived at Bomalang’ombe at about 1 PM. Peter had called to tell them when we would
get there. However, the drive was so short
that people were still gathering as we arrived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZe08t0Btzpj8umkL4_bsWzGy5sMSmMumM4FxhBG0Ha-9VjOa2VO_0MRO4KbKdJ6gFcIS7SkP1DbQcu3cK7cHCUrgEKVEUtX7FuecBMeT73FGJ5nqur7rSLfZ7B9eF2vzoHkEEb4mOQpU/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZe08t0Btzpj8umkL4_bsWzGy5sMSmMumM4FxhBG0Ha-9VjOa2VO_0MRO4KbKdJ6gFcIS7SkP1DbQcu3cK7cHCUrgEKVEUtX7FuecBMeT73FGJ5nqur7rSLfZ7B9eF2vzoHkEEb4mOQpU/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Bomalang’ombe is a fairly new SACCOS, having started very
recently. It is also where Itiweni, our
MFI manager, and Venance Msigala, our agronomist, come from. This group has already formed an AMCOS so we
can see that they are working hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The SACCOS here has 56 members with another 20 hoping to join
after they sell their crops (so they can pay the entrance fees). All of the SACCOS members are also members of
the AMCOS, which isn’t always the case.
In their first year of operation the SACCOS took out a loan from the
Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS, and, along with their own capital, were able to lend
$4,000 to 22 of their members. They have
all paid in full and on time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This year they hope to increase their loan from IHJS by
$4,000 so they can increase their loans to their members. They also told us
they could use $15,000 more, if they were to give all their members the loans
they would like, but they have chosen to start slowly and work their way up to
taking out larger loans.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2moV8QKuWs-iFfi0oZfOX2HSX5p1HTaWnev7kMofyzxTymFC7Fy0jcDeH6N_S_JP5OfJfdiINfIoFrIDscO9Hy52QGHViTS3eozj5QYMd0me8suPdjH9giqTnrfkIR-Ljv7hJLWgNzc/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2moV8QKuWs-iFfi0oZfOX2HSX5p1HTaWnev7kMofyzxTymFC7Fy0jcDeH6N_S_JP5OfJfdiINfIoFrIDscO9Hy52QGHViTS3eozj5QYMd0me8suPdjH9giqTnrfkIR-Ljv7hJLWgNzc/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As our meeting got underway, the chairman introduced some
visitors. The village executives attended
our meeting to thank us for coming to their village. They asked us if they could invite other
members of the village to come to future meetings for the lessons. We said yes, thinking that this may be a good
way to recruit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When it was time for us to extend greetings to the group, Tom
asked how many were related to Itweni – all except one of the hands went
up. He then asked how many were related
to Venance. All but two of the hands
went up. Turning to Venance we asked how
it felt to give a class to his relatives.
He shook his head and said, “We will see.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFui73mtYlK-mvnW1VvU3v7H0cFvfrJxPpK4lnb7xXwR9NnUKl-XnQ1SLw8Oa1ejBEB7nqsKawgKUymxBR-WMr3qWHWNa0bHkdWCWSSMZYYI2EA4Lr0T13Wo6kEo6A8dzV9q6HJ5n508/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMFui73mtYlK-mvnW1VvU3v7H0cFvfrJxPpK4lnb7xXwR9NnUKl-XnQ1SLw8Oa1ejBEB7nqsKawgKUymxBR-WMr3qWHWNa0bHkdWCWSSMZYYI2EA4Lr0T13Wo6kEo6A8dzV9q6HJ5n508/s200/3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sandy and I left the meeting to do our interviews. Our first interview was with Simon Petro. Simon is 72 and a retired pastor. He told us that retired or not he will be a
pastor until he dies. Simon is married and
has 4 children and 8 grandchildren. He has been a member here since the SACCOS
started last year. Petro borrowed $150
to farm his ¾ acre of potatoes. After
paying his expenses and repaying his loan he had earned a $425 profit – the
largest he had ever earned!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He took his profit and bought another ¾ acre of land. He also increased his savings and improved
his field. He told us that his earning
were much higher since he joined the SACCOS. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwh1pGQyyulDmmtDPn4npubVY0FLmgL5cZ5wl963NxOCL2Uyh-50xF_9IGWzOioHc3Y9_5zHeTbMHbOEU565Sq5beayFKfjxcvnWPc1HnCcKOn510pC5TsZ5bUHU_e0lUCClgy-056BY/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHwh1pGQyyulDmmtDPn4npubVY0FLmgL5cZ5wl963NxOCL2Uyh-50xF_9IGWzOioHc3Y9_5zHeTbMHbOEU565Sq5beayFKfjxcvnWPc1HnCcKOn510pC5TsZ5bUHU_e0lUCClgy-056BY/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This year Petro hopes to take out a larger loan. He wants to plant his 1.5 acres in
potatoes. He hopes to be able to earn
enough to fix his house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjzu-dhgSFa5nndqZks_I2VCYW-bPvF4hqkNu2AMuODmargEyx1ARoulO0AfpQKQ39MhvWPDpsC1nmwAjP0ipC52BLGlYF-cEdwihrQY4LJethgxhk9jA9RwgvDfxld1jBxwG4Uy-WTk/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLjzu-dhgSFa5nndqZks_I2VCYW-bPvF4hqkNu2AMuODmargEyx1ARoulO0AfpQKQ39MhvWPDpsC1nmwAjP0ipC52BLGlYF-cEdwihrQY4LJethgxhk9jA9RwgvDfxld1jBxwG4Uy-WTk/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next Sandy spoke with Eunice Kikoti, a 45 year old widow with
5 daughters and 2 grandchildren all of whom live with her. When the SACCOS formed here she was one of
the first to join. Last year she took
out a $100 loan so she could rent ½ acre of land and plant potatoes. Right now she is just beginning to harvest
her potatoes. She thinks she will get 15
bags from her ½ acre. The price of
potatoes is currently low, but is rising.
Assuming it goes back to $25/bag she will earn a $250 profit from her
crop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Eunice is planning on keeping enough of her crop to feed her
family this year. She grew some maize
along with her potatoes for use by the family.
She wants to use her profit to expand her field to 1.5 acres and plant
more potatoes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When Venance’s class ended he told us it had gone well, but
it was a bit difficult giving a class to his relatives.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUQOPmOK3g0z2LR1UZjF0SP2SbuNsSSqYt7FONwNkLGqrNXI7-kKYnCyCcSSbc7qHYpsigYeaMjNmIsBs1Mcs8h_bQk1RpzQqf_plDymuEt1bO5iX8OGpRST1PuymKSD-1rqrYAeDBuY/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuUQOPmOK3g0z2LR1UZjF0SP2SbuNsSSqYt7FONwNkLGqrNXI7-kKYnCyCcSSbc7qHYpsigYeaMjNmIsBs1Mcs8h_bQk1RpzQqf_plDymuEt1bO5iX8OGpRST1PuymKSD-1rqrYAeDBuY/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We had lunch at the Pastor’s house and then headed back. It took us a little over 2 hours to cover the
56 miles back to town. When we got home
we were too tired for supper. So Tom
wrote his reports, Sandy checked them over, then we posted them and collapsed!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tomorrow is the Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-11023324279102235972017-10-13T10:24:00.000-07:002017-10-13T10:24:25.154-07:00On Friday we went to Mwatasi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Yesterday we
spent much of the day at the University.
We visited with the Bishop, the VC, several of the University officials,
some faculty, . . . a lot of people that
we know from years past. In the evening
the Bishop and his wife stopped by to greet us and to learn more about the work
of the Micro Finance Institute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today we
were off to Mwatasi and Bomalang’ombe.
Mwatasi is located in the mountains, 48 miles <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcGMtJL_YPjumtrejFxVwfkZvHgXE57ROt7B6M2WGTuMutEK5p13Kn_7FeR-rO1PTgHa82ZfqKwpLc0G0aqOuLxs8OBFzj6qXY7beRYmLCseecGC1ZK4tBesqjM1lriucCFelM99tqMg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBcGMtJL_YPjumtrejFxVwfkZvHgXE57ROt7B6M2WGTuMutEK5p13Kn_7FeR-rO1PTgHa82ZfqKwpLc0G0aqOuLxs8OBFzj6qXY7beRYmLCseecGC1ZK4tBesqjM1lriucCFelM99tqMg/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We met two of our members coming to the meeting at Mwatasi.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
southwest of Iringa. Bomalang’ombe lies another 6 miles beyond that.
The road is rutted and dusty nearly the entire way. As we drove down the road
we found it not too bad in stretches followed by sections with deep holes and
lots of rocks. It took us a little over
2 hours to travel the 48 miles to our meeting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYlD-1euc_zLHWhpYlsobIK3f712nC1SUgz0cvndC22nXozIl9lKzGzX8KgtUxHV8erS191tq5vvxPey1yIf5LWwAUzgsUsVLRZ9Qq8Hgi10Fai9Mobl6IjiZVNG3pNnQ_WfFQkQ-AXY/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYlD-1euc_zLHWhpYlsobIK3f712nC1SUgz0cvndC22nXozIl9lKzGzX8KgtUxHV8erS191tq5vvxPey1yIf5LWwAUzgsUsVLRZ9Qq8Hgi10Fai9Mobl6IjiZVNG3pNnQ_WfFQkQ-AXY/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">About half of the members were waiting for us.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Mwatasi has
a SACCOS but no AMCOS. They want to wait
and get their SACCOS working well before they form an AMCOS. Right now Mwatasi has 40 members – 17 men and
23 women. Between their capital and a
loan from the Joint SACCOS they have $8,000 to loan. Last year they made 23 loans and then ran out
of capital. They decided that they
wanted to raise more of their own capital so they charged 5% per month on their
loans (Individual villages can set their own rates. We suggest 2-3% but they are free to charge
more or less than this). With loans that
last 6 months they are paying 30% interest!
Still, they seem happy and very appreciative that they have a SACCOS
here, and are repaying their loans on time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Following
the customary introductions and greetings, we went to conduct interviews during
Venance’s class. Our first interview was
with Naomi Kagine, 40 and married with 4 children. She has been a member of the SACCOS since it
first started three years ago. Her first
loan was for $100. She used it to
fertilize her 1 acre of potatoes. The
harvest that year was very good so she earned a $250 profit. She used her profits to send her children to
school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeZSkqvDhXN7rSI4T7vsuupSsHcd2mSG5eZpshtQ2zijmNjSboRF-GVGoZzDD-SmszHv6xDY0g2AdcpVJDYXvfqrjfZW_2xR12lCm5R5pc3sPhsfILEh6RUtuFF9eI3fUSnlFpQW1hmk/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXeZSkqvDhXN7rSI4T7vsuupSsHcd2mSG5eZpshtQ2zijmNjSboRF-GVGoZzDD-SmszHv6xDY0g2AdcpVJDYXvfqrjfZW_2xR12lCm5R5pc3sPhsfILEh6RUtuFF9eI3fUSnlFpQW1hmk/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The next
year she borrowed $250 and expanded her fields to two acres of beans and
potatoes. In addition to buying
fertilizer for her fields she also tried using a herbicide. When the harvest was done she had earned a
profit of $1,200. She had gone from not
being able to afford to send her children to school, to earning $1,200 in two
years! That year in addition to sending
her children to school she bought a brick house, improved her farm and saved
some money.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last year
she borrowed $300. She used her loan to
buy potato stock and fertilizer. The
harvest is OK but prices are down. She
thinks she will earn a profit of $500 or more, but she is not yet sure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxpYuFpbFJ-S7Xd9_DD7tkmbGt_d3qw1c6HQau2uB_O-d7OfVi_S-rOKI7MKcfWGbQKVDwOXOHbDGg36ejd9U9xQtGXUigDEWlZfrl0mO7qcUD0d3r_cRTSyEzApJ2Xu0vLjuaBMleL0/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTxpYuFpbFJ-S7Xd9_DD7tkmbGt_d3qw1c6HQau2uB_O-d7OfVi_S-rOKI7MKcfWGbQKVDwOXOHbDGg36ejd9U9xQtGXUigDEWlZfrl0mO7qcUD0d3r_cRTSyEzApJ2Xu0vLjuaBMleL0/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next we
spoke with Yairo Chuma, 33 and married with two young children. Yairo has taken out two loans since joining
the SACCOS. His first loan was for $60. He used this to buy fertilizer for his 1 acre
of maize. He harvested 6 bags of maize
which he sold for $180, leaving him with just under $120 after repayment of his
loan with interest. He used his profit
to increase his shares and increase his farm to two acres. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">His second
loan was for $200, which he used for raising an acre of peas and one of
potatoes. His crop was very poor, and he
earned only $100 selling his crops. He
used $90 of this to pay on his loan and used the remaining $10 to become a bean
broker. So far he has earned $175
trading beans, and he’s still working at it. He thinks that he will make over $200. With his profit from trading beans he paid
the rest of his loan, bought two piglets to raise and sell, and bought another
acre of land. He hopes to borrow from the
SACCOS again and will use the loan for bean trading. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPbk3BcFX9ngfd5Di0QOMsjq42mGuHhQdMIgmmTb01OuyWDXHzKa5Fo6IYGaS0i25S4gaAvEYYsL11MLp-L-eCz0gj5OR1-0ev_pQ6GYNQ6yC5XybXkgflehovDaxCOy8wfQO3bExaMQ/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXPbk3BcFX9ngfd5Di0QOMsjq42mGuHhQdMIgmmTb01OuyWDXHzKa5Fo6IYGaS0i25S4gaAvEYYsL11MLp-L-eCz0gj5OR1-0ev_pQ6GYNQ6yC5XybXkgflehovDaxCOy8wfQO3bExaMQ/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mwatasi lies in the low hills outside of Iringa</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We went over
to the pastor’s home for chai. Venance
and the others joined us after the meeting ended. We
thanked the pastor and headed down the road to Bomalang’ombe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-9998646036654137132017-10-11T12:19:00.000-07:002017-10-11T12:19:43.111-07:00At Tungamalenga<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-WZb0mqeECUbTs6h4jp9EvYdH1dx0O2TrbiKHNX_JVHURnWsbtle5VsMgywVhKsdduCRcA8YJtUB5nxPbkZn0rsILSkLReeFaLuvK6XM_H9j9BiNWS1vBvCQEBb75FcLuxYSGu-RvIc/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu-WZb0mqeECUbTs6h4jp9EvYdH1dx0O2TrbiKHNX_JVHURnWsbtle5VsMgywVhKsdduCRcA8YJtUB5nxPbkZn0rsILSkLReeFaLuvK6XM_H9j9BiNWS1vBvCQEBb75FcLuxYSGu-RvIc/s200/1.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The road has been regraded</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HO4nLdWzi7_BsuaWr_BBjK7byYDlXqZWYqflgk-CYzpgxfiuUGxfGyHDLXgDfMuyHLp5gaduLlhozEI0hSiCeNOaOG1jwVfEqshFC2o3ScW3dQXuTU4mtl8auqcD85hGumB-TIE6JVU/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1HO4nLdWzi7_BsuaWr_BBjK7byYDlXqZWYqflgk-CYzpgxfiuUGxfGyHDLXgDfMuyHLp5gaduLlhozEI0hSiCeNOaOG1jwVfEqshFC2o3ScW3dQXuTU4mtl8auqcD85hGumB-TIE6JVU/s200/2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The traffic jams are mainly cows.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today we were
off to Tungamalenga, which is located 50 miles west of Iringa, on the road to
Ruaha National Park. The road starts out
as a good paved road then abruptly turns to a rutted dirt track. Since it is on the road to the park, it is
traveled regularly by buses and trucks.
Since last year it has been regraded is now pretty good. The traffic jams (mainly cows and donkeys)
slowed us down a bit, but we still made it in an hour and a half.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">Tungamalenga
is one of the locations where we have built an IDC. The SACCOS and the AMCOS </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1IfjeE4J0-HTV9dlXYqIlHr3PB82QGw9V_lmlSAAP_pnrFw7C_ezAuyUDut1rCOgTkGKDVNGEcjuEjSeFz8rhpfxlvTRG5sTYXi4IcwAjqnSERZV1xKVlRnDhorYgXAkaD1Roz-spjk/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG1IfjeE4J0-HTV9dlXYqIlHr3PB82QGw9V_lmlSAAP_pnrFw7C_ezAuyUDut1rCOgTkGKDVNGEcjuEjSeFz8rhpfxlvTRG5sTYXi4IcwAjqnSERZV1xKVlRnDhorYgXAkaD1Roz-spjk/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">in this village are
both very active. They have already
filled the IDC warehouse with 260 sacks of </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">rice and 100 sacks of fertilizer. Rice is currently selling at a good price –
about $40 per bag – but the members of the AMCOS think it will rise to $60 by
the end of the year. If that is right
they will collectively earn an additional $5,200 by storing it here.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We talked
with their chairman about their use of the warehouse (Absalom, the chairman of
this SACCOS is also the chairman of the Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS.). When asked if the warehouse is big enough,
he told us that their SACCOS members would like to store 2,000 bags here, but
there is not room. He had to tell them
to stop bringing in their bags of rice.
He told us that the AMCOS is charging members $1/bag for storage and the
SACCOs is lending members funds with their bags of rice as security. He assured us that they were not complaining
about the size of the warehouse – they were very, very happy to have the IDC
here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Going over
to the meeting house we found a large group waiting for us. This SACCOS has 73 </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1h9KUebrdGNHMNMiF8KbIgVqdel7YfCkuEnu87Fp56-Hwm18oKb9Upqu7fa1bguXaVry_P99IBUF7VKC3t32jMslUQLEdFOziEuAL3Iu9NXAA4CmSKeSPOQegHqsODvEEj8cwNJpQedA/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1h9KUebrdGNHMNMiF8KbIgVqdel7YfCkuEnu87Fp56-Hwm18oKb9Upqu7fa1bguXaVry_P99IBUF7VKC3t32jMslUQLEdFOziEuAL3Iu9NXAA4CmSKeSPOQegHqsODvEEj8cwNJpQedA/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
members while the AMCOS
has 78. Half of the SACCOS members also
belong to the AMCOS so there is a total of 114 families participating in one or
both of these cooperatives.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The meeting
got going and Venance began to give his lesson on seeds, fertilizer, and
herbicides. Venance is really enjoying
his role with the MFI. He has never had
such a large and enthusiastic audience.
The group asks him question after question on all sorts of topics in
agriculture. Although this meeting
lasted almost 2 hours, he says that he would like to come back here soon for
another session.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUlbFvguIIOZ7FGLqxfUkj-qcSsZiJhRbAhd_4gFysVMgxthlVVz-mI3Hr6sP6PzBjGVHmVM1m44TvzSXu3YMyzI4xO5LyfvMU2lIBsirih7hsfB0y547ohMI0G7S8B8Ow8klCoMh7FU/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRUlbFvguIIOZ7FGLqxfUkj-qcSsZiJhRbAhd_4gFysVMgxthlVVz-mI3Hr6sP6PzBjGVHmVM1m44TvzSXu3YMyzI4xO5LyfvMU2lIBsirih7hsfB0y547ohMI0G7S8B8Ow8klCoMh7FU/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While
Venance was giving his talk we conducted interviews with two of the members. The first person we talked with is Kalmalita
Mdegela, 58 and married with 5 children.
She belongs to both the SACCOS and AMCOS. Two years ago she farmed 2 acres of
land. She borrowed $500 from the SACCOS
and planted rice. The rice crop was very
good so she wound up with 84 bags. Although
the price of rice was low, with such a good harvest, she still earned $3,000.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">With her
profits she paid school fees, bought a tractor, and bought another two acres of
land. This year she again borrowed $500
and planted one acre of maize and three acres of rice. The rice crop was not as good this year, but
prices are higher so between her rice and the maize she has earned a profit of
$4,800. With these funds she bought
another 16 acres of land, paid school fees, and still was able to increase her
savings!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When asked
what the SACCOS and AMCOS have done for her, she replied that
before she joined the SACCOS and AMCOS her harvests were poor. The training has
taught her a lot about how to manage and plan her farm and improve her farming
methods. With the loans from the SACCOS
she has been able to make use of what she learned so she has increased her
harvest, and therefore her income, substantially. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvrUrpGMzXXvfwRiGD9RRXilHXqDMZ7nqZAcs7bsWBBHWQoMn81OSYqOD1ZJRMszPIt0fmzXdu5prZO6hDRIguPijnEJULy_rGjRLPLUXwQ51XdEYFXoxtZQmWjc1Kr6FbSKtPY6_CN8/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpvrUrpGMzXXvfwRiGD9RRXilHXqDMZ7nqZAcs7bsWBBHWQoMn81OSYqOD1ZJRMszPIt0fmzXdu5prZO6hDRIguPijnEJULy_rGjRLPLUXwQ51XdEYFXoxtZQmWjc1Kr6FbSKtPY6_CN8/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Our second
interview was with Andra Mhema, 44 and married with 5 children. Kalmalita has been a member of the SACCOS and
the AMCOS since they started. He has
taken out several loans. He started
small and has grown over time. Two years
ago he borrowed $150 to farm his 2 acres of rice. That year he harvested 24 bags of rice and
earned $750. His used his profits to
send two of his children to secondary school and started to build a new house. His old house was a 3-room mud hut with a
grass roof. His new house will be brick
with 6 rooms and an iron roof.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last year he
borrowed $300 and rented one more acre of land.
He planted mainly rice and a little maize. The rice harvest was poor with only 24 bags even
though he was farming 50% more land than last year, but the prices are very
good. Overall this year his profit is
$650. With this money he has again paid
school fees, finished building his house, and opened a duka which his wife
runs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He told us
that Iringa Hope has made a huge difference in his life and his family’s life. Before he joined Iringa Hope his household was
very unhappy. His wife was unhappy. He
farmed everything by hand, disliked his house, and saw no future. Now his wife is happy, his home is happy, he
enjoys his new house, and he can look forward to a a good future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When the
interviews were completed and Venance finished his class, we went to lunch with
Absalom. During lunch he turned to us
and said, “I want to thank you for having the vision that has become Iringa
Hope. It has changed the lives of so
many people here. Iringa Hope has
brought us hope and a future. Thank you,
thank you Iringa Hope.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7iGcnzy2yEbQ1LoFuUW2SYb7T_hjT5_o5ZwzV_XGmo4oBiqyPxWiaSR-CDL_WwsZI95R3cQ1rxaGn-bY0mdT0w9cTxe0lfYlDREPgDAcLA_TTP_Jnjoa5w1NSVlyT2nXRBBJ8diZiq8/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7iGcnzy2yEbQ1LoFuUW2SYb7T_hjT5_o5ZwzV_XGmo4oBiqyPxWiaSR-CDL_WwsZI95R3cQ1rxaGn-bY0mdT0w9cTxe0lfYlDREPgDAcLA_TTP_Jnjoa5w1NSVlyT2nXRBBJ8diZiq8/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During lunch Absalom turned serious.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-46947136195678198232017-10-10T08:00:00.000-07:002017-10-10T08:00:04.705-07:00Ifunda<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It took us about 30 minutes to travel from Mgama to
Ifunda. First we went back to the tarmac
then turned away from Iringa and drove about ten minutes. Ifunda is more of a town than the other
places we have been visiting. While a
village may have 100-300 families, Ifunda has perhaps 1,000-1,200. Many of the people in Ifunda work either for
the government, the schools, or one of the businesses. Some of our members have shops and stores
here. One of our members has a furniture
company and another has a bakery here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNVScycuqdi2DTbFuie7tyhSPsNxDeY222fJMr02FvU07Ku8vuSXiHMu3ST0U0oTTqjEhm0H5t5qhA0ijPUddjYCI_uIawnBb9jyIlr4D_m1Y1IYwile28_P5IBDfxvdBjKzMD-_sWuY/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNVScycuqdi2DTbFuie7tyhSPsNxDeY222fJMr02FvU07Ku8vuSXiHMu3ST0U0oTTqjEhm0H5t5qhA0ijPUddjYCI_uIawnBb9jyIlr4D_m1Y1IYwile28_P5IBDfxvdBjKzMD-_sWuY/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As we arrive at Ifunda we find that there is no one
here. Peter goes to the parish offices
to look for the SACCOS secretary. We
went into the church where the meeting was to be held and found two members
waiting there. Peter started making
calls to find out what was happening. He
had talked to the chairman the day before and confirmed our meeting. After about 15 minutes the secretary showed
up. By that time there were 7 members
here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tom and Peter were disgruntled at the poor attendance. They told the secretary that this group
needed to do much better than this. He
explained that it was a daytime and many members were at work in the schools or
at their other jobs. </span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">“Then why did you
not ask us to change the meeting time?” asked Tom. “If our members do not</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTbtMlrkRHX6AEP5gfjySx3JPBh4v43sf3LQ2xaPyYCDcl-Ca-2b2ErGRFUqI40aCrMMgmi9vTjnym3Z5tGhqeZpnPFHOLXdNGQtR-QF3Pouf7NykzWNO_sLpgelm5r7gk_gNzmxLVfE/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTbtMlrkRHX6AEP5gfjySx3JPBh4v43sf3LQ2xaPyYCDcl-Ca-2b2ErGRFUqI40aCrMMgmi9vTjnym3Z5tGhqeZpnPFHOLXdNGQtR-QF3Pouf7NykzWNO_sLpgelm5r7gk_gNzmxLVfE/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;"> come to our meetings they will not get the information on loans, planning, agriculture, etc. If they do not learn we will not give them
loans.” The secretary clearly understood
and started making calls. </span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We do not
expect that everyone will make every meeting, but we do expect to see at least
40% or more at any one session. We also
expect that EVERYONE will attend at least one session a year. Members slowly drifted in until we had 18 out
of the 54 members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Venance gave a lesson on the use of fertilizer and
herbicide. There were many questions; clearly
this is information that these members need to know. He was asked if he might come back for
another session on a Saturday or later in the afternoon on a weekday, and he
agreed to do this. With the smaller
group here we decided to only interview one member. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiss-J4th16MTcmgJPu01p8hhbYOYGWdOrgRDTW4rIMv73M6TF33HWqryNX7e6Fem-e9fE49PF7z1wd9Z1WwcnovL-AuHyHcr4ilwZJ5gC_mne8ymvI5Kpiqm8vL1BqQNytBk0X3xkbYXM/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiss-J4th16MTcmgJPu01p8hhbYOYGWdOrgRDTW4rIMv73M6TF33HWqryNX7e6Fem-e9fE49PF7z1wd9Z1WwcnovL-AuHyHcr4ilwZJ5gC_mne8ymvI5Kpiqm8vL1BqQNytBk0X3xkbYXM/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Stepping outside of the meeting Sandy started visiting with
Edita Sanga, 40 years old and married with 2 young children. Edita has been a member of this SACCOS since
it began 3 years ago. She has a 3- acre
farm near town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Two years ago Edita took out her first loan for $500. She used it to farm maize and some
sunflowers. The maize crop was very good
yielding 38 large bags. The sunflowers
did not do as well so she had them pressed into oil, of which some was sold and
some she kept for herself. Overall, she
said that she earned $2,200 in profits from her crop that year. She bought a lot on which to build a brick
home and 2 more acres of land which she planted in trees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE0YvHep4nJg2q_nR4YTMntBGNfggvc1Q4YG21ZHkENvRwY3LgE5YgtrVt60Lld7fNxWmxeEt81aiRI2g8J4iK-EjW8eVaSkWV8bhCJwhWOYBXOySU6IRDJHpU1MsUmorwVaRN_EobtJU/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE0YvHep4nJg2q_nR4YTMntBGNfggvc1Q4YG21ZHkENvRwY3LgE5YgtrVt60Lld7fNxWmxeEt81aiRI2g8J4iK-EjW8eVaSkWV8bhCJwhWOYBXOySU6IRDJHpU1MsUmorwVaRN_EobtJU/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her second loan was for $500 again. This time she used it to plant maize on her
full 3 acres, and she has had a good yield.
She will wait until February or March to sell when prices are higher,
and will earn approximately $2,000 in profit when it is all sold. This year she says she will build a brick
home, add to her savings, pay school fees (her oldest just started school), and
improve her household.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We asked Edita what she would do without her SACCOS. She told us that without the SACCOS she would
earn almost nothing. She could not thank people enough for giving her a chance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We were done with our meeting so it was time to go. We loaded up and headed back to Iringa. Tomorrow we have a long drive to get to make
our visit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-31649696031196174982017-10-10T07:40:00.002-07:002017-10-10T07:40:47.997-07:00Mgama<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This morning we took a drive to Mgama. Mgama is about a 45-minute drive west of
Iringa. We followed the main highway
most of the way, then turned left on a dirt road (actually a pretty good road) which
took us to Mgama.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJzqKe04XZ3rqnKpwVd1hTIZSpjSuAHrUORfrYmidwMyBcM3tEt5gsVrn8BoWka3Irf2Bkm4gL-5hkbaB-PhMjEH3SlZ3TN-1YI3yuDajV1_dlmBB4Lc6qyqmeVvn1G3MUnvtnNmlPck/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGJzqKe04XZ3rqnKpwVd1hTIZSpjSuAHrUORfrYmidwMyBcM3tEt5gsVrn8BoWka3Irf2Bkm4gL-5hkbaB-PhMjEH3SlZ3TN-1YI3yuDajV1_dlmBB4Lc6qyqmeVvn1G3MUnvtnNmlPck/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Arriving at what we thought was the meeting place we found no
one! Peter tried calling the chairman
but got no answer. We waited a few
minutes wondering what was up. Just as
we were getting concerned the SACCOS secretary showed up to tell us the meeting
had been moved to a hall owned by one of the members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When we arrived at the correct location, we found a
good-sized group waiting (48 in all). The
hall they were using was built by a local businessman to be rented for events. He
died, leaving the hall incomplete, but it is “finished” enough to serve as a
venue for large groups. His widow is a member of the Mgama SACCOS and offered
it to the SACCOS and AMCOS for their meeting today. It fits the needs of the
group much better than the small room in the government center.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This SACCOS has grown a lot.
It now has 119 members with another 15 wanting to join. They also have an AMCOS here, but it is still
in the process of registering (It can easily take up to 18 months or more for
the government to complete the registration.)
Still, almost all of the SACCOS members have also joined the AMCOS so it
will be large when the registration is complete.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">This SACCOS currently has $6,300 in capital. Last year it borrowed another $15,000 from
Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS. This last year
they made loans to 117 of their members.
As you might guess</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRKWXIp0b1SCJJMAiVPHW1cv3wskM-9wyehq-f2_yIlmUQFwg-OTqBmT45uz-DP7ynP8i3PDWwSXDT2uh19PW3GX2LuJkFMkaCSxRSfhEcoiNSjX8WD3bZePAc2odAu7lpozhhMIcXkg/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="575" data-original-width="767" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRKWXIp0b1SCJJMAiVPHW1cv3wskM-9wyehq-f2_yIlmUQFwg-OTqBmT45uz-DP7ynP8i3PDWwSXDT2uh19PW3GX2LuJkFMkaCSxRSfhEcoiNSjX8WD3bZePAc2odAu7lpozhhMIcXkg/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;"> they had only a fraction of what people wanted to
borrow so they made the decision to give everyone the same amount. This amounted to $160 (they were supposed to
keep more reserves, but this was noted in their audit and they have
learned). Their repayment rate is 100% -
making the third year that they have given loans and the third year they have
had a 100% on time, in full repayment rate.</span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The SACCOS secretary gave a brief report, and then Venance
began his lesson. They had a lot of
questions for him. This is a lively
group and Venance was having a good time with them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0RN6V8QxBHlFY66uVukbPgh8WSg7lNyFwWTEFbZFHIReWTA3AMTLr9g_YWZtFXAqVduvrzMD6ALeYONbmVAVNGdsN5UBY45ZKCVhNXt7FKnS7GB_vIqXWI4v02HRM_3NGOZgcqmovCE/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT0RN6V8QxBHlFY66uVukbPgh8WSg7lNyFwWTEFbZFHIReWTA3AMTLr9g_YWZtFXAqVduvrzMD6ALeYONbmVAVNGdsN5UBY45ZKCVhNXt7FKnS7GB_vIqXWI4v02HRM_3NGOZgcqmovCE/s200/3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sandy and I went to talk to two of the members. First we saw Benedict Laiton, 58 and married
with 6 children and 4 grandchildren. He
has been a member here for 2 years. He
recently took out his first loan for $160.
This was actually given to him in the form of fertilizer which he got at
a 10% discount from the AMCOS. He used
this on his 3 acres of maize and tomatoes.
The crop was good, but the tomatoes this year are only selling for $1.25
per basket. Since the cost of the basket
alone is $1.50 he decided to let the crop rot in his field rather than pick
it. His maize did very well and, with
prices not too bad, he will earn a $500 profit even without any tomato
sales. With his profits he first paid school fees for
his youngest child, who is in secondary school, and then he and his wife started
to build a brick home. He thinks that
with what he has earned it will only take him one more year to complete his new
home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNhcZCEKYdEROCU_kqW04R2bNxCEEeuLf_N-9eVp-RMZ0rXOxlfgggzlvktzk7bAqyJcJVUCwm5NAH79C7Cu01-gZzgdcRvsqGxz56b5RbFRcmZqvpw2mpHVnyCWz0La7HH4GLCvBSJ8/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdNhcZCEKYdEROCU_kqW04R2bNxCEEeuLf_N-9eVp-RMZ0rXOxlfgggzlvktzk7bAqyJcJVUCwm5NAH79C7Cu01-gZzgdcRvsqGxz56b5RbFRcmZqvpw2mpHVnyCWz0La7HH4GLCvBSJ8/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When Tom went off to take Benedict’s picture, Sandy interviewed
Lea Kidava, 26 and married with 2 young children. Lea has been a member here for 3 years and
has taken out two loans. Her first loan
was for $160. She used her loan to
fertilize her crop of maize and tomatoes (tomatoes and maize are the main crops
here.) That year the tomato prices were
good but the maize prices were poor, so she didn’t make anything off her maize,
but earned $350 from the tomatoes. She
used her profit to increase her savings, buy some more shares of the SACCOS,
and start a small hardware business from her home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GMVs3r2eiSr-wd3KHcXQhSbTFZO1qnK9v9k0tHXTwBq3mdcTBRknKEOxQfF2twwv_flTNP-x2K6OO8IkYtwn1r4daDTr6YzL6k_jjHA20VRBHYJMlKyFAVKS-oZnFXueUwdpu8faLNA/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2GMVs3r2eiSr-wd3KHcXQhSbTFZO1qnK9v9k0tHXTwBq3mdcTBRknKEOxQfF2twwv_flTNP-x2K6OO8IkYtwn1r4daDTr6YzL6k_jjHA20VRBHYJMlKyFAVKS-oZnFXueUwdpu8faLNA/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This year she wanted to borrow more from the SACCOS but was
limited to $160 by the amount of capital they had. She planted her fields the same as last year
– but as Benedict had noted – the tomato prices were so bad that she too left
her crop to rot in the field. Her maize
however has done very well so she will earn a profit of $1,100. She told us that she plans on buying some
more land, saving some more, and starting another business. Her hardware
business did poorly because she was unable to sell all of her inventory. This time she plans to buy a duka (a small
shop) where she will sell fresh fish. Her fish will come from Mtera and will
arrive in Mgama on the day it is caught. She said that there currently is
nowhere to buy fresh fish in Mgama so she thinks she will do well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tom went to take her picture and Sandy walked over to talk
with some other “wazungus” (white people) that were outside of our
building. It turns out that they are
here working on an entrepreneur grant from the UK. The grant pays for students to come and train
young people here in entrepreneurship.
At the end of the program they award some funds to the best ones. It seems that this is a very small program
since there is only enough capital for 16 awards of about $500 each. They are interested in knowing if perhaps
some of their people might get financing from Iringa Hope. We tell them a little about Iringa Hope and
what you must do to get a loan. They
seem to not know much about how things work here and so are surprised that you
can’t just go into a bank and borrow funds.
It will be interesting to see what comes of their efforts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It was a little after noon and we were planning on being in
Ifunda at 1:00, so we got in the truck and headed for Ifunda.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-90598736905165869142017-10-09T11:08:00.000-07:002017-10-09T11:08:13.144-07:00Pommerini<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">From Kitowo
Pommerini is another 20-minute drive down a red-orange dirt road. Our meeting was scheduled for 1:00 meeting but we didn’t arrive until after 1:30. This
would hardly be noticed at many villages, but we know from experience that at Pommerini
they would be early and waiting for us to arrive, and they didn’t disappoint.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmZZUVIso1FzHw6SsSF9d4PTRdlHtBf5c3JBUL_qkzNQ60vU23opdlu_HPByoM7MHckYHIRepC5XNcktSmfh1f_Ah4XAfRNgwZUNL6EMKIEeCK5bukBcK7xvLVbSBEFYGu_NSET0X300/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAmZZUVIso1FzHw6SsSF9d4PTRdlHtBf5c3JBUL_qkzNQ60vU23opdlu_HPByoM7MHckYHIRepC5XNcktSmfh1f_Ah4XAfRNgwZUNL6EMKIEeCK5bukBcK7xvLVbSBEFYGu_NSET0X300/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When we
arrived, the the chairman, secretary, and treasurer were waiting for us. We could see that the meeting room was
full. The pastor invited us to come for
chai first, but since the members were waiting, we thanked the Pastor and
decided to hold the meeting first. It
was a hard choice since breakfast had been a long time ago, and some hadn’t
eaten at all, but meeting with the members was top priority.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Pommerini SACCOS and AMCOS is quite large.
There are 142 members in the two organizations, coming from 5 surrounding
villages. There are also 20 more people hoping to join. The room we always meet in is small so they
tell people that not all of them can attend at once. Today there are 48 people packed into a room
that should really hold about 30. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsiL5dFm4qOy4gBeskIN2E6J8WVwkIomJ6qQ056-XiyNxnZ5ojO34JXmZG7sLLETxrIqQO11KP4DYoLZfCs2eO6PO_tIeN34XU3lmJ46PDcN5SUsiB_YI23h5BxYYiRGU99wFnyBlcDE/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjsiL5dFm4qOy4gBeskIN2E6J8WVwkIomJ6qQ056-XiyNxnZ5ojO34JXmZG7sLLETxrIqQO11KP4DYoLZfCs2eO6PO_tIeN34XU3lmJ46PDcN5SUsiB_YI23h5BxYYiRGU99wFnyBlcDE/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Between the
sales of shares, savings accounts, and a loan from Iringa Hope; this SACCOS was
able to make $38,500 in loans last year.
Still, with 142 members, it did not go around and many did not get their
loans or got less than they requested. However,
they are not complaining. In fact, they
tell us over and over how happy they are with Iringa Hope. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The group
here has immediately recognized Sandy and me.
Although this is often the case, (we have been coming here for many years
now), this group is especially vocal in their recognition. I reminded them that we are only visitors
since they own and run everything in Iringa Hope. This always brings out smiles – there is a
lot of pride at work here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMn5gEJbbhSaXq1w4T0ZzBVRdnqSUNxBShK8kiVRq4UDVApJ7yQgocpqTz3lRxOigMcrP394touruGmFm8da2OEQ5oOW5CC3LAlevvcU2xIC7YqXKlYLoz-e1t9oZzHO6zeildof2_sI/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMn5gEJbbhSaXq1w4T0ZzBVRdnqSUNxBShK8kiVRq4UDVApJ7yQgocpqTz3lRxOigMcrP394touruGmFm8da2OEQ5oOW5CC3LAlevvcU2xIC7YqXKlYLoz-e1t9oZzHO6zeildof2_sI/s640/4.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When Venance
started his lesson Sandy, Itiweni, and I left for our interviews – always our
favorite thing to do. First we met
Marina Kisoma, a 62 year old widow with 7 children and 12 grandchildren. Marina was a public school teacher for 21
years, retiring recently. Her children
are all gone but she has 4 neighborhood children living with her. She tells us that in her neighborhood there
are many families that cannot feed and clothe their children so the neighbors
take them in. She has taken in 4 that
are in primary school. She farms 5
acres, growing maize and peas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her first loan
was for $250. She used this to fertilize
her fields, selling “fresh corn” from the fields (This is a young cob that is
used for roasting and eating. It is sold
at a premium price.) and keeping the rest to feed herself and her family. She had a pretty good year so she wound up
making a $600 profit in addition to the maize she kept. She used her profits to send her youngest
child to college, and paid school fees for the 4 neighborhood children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her second
loan was for $500. That year she tried
to grow some wheat along with her maize and peas. The wheat did very poorly while the maize was
good. She earned a profit of only $400
but she kept much of the wheat crop along with maize for her family and donated
10 sacks of maize (worth about $250) to the school. That year her daughter had finished college,
so she only had to pay for the 4 neighborhood children’s fees.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her most
recent loan was for $300. She took this
loan out in the form of fertilizer “on credit” – something new we are offering
members through our AMCOS. She planted
maize, wheat, millet, and peas! We asked
why she borrowed less this year so she explained that she had some fertilizer
left from last year and she had gotten her seed free from another program. So far, her harvest is very good and she
expects to earn $1,500 in profits. She
said that she plans on saving some and donating some of her crop to the
school. She said that one of the
neighborhood children she supports is starting secondary school this year so
she will need money for her fees as well as the 3 that are still in primary
school. All in all a very impressive
lady!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqeJzYlvEIy3-oCVAubzfVmPIE4Za4ZLu64cnFCid-PUBsodphNjRl_E_OKyXmGeNfEbxJSiirDkHWrwwuRQIMGT9paBQpJmWcbjX2YlXz0CwWgCzBHAe46y-VJEHxTahBsTTImFd0E0/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzqeJzYlvEIy3-oCVAubzfVmPIE4Za4ZLu64cnFCid-PUBsodphNjRl_E_OKyXmGeNfEbxJSiirDkHWrwwuRQIMGT9paBQpJmWcbjX2YlXz0CwWgCzBHAe46y-VJEHxTahBsTTImFd0E0/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We then
talked with Prosper Mushi, 40 and married with 4 children. Prosper has 3 children in primary school and
1 just entering secondary school at Pommerini.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Prosper told
us he has taken out two loans since joining Iringa Hope. His first loan was for $200. He used the loan to buy fertilizer for the
maize and peas he is growing on his 6 acre farm. That year the crop was OK but not good. He earned $110 from his fields. He saved $15 of this and used the rest to
send his children to school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He realized
that he had not used enough fertilizer on his fields the prior year so this
year he borrowed $380 to fertilize his crop.
He said that his fields have not done as well as some so he is expecting
that he will earn only $300 – just enough for his son to go to Pommerini
Secondary School.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Tom
suggested that Prosper should talk to Venance about his fields and what he
might do to get a better crop. He seemed
pleased to learn that Venance is available to help when he needs it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It was
almost 4 o’clock when we went with Duma, Peter, Gideon and Venance to the Pastor’s
house for chai. When we got there we
found Itiweni with a full plate, eating away.
“I was so hungry that I thought I might faint,” she told us. We all had a delicious Tanzanian meal, said
our “thank-yous” and left for home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghukg484YDrTMzsKj_88WZKqLuF0R47GeqIcwkksve4eG_wN9e5Vr0mEuwfk73GYf38Ra4L-I19JcUcAhqtLVm4mh24FO_YZ4lffPgLNbGH6ncvYB8qCINIrPna1W5U6hZ0YUS44IEncI/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghukg484YDrTMzsKj_88WZKqLuF0R47GeqIcwkksve4eG_wN9e5Vr0mEuwfk73GYf38Ra4L-I19JcUcAhqtLVm4mh24FO_YZ4lffPgLNbGH6ncvYB8qCINIrPna1W5U6hZ0YUS44IEncI/s640/2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Jacaranda tree by the old church was in beautiful boom!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-16360019076915478722017-10-09T10:41:00.001-07:002017-10-09T10:41:34.336-07:00To Kitowo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This morning
we went to Kitowo, which is approximately 25-miles and a 50-minute drive south
of Iringa. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Arriving at
Kitowo we immediately saw the new IDC.
The IDCs are very distinctive buildings.
</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZGTIwTzsmFUbIpzvgHA1vOj9RmR_GT7Ur5By9daBybMvkhfyYUOXt60hdVcXI4pem6ZE9ZASFTH2gmob6QGtmFtv2OcgvFT7JBeCH3pq9RjxugnaoafClKnoagAry7kNXl1Ooz_s3Xk/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipZGTIwTzsmFUbIpzvgHA1vOj9RmR_GT7Ur5By9daBybMvkhfyYUOXt60hdVcXI4pem6ZE9ZASFTH2gmob6QGtmFtv2OcgvFT7JBeCH3pq9RjxugnaoafClKnoagAry7kNXl1Ooz_s3Xk/s320/11.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
These brick buildings have red roofs, white trim and white lettering stating
they are a Peter J. King Family Foundation Integrated Development Center, along
with the names of the SACCOS and AMCOS above the doors. <o:p></o:p><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The chairman
invited us to go into the attached warehouse first. The IDCs we have visited so far have all had a
significant amount of maize in storage.
At Kitowo there are only a few open bags since the harvest here has just
begun. He also told us that what they
have harvested so far is quite wet so they have to dry it before they can bag
it for storage. They plan on filling the space with maize for sale later, when
prices rise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblnJd4McqHSLhFoDl6tYmwIl1xEHDsNaKOTugEF5iSNPa2NmlhyYmvs-CE6jPWRkOkzsZR8nk4iNWAaagWwOHjVHbBAhyphenhyphenDjMBq4e3K1B9lZ6nRedltalgitp4-bK4R_liOUupATG85vU/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblnJd4McqHSLhFoDl6tYmwIl1xEHDsNaKOTugEF5iSNPa2NmlhyYmvs-CE6jPWRkOkzsZR8nk4iNWAaagWwOHjVHbBAhyphenhyphenDjMBq4e3K1B9lZ6nRedltalgitp4-bK4R_liOUupATG85vU/s320/12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandy and the Treasurer stood where the pile of maize will<br />be. They expect to have over 150 bags here after harvest.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This SACCOS started
slowly but has grown a lot. In 4 years
they have grown from a founding group of 20 to 107 families. Their biggest problem is loan capital. Right now they have $4,500 in savings and
share sales. In addition, they borrowed
$6,000 from Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS.
This allowed them to make $11,000 in loans (some loans were short enough
that the capital was used twice). Unfortunately,
this still left many members without the loans they applied for, and others
with less than they wanted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The crops
here were not very good last year so repayment has been slow. The Treasurer assured us that everyone is
paying (our auditor agrees), but they will be a month or so late (loans are for
9 months). Still, considering that
nearly half of the members had a very poor crop, this is a good record.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HSJk6CRJNmwAPswfJ4o9nlkl6vp3j4IwGp7NHoPpLifZ5gbuDBr-tyenpY6uNORAwe-QNcAluwWyS4V4DQzNFs1r4CdGlUX9MWy5yy_YijnAi2tnUd_Ym4Wc3gwG__6Wvc9q8dKU_Fc/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-HSJk6CRJNmwAPswfJ4o9nlkl6vp3j4IwGp7NHoPpLifZ5gbuDBr-tyenpY6uNORAwe-QNcAluwWyS4V4DQzNFs1r4CdGlUX9MWy5yy_YijnAi2tnUd_Ym4Wc3gwG__6Wvc9q8dKU_Fc/s320/13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today’s
group was smaller than what we’ve been seeing at other SACCOS. Many of the members live in neighboring
villages so the distance to travel is far, and the chairman said that since the
rains made things late here, many are working on trying to get as much crop in
as they can. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After
introductions were made, Venance started his class on herbicides, and we went
to our interviews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Geogiana
Kigula is 58, a widow with 4 children and 8 grandchildren. She lives with three of her small
grandchildren who have been orphaned and supports 3 nieces who have also been
orphaned. She farms 5 acres of maize,
beans, and soybeans. Her first loan was
for $220, which she used to buy fertilizer for her fields. That year she earned $650 profit. When asked how this compared to the years
before she could get a loan, she told us that in those years she earned
nothing. She only harvested enough for
her family to eat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFWPT8dWL0dJqpokNamPZUJPTvRBfYHniQIDE7EUcJ4tRyp63gsUgIVMa407aMYdFD1EDCrML4CwrsVNr-Yyb-vOHXG_CxZld06wgxguy9372x3TkZwxPZhf_gELfpxhPnIAH2hB5ioM/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieFWPT8dWL0dJqpokNamPZUJPTvRBfYHniQIDE7EUcJ4tRyp63gsUgIVMa407aMYdFD1EDCrML4CwrsVNr-Yyb-vOHXG_CxZld06wgxguy9372x3TkZwxPZhf_gELfpxhPnIAH2hB5ioM/s640/14.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Now, with
her profits she could pay school fees and miscellaneous school expenses for the
3 nieces she supports who are in secondary school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Georgiana is
hoping for a larger loan this year but worries that there may be a shortage of
capital. We told her that we are adding
funds to Iringa Hope this year so there will be more to lend. She was happy to hear the news.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkErEviVIiq0sJq-DD4sVkt2kzGx3J3VEBFxqY8OGaGyk4suEELr7KRPqn2ifg3JWdVZjrbHh4XsmFZPU_zQ9SGYDXE9ccoHIXRkuvvv4l8cB2pn2wAe_0cAr-eftSyepLlOpmNt06fSc/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkErEviVIiq0sJq-DD4sVkt2kzGx3J3VEBFxqY8OGaGyk4suEELr7KRPqn2ifg3JWdVZjrbHh4XsmFZPU_zQ9SGYDXE9ccoHIXRkuvvv4l8cB2pn2wAe_0cAr-eftSyepLlOpmNt06fSc/s640/16.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Angelos Mvanda,
68 and married with 8 children and 3 grandchildren, was our next
interview. Angelos is a retired school
teacher who taught at Kitowo before he retired.
While teaching there he purchased a 4 acre farm. Angelos told us that his family lives in a Kidabaga,
his home village, but he is staying in Kitowo to work his farm and to serve as
“manager” of the AMCOS. He has not taken
out a loan, but he has joined both the AMCOS and the SACCOS. Angelos has decided that he will take out his
retirement funds from the Teacher’s Retirement and deposit them in the SACCOS
(about $3,000). He said he has seen what
this SACCOS is doing to help the community and wants to help as well. He has been elected AMCOS secretary and
treasurer, but he just calls himself the manager. As the AMCOS manager he wants to help the
community grow by teaching people how to manage their farms, plan and purchase
the correct inputs, and aggregate their crops for sale. He says he was very impressed with the Iringa
Hope Joint AMCOS. He believes that we
are doing the right things and wants to be part of it. It is great to see our program attract
dedicated leaders like this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As we went to leave the group broke out in song and dance. Sandy and Itiweni joined in. Tom did not.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9dRB0gbkyLP05g1L0uODOecXExtDHzB0hVS-A6JPBelrd0-ob2TKN_RU69iedYzcthFGm8FssssP1F5jnZHQm1hB_9KBn1EPXIUbpy8WcSh118nCyZiatcwkCCVb7NlzgcW9diA1Wtk/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif9dRB0gbkyLP05g1L0uODOecXExtDHzB0hVS-A6JPBelrd0-ob2TKN_RU69iedYzcthFGm8FssssP1F5jnZHQm1hB_9KBn1EPXIUbpy8WcSh118nCyZiatcwkCCVb7NlzgcW9diA1Wtk/s640/17.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-83177979987489128952017-10-07T09:17:00.000-07:002017-10-07T09:17:35.657-07:00At Nduli<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6iAsiFvoqX06cXXh_6U1DJpjL-U1o7haYo8XJhXvlbZq4kg7y1QShTMpAxEbPzhcKnA_IV4PjYYtWPzFMC7wz0FegXW7M1g9AwKQNzIZIT3chyms21gAW1H1NuvVuVdD065CBAeyfC0/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc6iAsiFvoqX06cXXh_6U1DJpjL-U1o7haYo8XJhXvlbZq4kg7y1QShTMpAxEbPzhcKnA_IV4PjYYtWPzFMC7wz0FegXW7M1g9AwKQNzIZIT3chyms21gAW1H1NuvVuVdD065CBAeyfC0/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Nduli is
located north of Iringa and east of the airport, about two miles down a dirt
road. Approaching Nduli we noticed people
walking the same the same direction that we were driving. Soon we saw the distinct outline of a
building that looked familiar – it was the Nduli IDC and a group was gathering
there to greet us!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Even though
we have not been at this IDC before (it was just completed in March) we
immediately recognized it. The
Integrated Development Centers that we have been building are very distinctive
in appearance, standing out in a very attractive way from other buildings
around them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gZOSruF15uTXBOCyJu4ECIRZ1Z0uLxaq-pBV6_D4en19F3IVvO0wWkp1WvF0Qonq9tmEkYgu-USefcHIddQEn3Jo58mSHyre8eOpOGg70O5_RwpwyMhnE6H77UNTYaKgBtZsZeohbXQ/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5gZOSruF15uTXBOCyJu4ECIRZ1Z0uLxaq-pBV6_D4en19F3IVvO0wWkp1WvF0Qonq9tmEkYgu-USefcHIddQEn3Jo58mSHyre8eOpOGg70O5_RwpwyMhnE6H77UNTYaKgBtZsZeohbXQ/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At the IDC the
members were singing and dancing when we arrived. The chairman wanted us to go into the
warehouse that was part of the building.
Just as we found earlier, the members of this location are using the
warehouse to store some of their crops until prices rise. At the moment they have 110 large bags (a
large bag is 1.5 times the size of a normal bag) of maize stored here. The chairman expects that they will end up
with 170 bags. He told us that they
expect the price will rise another $20-$25 by March when they will sell these
bags. As a result, they expect their
members to earn $3,400 MORE than they normally would. They have all agreed that this increased
profit will be credited to their savings accounts so that there will be more
capital to loan next season.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzEVPw_X9So1UevhIIvN2SC6Tb2XqjKPS0smgtjB3i0MjhEufX2f75ykLSJIaaX5F-Pp0F1siON3crtbIB_hrqk5UbtFKM79z4UXmhK7P8xgvTRNfnuQf_jhS4-SkA7Ccfj9PGKwXff0/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpzEVPw_X9So1UevhIIvN2SC6Tb2XqjKPS0smgtjB3i0MjhEufX2f75ykLSJIaaX5F-Pp0F1siON3crtbIB_hrqk5UbtFKM79z4UXmhK7P8xgvTRNfnuQf_jhS4-SkA7Ccfj9PGKwXff0/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The 50+
SACCOS and AMCOS members that were gathered were too many to fit in the meeting
room of the IDC, so an awning had been put in place for us to meet under
alongside of the building. The chairman gave us a report on their SACCOS, we
introduced ourselves, and the meeting began in earnest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At this
location Venance gave a class on the use of herbicides. Out of the more than one hundred farmers that
belong here, only 4 have ever used herbicides, preferring to hoe their crops
instead. There are however two problems
with this. First, the plants are often damaged
when they do this, reducing their crop.
The second problem is </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQPLpGAqMDno28NiArOICoM0edh3bmNTt35U2ltImqbIHtxE5sSefJOlTHGeR1az7sKidP0R8mWFPvu7bWjQ40G3E9hMlQAG8l2kGYj1Td3TC12aoqt4B55TibuZU6tZzVDX0ge5OWRk/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQPLpGAqMDno28NiArOICoM0edh3bmNTt35U2ltImqbIHtxE5sSefJOlTHGeR1az7sKidP0R8mWFPvu7bWjQ40G3E9hMlQAG8l2kGYj1Td3TC12aoqt4B55TibuZU6tZzVDX0ge5OWRk/s320/5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
something new to this area. Since families are getting smaller, and Nduli
is close enough to town for the young people to find work there, there is a
shortage of people to help with the hoeing!
As a result the fields are being hoed later, further reducing the
yields. <span style="font-size: 12pt;">Everyone was very interested in
Venance’s talk and they had a lot of questions for him.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sandy’s
first interview today was with Mchungaji (Pastor) Medson Chengula. We first met Pastor Medson when we were
working at Itungi. He moved from there
to this parish 4 years ago and joined this SACCOS. He has taken out loans every year since he
arrived at Nduli. The first year he
borrowed $450 to farm the 3 acres of parish land he uses (much as in years past
in the US a key part of a Pastor’s income here is the use of the parish
farm). He planted maize and
sunflowers. That year he made a $500 profit
from his loan. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjClWl9CpzkeGSJWAFUj5I8GOxguJWphoSznLIeTUI-9e1jWPoLrFUaps9wwJCbbx_OoMD_s57MUpjlfnS0VTru9apCUkUdkYFFGHXqh2vrIK5Jy2rsPBhnjkaqXjGwmYeLfLUXtTLXA/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjClWl9CpzkeGSJWAFUj5I8GOxguJWphoSznLIeTUI-9e1jWPoLrFUaps9wwJCbbx_OoMD_s57MUpjlfnS0VTru9apCUkUdkYFFGHXqh2vrIK5Jy2rsPBhnjkaqXjGwmYeLfLUXtTLXA/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The second
year he borrowed $700 from the SACCOS to build bee hives. He built 24 beehives and placed them in the
forest. By year’s end he had 18 hives
working and earned $1,100 from the honey – a $400 profit the first year. He noted that he still has all of his hives
and is earning a steady income every year from them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">His third
loan, taken out last year, was for $900 to farm his 3 acres. The crop on his land was very poor that year.
Although he has yet to sell that crop, he expects to earn a $500 profit. He will also receive an income from the
beehives he has. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pastor
Chengula has been increasing his savings and shares each, which will allow him
to take out larger loans. This year he
hopes to borrow $1,000.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Over the
years he has used his profits to improve his household and currently he is
paying college tuition for his wife, who is getting a graduate degree in
education. This year he has also bought land in Nduli for a new house he hopes
to build.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Pastor
Medson told us, “The members of my church have had the quality of their lives
improve from the SACCOS. They have built
homes, bought farm land, sent their children to school. The SACCOS is by far the best way to help
people because they can work to help themselves.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3WPftUIlgM0JyhSiU0DMOGNedg8eELXBgi_TD1WOqKbFzJnmJjjnJgmCCcv11hAwWkMhRw1ncALvCQ5CzzEmnGGeukaUnSVwIRv6Nqkust6OKP_kj_JsbZDkcjcqf3MVAaRmmC5n1go/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3WPftUIlgM0JyhSiU0DMOGNedg8eELXBgi_TD1WOqKbFzJnmJjjnJgmCCcv11hAwWkMhRw1ncALvCQ5CzzEmnGGeukaUnSVwIRv6Nqkust6OKP_kj_JsbZDkcjcqf3MVAaRmmC5n1go/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Agnes
Mhavile was our second SACCOS member to be interviewed. Agnes is a 62 year old widow with 4 children
and 12 grandchildren. She has 2 of her
primary school-age grandchildren living with her for companionship. Agnes has been a member of this SACCOS since
it first began. She has used her profits
to help her children through school, improve her household, and now she expects
to earn enough to build a larger house to live in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Agnes wasn’t
sure how many loans she has taken out, but it has been at least four, she
says. The first time she borrowed her
loan was for $150. She used this to plant
sunflowers and maize on her two acres of land. That year the crops were very
bad so she realized only a very small profit.
The second year she was concerned about the weather so she only borrowed
$100 and planted very conservatively.
That year she made a very good profit from her farm-about $400. With her profit she bought 4 goats, paid
fees, and increased her savings. Last
year she borrowed $150 again, planting all of her land in maize and
sunflowers. She has harvested her crop
and is waiting until the prices rise before selling. Agnes says she will have earned $850 from her
loan. When she requests a loan this
December, she wants to borrow $300. If
she gets this loan she will expand her fields.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After taking
Agnes’ picture we went back to the meeting and then to the Pastor’s house for
chai, prepared by the women of the SACCOS.
As the meeting broke up the members started singing and dancing again. Sandy asked Venance about the lyrics to the
song they kept singing. He said it was a
sort of praise for SACCOS. “The SACCOS
has kept us from hunger” was one of the main themes of the song.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-84739737441421026312017-10-06T22:23:00.000-07:002017-10-06T22:23:06.855-07:00The effects of an IDC<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
During the past two years we have been developing Integrated Development Centers, or IDCs, at some of our villages. These IDCs are buildings that combine a cooperative Savings and Loan (a <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8omi9Sb2KAjIt5WBtDNcSldKAjKRTEzuWK4-lMtRwd8O7au3kCux74QuvlvlhgOcpY5tO1azSsm1iGBGAF2BtCDlQ665rKxIKpkC_oH45y6YSTA_cql90vdI4Hzlxq0ufsdrc-saPAhw/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8omi9Sb2KAjIt5WBtDNcSldKAjKRTEzuWK4-lMtRwd8O7au3kCux74QuvlvlhgOcpY5tO1azSsm1iGBGAF2BtCDlQ665rKxIKpkC_oH45y6YSTA_cql90vdI4Hzlxq0ufsdrc-saPAhw/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
SACCOS) and a Farmer's Cooperative (AMCOS). They serve as focal points for our work and provide the members with much needed space and support. Recently Jef Duma has visited them and written a report detailing some of the effects these are having. We of course have also been visiting them and writing about their effects. I thought that you might like to read this short report as well so I am posting it here. It is fairly short so I hope you can take the time to read it. You will find it here -<br />
<br />
<a href="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5Dk9faxJUomOHdRZEl6NEZwRnM">Report on IDCs</a><br />
<br />
Blessings<br />
<br />
Tom<br />
<br /></div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-41307890249018427782017-10-06T11:45:00.000-07:002017-10-06T11:45:47.599-07:00Then we arrived at Ilambilole<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">When we
arrived at Ilambilole the chairman met us and asked us to go into the new IDC
warehouse </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCA148inCvJvb-vbf1HJUI0KAdhjlVnAqjvGzG2LS_gp9hMq9O2GLroqdnFpTk6-d3OHQm5iv-lGuv-BD_GmHIIQPiQDffZq361rBlNmPqgMQm8atERPB0NBbAccqOGilnScwnSFNE6c/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOCA148inCvJvb-vbf1HJUI0KAdhjlVnAqjvGzG2LS_gp9hMq9O2GLroqdnFpTk6-d3OHQm5iv-lGuv-BD_GmHIIQPiQDffZq361rBlNmPqgMQm8atERPB0NBbAccqOGilnScwnSFNE6c/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">with him. To our surprise we
found that it was stacked with maize 8 feet high! The chairman told us that they had started
taking payment for SACCOS loans with crop.
They are carefully labeling each member’s bags so they know which bags
belong to which members (An important thing here in Iringa. Crops are often graded and sell for different
prices so no one wants to be mixed with someone else.) The warehouse is 2/3 full with 200 extra-large
bags of maize.</span></span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The chairman
told us that the maize will be sold in a few months when the prices rise. The SACCOS will deduct the loan amount, the
interest due, and a small storage fee.
The rest will be credited to the member’s savings account. They estimate that the member’s will see an additional
$7,000+ in profit by doing this.</span></span></h4>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWm-jYB-jB3JkH6GGBGJE4MlNwHcZCiuoRIpeiTTdL0Q0nr6kGNm2ic_KiMoQxIuWzigZuZT4mGIXca47CpWyjxPFpZp_fx68U0sFbQ76G6OPAice8s_tSu9M-zWzONvRFmj2KQrCyEYs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWm-jYB-jB3JkH6GGBGJE4MlNwHcZCiuoRIpeiTTdL0Q0nr6kGNm2ic_KiMoQxIuWzigZuZT4mGIXca47CpWyjxPFpZp_fx68U0sFbQ76G6OPAice8s_tSu9M-zWzONvRFmj2KQrCyEYs/s400/2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">We then went
next door to the meeting space in the IDC.
This meeting room is meant for small groups of a dozen or so.</span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">This morning there were 40 people crammed
into the room. Following introductions and
a report by the SACCOS chair, Peter suggested that the group reconvene to
another area that wouldn’t be so crowded.
As with every meeting here, there were many late arrivals. As the group filed out to the new space there
were still many people who were joining the group. There </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJZ7AE7jO1xwFd3TJ6lhLAA1kImth0CnMizToQ5F0fZW_HCUJxkXA0OYDD3dDYvyv8Gm3d_3OIIcYMraojrn9TV7V45_ob8RC4CEdMxLRkGRlwVb9ANEnfJCEgYHV7PZbZz0eRdRir2o/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJZ7AE7jO1xwFd3TJ6lhLAA1kImth0CnMizToQ5F0fZW_HCUJxkXA0OYDD3dDYvyv8Gm3d_3OIIcYMraojrn9TV7V45_ob8RC4CEdMxLRkGRlwVb9ANEnfJCEgYHV7PZbZz0eRdRir2o/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 107%;">were about 60 people in attendance by
the end of the meeting, so it was very good that Peter suggested a larger
space.</span></h4>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Venance
again held a class on improving maize crops so we ducked out to interview two
members. The first one that Sandy talked
with was Judith Filipo Mwendele, 49 and married, with 7 children and 2
grandchildren. Judith and her husband,
Nyalusi, have a daughter who graduated from the University of Iringa with a
degree in economics and business, and is now living and working in Dar, along
with 3 children studying at the University of Iringa and 3 at secondary
schools. They are helping all of their
children through the University while they are sending 3 of their other
children to secondary school. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyi3NUfsM7t3uF5NVQjwnDiVPmz_5Oc6T2fxqMIX4ThifDdr1Xo-c0TPY2KMrmqXc3RN-GsZ-VaNeibW4SYuSzM90JG4wf-z4jAOf8uINVEZx6fF-cFzvjLFAM_Vr0lTLsv82v5zJZ-Rg/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyi3NUfsM7t3uF5NVQjwnDiVPmz_5Oc6T2fxqMIX4ThifDdr1Xo-c0TPY2KMrmqXc3RN-GsZ-VaNeibW4SYuSzM90JG4wf-z4jAOf8uINVEZx6fF-cFzvjLFAM_Vr0lTLsv82v5zJZ-Rg/s640/5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This is one
of the oldest SACCOS we have. Judith has
been a member of this SACCOS since it started.
She tells us that over the years the SACCOS has allowed her and her
husband to buy land and expand their acreage.
Two years ago she borrowed $450 for fertilizer, seeds, spray and
seasonal labor to plant her 5 acres of maize.
The harvest that year was very good so she realized a profit of
$2,500! She used this to help her
children go to college and send her other children to secondary school.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This year
she again borrowed $450 to plant her acreage.
She is just now starting to harvest her maize, but she thinks it is a
bigger crop than last year. (She is
storing some in the IDC warehouse so that it can be sold later for a higher
price. Since she and her husband are sending
6 children to school we think that they need the highest price they can get!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJNdrtH0rgenX0E2Onamu6VaSjIWbPYj7fCVy2k7YMwtjvwGx6XVimEwWHXu38d-gvl5Mcws5jT1iBQLQV9VBr-fw3YVt3WBZvf9WXfbdYwqfKgKRINgoE0LhqZdeyELuksBP6ZPpBLo/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNJNdrtH0rgenX0E2Onamu6VaSjIWbPYj7fCVy2k7YMwtjvwGx6XVimEwWHXu38d-gvl5Mcws5jT1iBQLQV9VBr-fw3YVt3WBZvf9WXfbdYwqfKgKRINgoE0LhqZdeyELuksBP6ZPpBLo/s320/6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">When Tom was taking a picture of Judith a group of children<br />came running and wanted to get their picture taken too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As Tom took
Judith aside to have her picture taken, Sandy sat down with Richard Andefinse
Mahali. Richard is 46, married, and has
5 young children. He has been a member
of this SACCOS for the past 7 years.
During this time he has taken out 4 loans. He tells Sandy that he has wanted to take
more loans, and for larger amounts, but there is limited capital and some years
they must take turns.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Two years
ago Richard borrowed $200 to farm his two acres of maize. He had asked to
borrow $350, but there was not enough capital to do so. He had a good crop and earned a profit of
$450. He used these funds to buy some
goats and five more acres of land. The
additional five acres are located in a different area, and Richard is hoping
that by spreading things out, he might have better luck with the spotty
rainfall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTD7rVvLJOcR1-CxKBPeJhJxUwLPI9BS-jatGTRAp9oc-qLsowIntlErRSqE820JnThoCs2gg8tQ4HQ4MzKZBrQ3bLIm0FLKFFHP3RvPiSop0T199doOleBI3gThgMr8H0JXs3nkXvY6k/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTD7rVvLJOcR1-CxKBPeJhJxUwLPI9BS-jatGTRAp9oc-qLsowIntlErRSqE820JnThoCs2gg8tQ4HQ4MzKZBrQ3bLIm0FLKFFHP3RvPiSop0T199doOleBI3gThgMr8H0JXs3nkXvY6k/s640/7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tom loved Richard's hat.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This year he
has borrowed $350. His yields this year
have not been good so he will only earn about $350 from his loan. Still, it is enough to pay school fees for
his oldest son.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When the class
session broke up Tom and the chairman reviewed the records for the past year. The chairman told Tom that this year was very
bad for about half of the members. The
rains were spotty so some did well, and many did not. Still, everyone made some profit and everyone
is paying. His biggest problem, he told
us, is capital. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This year
they were able to borrow $15,000 from Iringa Hope. This, together with $6,000 of their own
capital, meant they were able to lend $21,000 to their members. But the members would have liked to have had
an additional $13,000. Tom reminded him
of their first meeting when they were worrying that they needed $400-600 and hoping
that someday they might have $2,000 to lend to members. Now they were worrying about needing many
times that amount. It shows how well the
SACCOS is working and how many people are benefiting from membership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Isn’t it
wonderful to be dealing with the issues that success brings to people’s lives
instead of worrying about their failure to achieve? It seems to us that the fact that people’s
lives are getting better, their children are getting educated, and they are
improving things is a reason to rejoice.
Surely it is a positive development that the chairman can look forward
to future growth. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We got in
our car and headed back to Iringa. We
will get back before dark tonight!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgKyqAFu0zfRsEjoJBJcfaBAO4nOidZUX_WIPcxh4VZmGgcpg-0jFA0eZfHWhW5OfyC9I8rAVnLeuvS2DdUD2slltrjQVu_oYnzAqksOy9tcv2x1ZZuN07Druk3HARJQ1QyFjaoYkiN4/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="362" data-original-width="701" height="329" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgKyqAFu0zfRsEjoJBJcfaBAO4nOidZUX_WIPcxh4VZmGgcpg-0jFA0eZfHWhW5OfyC9I8rAVnLeuvS2DdUD2slltrjQVu_oYnzAqksOy9tcv2x1ZZuN07Druk3HARJQ1QyFjaoYkiN4/s640/8.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-47467597450216077092017-10-06T11:13:00.001-07:002017-10-06T11:13:39.418-07:00So this is Isimani<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Isimani is a
90 minute drive north of Iringa; 60 minutes of paved highway followed by 30
minutes on a rutted dirt road. Historically
the area around Isimani was famous for the fine maize that they grew, </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVFlfd5TbFS1ntE4-tkYR1DuKWdx_cm0245uvDlOV93VJOW2Mm_3CV8VtCuEpH8sQ-_w5jOQoFEbNqcM-BBSRTDLCzhlBvubPb0159HSDCms-eVuHV_tDZx8gTfWHApwNjJJkbRg3wh4/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUVFlfd5TbFS1ntE4-tkYR1DuKWdx_cm0245uvDlOV93VJOW2Mm_3CV8VtCuEpH8sQ-_w5jOQoFEbNqcM-BBSRTDLCzhlBvubPb0159HSDCms-eVuHV_tDZx8gTfWHApwNjJJkbRg3wh4/s320/7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">but in
the last 40 years the weather changed and it started having droughts. Now the area suffers with low to modest
yields and frequent devastating droughts.
Still, with persistence, good farming practices, and the good fortune of
receiving some of the spotty rainfall, a good living can be made here.</span></span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Arriving at
Isimani we were reminded of our first visit here. They had worked with Itiweni to get organized
and were collecting funds to get started.
Sandy and I were getting ready for a training session in Iringa town
when a short woman came hustling in and announced that she had brought in
10,000,000 TZS ($5,000) from 30 members at Isimani (they now have 63 members) and
wanted to get started. Itiweni could not
believe that she had collected so much so fast.
While we decided how to handle this (this had never happened before nor
has it happened since) the woman got excited, shook her finger at us, and
demanded we get going. We really liked
this feisty woman and she is still one of our favorite leaders.</span></span></h4>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39vMeA5SqTdAKhKiBSBR2kwLh2wm68-0Lm9Fl-omh2DW7rcbPDDNP7GsKE-u97S56Pzf8KRmsAs_6LHaLDp3ZGbdMDU9-ItBbOGA4JaRFdS7lHFg-ywhU0dvSfGM1UW0Snp27E-1wGcs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg39vMeA5SqTdAKhKiBSBR2kwLh2wm68-0Lm9Fl-omh2DW7rcbPDDNP7GsKE-u97S56Pzf8KRmsAs_6LHaLDp3ZGbdMDU9-ItBbOGA4JaRFdS7lHFg-ywhU0dvSfGM1UW0Snp27E-1wGcs/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Our meeting
took place in the new IDC warehouse. It
was tight fitting all of us into this space, but it is the nicest space available! The chairwoman welcomed us and praised the
new IDC. But she told us next year we
most likely would have to meet elsewhere because the warehouse would be full by
then!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We
introduced ourselves and gave a short talk, then Venance took over the meeting
and gave a class on growing maize. As he
talked we quietly left to interview some members.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The first
interview that Sandy had was with Amina Mtoji, 38 and married with 3
children. Amina has been a member of the
SACCOS since it started three years ago.
Her first loan was for 900,000 TZS (about $500). She planted corn on 5 acres and sunflowers on
15 acres. Her loan was </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqr9Kw_x6YZOttaHJVS3MJ_jDeOz2T2n3KiN4Eb_VkKDeOe9Z_iO54LbLcbLDdT85rGG11G33xTsP6kUtMiiC8FSKvGDg26wqdp61fxpXGIt_hhGlJ8bQPgoOcMnk84_6xnqUocrjsa8/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLqr9Kw_x6YZOttaHJVS3MJ_jDeOz2T2n3KiN4Eb_VkKDeOe9Z_iO54LbLcbLDdT85rGG11G33xTsP6kUtMiiC8FSKvGDg26wqdp61fxpXGIt_hhGlJ8bQPgoOcMnk84_6xnqUocrjsa8/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">used for seed,
spray and laborers. She did not use any
fertilizer since the land around Isimani “does not need any” (she is likely wrong
about this, but we will have the soil tested to find out what it needs). After repaying her loan she was left with a
profit of 300,000 TZS, which was used to increase their savings and buy more
shares in the SACCOS.<br /> </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Amina’s
second loan was for 1,200,000 TZS (about $600), some of which was used for
farming, as in the previous year, and some of it was used to buy more inventory
to expand their lumber business. They
again planted sunflowers and maize. The
crops were not very good that year, but the lumber business did well and they
again made a good profit. They saved
some, bought some more shares in the SACCOS, sent their son to secondary
school, and improved their house.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her third
loan was for 1,200,000 TZS ($600). She said
that she had enough in savings to qualify for a larger loan, which they wanted,
but the SACCOS had a long list of people wanting loans and not enough capital
so everyone agreed to borrow less than they asked for. She hopes that she will be able to take out
another loan this year. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">She told us
that they have again increased their lumber business and planted maize and
sunflowers. She is just harvesting her
crop now but it looks very good. The
lumber business has also been good so she thinks they will earn a lot, perhaps
2,000,000 TZS ($1,000), maybe more. They
are already planning to send their two oldest children to secondary school and
then to college. They are trying to
build up their resources so this is possible.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwltGyHx1eGmkAXheyuf7L4-VwovhUAof4ssHv6ANXWSRgj0bhmOLrT4_l5h5W7Hpi7jzLf2F5lTFjYmsTGfb_RRGqI79ZzxLfBnwhnQ0EOm27DXZFpNgLpZz4ZmzWV37iEDpsHPWuvY/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUwltGyHx1eGmkAXheyuf7L4-VwovhUAof4ssHv6ANXWSRgj0bhmOLrT4_l5h5W7Hpi7jzLf2F5lTFjYmsTGfb_RRGqI79ZzxLfBnwhnQ0EOm27DXZFpNgLpZz4ZmzWV37iEDpsHPWuvY/s640/6.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The next
member we visited with was Robert Myavidogi, 41 and married with 5
children. Robert has also been a member
of this SACCOS since it first began.
Three years ago he borrowed 300,000 TZS ($150) from the SACCOS to plant
2 acres of sunflowers using improved seeds and fertilizer, and hiring two
laborers. (These are year-round hired helpers, so he is contributing to the
economy of others in his village.) He
told us that since the SACCOS was new he wanted to “sample” it, so he planted
only 2 of his 20+ acres using his loan. That year his crop yielded 10 bags of
sunflowers, which sold for $230 and after loan repayment gave him an $80
profit. He used his profit to clear more
land to plant in the future. He told us that clearing and preparing land will
take 2 years – so he is planning ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Robert
didn’t increase his savings or shares, so his second loan was the same as his
first, 300,000 TZS, or about $150, used again for 2 acres of sunflowers. The
crop was better this year so he earned a $110 profit. He used some of this money to improve his
home and with the rest he increased his savings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Last year,
due to increased savings, Robert was able to borrow $300. With these funds he bought some cows and a
goat. He also planted 5 acres of
sunflowers. He has sold 15 bags of
sunflowers to repay his loan and is keeping some for when the prices rise. He expects to earn $250 or more when he has
sold his whole crop. This year he will need to pay for school fees for his oldest
son. He also wants to finish fixing his
home and clear some more land. He tells
us that since the SACCOS has come life has changed a lot. He is looking forward to seeing his farm grow
along with his live stock. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Sandy
finished with her interviews just after the meeting had ended. Tom then got together with the chairman and
Secretary to review their records.
Overall the members of this SACCOS had a bad year last year. The rains were spotty so although some got a
good harvest many got very little. Right
now it looks like everyone made at least a little money – but for many, it was
probably only a 10-20% profit on their loans.
Still, as the chairman told us, “Everyone is paying. We will have 100% repayment again this
year. We all know that it is a hard
year, but without Iringa Hope it would be a total disaster.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We got in our truck and headed back the way we had come. We are going to Ilambilole.</span></div>
</div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-16653195049492475752017-10-05T12:43:00.000-07:002017-10-05T12:44:24.670-07:00At Ipalamwa<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After
leaving Ukwega we headed back down the road we came on and 30 minutes later arrived
at Ipalamwa!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DII7VuXclNNv1pL24Uk6m9VqQZ3OW4S0YrErFlPzyTGGVmnG1dogxfZSTQdtJD9ch957uAMza40Ze0dDl1As4c7fM7wuZmK5_wPsAHpR8vzRE1aNyUFTjaUMTiPr6FwUfXd490uvBdk/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7DII7VuXclNNv1pL24Uk6m9VqQZ3OW4S0YrErFlPzyTGGVmnG1dogxfZSTQdtJD9ch957uAMza40Ze0dDl1As4c7fM7wuZmK5_wPsAHpR8vzRE1aNyUFTjaUMTiPr6FwUfXd490uvBdk/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As we turned to go to Ipalamwa we found one of our<br />
members walking to our meeting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We were
again met by a group of people who have been waiting for us. Attendance at the meeting, while fairly good,
was only about 1/3 of the SACCOS membership, due to the not-uncommon occurrence
of a village funeral. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Once again
the meeting started with the chairman giving us a report on their SACCOS and
AMCOS. There seems to be an element of
village rivalry going on between the neighboring villages of Ipalamwa and Ukwega.
With a brand new IDC building in Ukwega,
Ipalamwa is sure thinking that they could use one too!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Ipalamwa
SACCOS has 6,500,000 TZS in capital and has borrowed 15,000,000 TZS from Iringa
Hope making 21,500,000 TZS (or about $9,800).
They do not have an IDC here but they emphasized that they REALLY NEED
one. Both of the chairmen asked me how
they might get one for their community.
I told them the Joint SACCOS board makes the selections, and my job is
to work to find the funds. This seemed to satisfy everyone and the meeting
moved on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When it came
time for Jane to speak on behalf of the Morogoro Central Rotary club she spent
a little <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGTnMU5Xa-YMPZP-NuDdBdHwJT4k9t9Yej0-0n4f79Jmu5tMRcGg4Qhh_RxOcw0w_ofUbNLhLMUSAKZurW2B-KZropK-AbHF4cN3hsFaFbV3k3h9WYQQk9xr9PQGhE00hX9Add-irSF4/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIGTnMU5Xa-YMPZP-NuDdBdHwJT4k9t9Yej0-0n4f79Jmu5tMRcGg4Qhh_RxOcw0w_ofUbNLhLMUSAKZurW2B-KZropK-AbHF4cN3hsFaFbV3k3h9WYQQk9xr9PQGhE00hX9Add-irSF4/s320/2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was a good turn out for the meeting. Jane explained<br />
her club's role in our International Rotary grant.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
time explaining the Global Grant that we are receiving. There were lots of smiles and applause for
this and people were clearly excited.
This SACCOS, like all of the Iringa Hope SACCOS, needs more capital for
their members and hopes to get a larger loan from the Joint SACCOS this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After the
general meeting, Venance, the agronomist, gave a class on planting techniques
for growing potatoes, a crop that isn’t grown often here, but will likely due
well in the area. During his class we
conducted interviews with two of the members.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The first
member we talked to was Kastori Mtengera, 68 and married with 5 children </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtZGIGsK5mZ1_-V-wo8_lEcein1bnW_ldKKO570lowF63VPljggk60zJg7pqZg9RzYo2HXvg8EA7kakMyeptzbDHdUKSiE_0aSuFNEZY2AEjAxpqilvdoV7Cke5eK4egVXFwduYLlo2w/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJtZGIGsK5mZ1_-V-wo8_lEcein1bnW_ldKKO570lowF63VPljggk60zJg7pqZg9RzYo2HXvg8EA7kakMyeptzbDHdUKSiE_0aSuFNEZY2AEjAxpqilvdoV7Cke5eK4egVXFwduYLlo2w/s320/3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
and <span style="font-size: 12pt;">5
grandchildren. He has a sister who is
ill so he and his wife live with her.
Kastori has belonged to the SACCOS since it started and has taken out 3
loans. His first loan was for $40 which
he used to fertilize his beans. After
repaying his loan he had a profit of $175, which he used to complete a brick
home they had been working on. His
second loan was for $45. Once again he
used this to fertilize his beans. This
time, after repaying the loan, his
income had increased by $150. He
and his wife decided to build another house so they will have one to rent, so
this profit started another building.
His last loan was for $48 which he again used for his beans. This year his profits increased by $189 which
will be used for the new house.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEfSewe18YGZisRiIHopNkeTiNAN09-8y_gjeOsK-XZCEdy9mO03Sx3EQDo3IIaaSB3r8Vu4PkNTP2Zzw9mFicdWpE2Z_DCRZ_EUL2bp7Uc9s8f8vPep4rCR4BG2_UFIjEV5DO_Djxqs/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAEfSewe18YGZisRiIHopNkeTiNAN09-8y_gjeOsK-XZCEdy9mO03Sx3EQDo3IIaaSB3r8Vu4PkNTP2Zzw9mFicdWpE2Z_DCRZ_EUL2bp7Uc9s8f8vPep4rCR4BG2_UFIjEV5DO_Djxqs/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We then
talked to Scola Kadinde, 35 and married with 4 children. Scola has 2 children going to a public
secondary school, 1 child in primary school, and 1 in preschool.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Scola has
been a member of the SACCOS here for 2 years.
So far she has taken out 2 loans.
Her first loan was for $75 which she used to fertilize her beans. This increased her profit by $225. She used these profits to buy 2 pigs, a bore
and a sow, which will hopefully produce a nice litter of piglets in
November. She also paid school fees for
her children. Her second loan was for
$125. Once again, she used this loan to
fertilize beans, getting a $300 increase in profit. She used these funds to pay the children’s
school fees and is planning on saving some of the rest so she can qualify for a
larger loan this year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Scola seems
a vivacious and bright young woman with well-thought-out plans for her farm
loans. For example, her 5-month farm
loan took her through one bad harvest due to climate, and allowed her time and
money to plant a second crop, hiring help for expediency. This second planting gave her a high enough
yield to offset the first planting, repay her loan and still see a profit. </span></div>
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After we had
talked to these members we went back to the meeting. Things were starting to
break up <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV5CfqMUzepyQqe9WN7Mw9nZrW_1g2mL_A3NDai9v0J9VuuAunXDr_J9oFEciveJ9B1xEjLfWXILbKtYawM7LXVLw5DqV2NzWGJSFQcpoxjfi28e2QiUimskiaLLKNkj-kzkJGqeul4Y/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUV5CfqMUzepyQqe9WN7Mw9nZrW_1g2mL_A3NDai9v0J9VuuAunXDr_J9oFEciveJ9B1xEjLfWXILbKtYawM7LXVLw5DqV2NzWGJSFQcpoxjfi28e2QiUimskiaLLKNkj-kzkJGqeul4Y/s200/5.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
so we waited outside and talked to some of the people as they
left. People here are very happy with
their SACCOS and are working hard to get their AMCOS going as well. They clearly see these two as having key
roles in their futures.</span></span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Before we
left the chairman asked us to come to the Pastor’s house for chai. Chai was a full meal with rice, beans,
spinach and chicken. We didn’t need
dinner tonight, which is just as well, since we returned to the apartment quite
late.</span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Jane and
Dynas are heading back to Morogoro tomorrow morning. They are satisfied with what they have seen
and learned. They told us, “You have a
wonderful, highly competent staff here.
The members are clearly benefiting greatly and are taking care of the
funds they receive. We are very happy
with Iringa Hope.” </span></span></h4>
<h4 style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Needless to
say, we were pleased to hear such high praise coming from two very accomplished
and successful women. We are very
appreciative that their Rotary Club has taken on the responsibility of
supervising and reporting back to Rotary headquarters on the global grant that
Iringa Hope received from Rotary International. </span></span></h4>
<div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<h3 style="text-align: justify;">
</h3>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Today has
been a long and tiring day, but filled with good conversation with SACCOS and
AMCOS members, along with excellent reports on their progress</span>.</span></h4>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8f6he5I9N7tbZltKjsm2MP9dbjZeok3PCaZGOlsvfMM1HQmjqCA6dQphOMu_g9uEr5Uf4gBOYZQAxidTJiKT1WBtK5o8VbFPNIfQjGjPAqOuHa9qXqfj6s6QwBOEpafIRoufRGLF2ukg/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8f6he5I9N7tbZltKjsm2MP9dbjZeok3PCaZGOlsvfMM1HQmjqCA6dQphOMu_g9uEr5Uf4gBOYZQAxidTJiKT1WBtK5o8VbFPNIfQjGjPAqOuHa9qXqfj6s6QwBOEpafIRoufRGLF2ukg/s400/7.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trees in Iringa are really lovely this time of year.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-469710860481472065.post-57899838153372054732017-10-05T12:17:00.002-07:002017-10-05T12:17:57.052-07:00We start at Ukwega<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjg6y8DB2OMXdbHVAdSgO8M3tQu2J9H-S9NapgiWFEChTmRI3e-ykHP3WHgxMErAYS5_wyMK8QLq4ZGoXR5P7uQsTg5syYnnJYnOP8d0V0V8dHVgWjRmbJNSCjOVVbQwzpgNo1Sjgtgm4/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="709" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjg6y8DB2OMXdbHVAdSgO8M3tQu2J9H-S9NapgiWFEChTmRI3e-ykHP3WHgxMErAYS5_wyMK8QLq4ZGoXR5P7uQsTg5syYnnJYnOP8d0V0V8dHVgWjRmbJNSCjOVVbQwzpgNo1Sjgtgm4/s320/1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">This morning
we met the Morogoro Rotarians at their hotel, the New Ruaha Inn, where we
joined them for breakfast. We got an
early start to the day with the full complement of MFI staff members. We were such a large group that we needed two
cars. The young MFI staff members
decided that “babu mzee” (old grandpa) should have a driver for the long
journey ahead, so in addition to the staff </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">we were joined by our driver,
Daniel. Itiweni, Peter Silayo (our SACCOS field agent), Jefa Duma (Joint SACCOS/AMCOS
manager), Gideon (our agricultural intern), Venance Msigala (our AMCOS agronomist),
Jane and Dynas (Morogoro Rotary club representatives), and Sandy and Tom were
on our way to Ukwega at 8:00.</span></div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9s2hoxtePSqyIdMK4GgzNJB_LeTCpUbIvLTjVOFc6YxnWcRoAM0bwFl889UyJXXtNc56fLlw0lUo6uIQAVeDtGU19OIM787ZnSd49BugR_AZNnXlAVzETpAvMa3pbf35PizwaChTyQi4/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="748" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9s2hoxtePSqyIdMK4GgzNJB_LeTCpUbIvLTjVOFc6YxnWcRoAM0bwFl889UyJXXtNc56fLlw0lUo6uIQAVeDtGU19OIM787ZnSd49BugR_AZNnXlAVzETpAvMa3pbf35PizwaChTyQi4/s200/3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Ukegwa is a
2.5 hour drive south of Iringa town on a dirt road. The road is rough but the
scenery is awesome, passing through woods, along ridgelines, up into the hills,
and finally to Ukwega. The road was
actually pretty quiet today with only a few lumber trucks and buses. We probably encountered fewer than five other
cars on the entire drive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We normally
come to Iringa in the January-March time period. That is the tail end of the rainy </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">season so
it is green but muddy. This time of the
year we have found most of the landscape brown and dusty. Still, the Jacaranda trees are blooming with
beautiful lavender flowers, and the hillsides are green.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Upon our
arrival at Ukwega we were greeted by a large crowd waiting by the new IDC
building. The IDC here was finished in
March. It is already in steady use for meetings,
record keeping, storing seeds, etc. Ukwega
has an active SACCOS and AMCOS which are growing and doing well. There are now 92 families who have joined
these co-ops, an increase of 10 from March, with another 15 on the waiting
list.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkWfSpByf23Q6gRv5A2FzR80UXmpLaNX7foYzvR5DZdj984TwGFtVmyTncuY-6DMRsSlaBVZWAuPIgpcRoOgYaFzcoEWh641lg-1aNY5OozrFboQ3amxe1-nCqVZe1HFnZjdCiFTiMo4/s1600/1a.mp4" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkWfSpByf23Q6gRv5A2FzR80UXmpLaNX7foYzvR5DZdj984TwGFtVmyTncuY-6DMRsSlaBVZWAuPIgpcRoOgYaFzcoEWh641lg-1aNY5OozrFboQ3amxe1-nCqVZe1HFnZjdCiFTiMo4/s400/1a.mp4" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The group that greeted us broke into a song and danced. Jane had to join in. The rest of us just watched and enjoyed the show.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Our first
stop at Ukwega was at the Pastor’s house for chai. We had not met this Pastor before, as he has
only been here since March. However, we
did recognize many of the members from other visits and were happy to see
everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Following
chai, we went to the IDC building for a joint meeting with the SACCOS and
AMCOS. The chairman of the SACCOS gave
us a report on how they are doing. They
currently have 92 members and expect to have over 100 by the end of next
month. Their capital is about 12,000,000
TZS plus 22,000,000 TZS which they borrowed from Iringa Hope – so about
34,000,000 TZS altogether (roughly $15,500).
They have a collection rate on their loans of 96% so far this year with
the other 4% still paying as they sell their crops. With the new members they are hoping to
borrow 45,000,000 TZS next year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We made our
introductions and then, while the meeting was taking place, Sandy, Peter, Jane
and I conducted interviews.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">First Sandy
spoke with Atrese Kimbavala. Her last name was so familiar to Sandy, and when
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Atrese </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">was asked if she was related to Doricus Kimbavala, she told her that she
is his sister. For those of </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; text-align: left;">you who know
our early history with SACCOS, you may remember that the first SACCOS that we
started was started at Ihemi Parish. When
it started Pastor Doricus Kimbavala texted us from Ihemi writing, “This is the
greatest day of my life. There is great
hope here at Ihemi!” That was in 2008 – so what a pleasant surprise to meet his
sister and to be reminded of the beginnings of this journey that is Iringa
Hope. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Continuing
with the interview we learned that Atrese is 45, married, with 6 children and 2
grandchildren. She and her husband have
also taken in 3 young orphans whom they are raising. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Atrese told
us that they moved to Ukwega after they married, almost 25 years ago, and from
that time they have always rented land on which to raise their crops. When the SACCOS formed 4 years ago she
immediately joined. She attended classes
on how to plan and manage their farm, how to improve their crops, and how to
budget and save money. After saving some
funds she made a plan for their farming and took her first loan of $55 for
buying fertilizer and seed for raising beans.
That year her profits soared; so she saved some of the money, and used
the rest to improve her family’s nutrition and household. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Her second loan was also for fertilizer and
seed with similar results, and last year after taking out a third loan, this
time for $150, she had a profit of $700.
Combining this with the $300 she and her husband earn from other things,
they earned a total of $1,000 – a 3 times growth in a few years! One of the questions Sandy always asks is
“How did you use your profit?” To which Atrese replied that in addition to
buying the usual household things, they had bought a 10-acre farm. Sandy asked
Peter how to say “WOW” in Swahili to which Peter replied, “WOW.” Atrese smiled and laughed a little.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Next we
talked to Meshak Mgata, 39 and married with 3 children. He has belonged to the SACCOS </span></div>
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">for 3 years and
the AMCOS for 2 years. Meshak told us
that his first loan was for $50 which he combined with $75 of his own money to
fertilize his beans. That year his
profit from his beans increased to $450.
He used the increased funds to buy nursery stock to plant 20,000 tree
seedlings and started a nursery. He sold
5,000 of the seedlings to pay his bills then borrowed another $200 from the
SACCOS to start another batch of seedlings.
He now has 35,000 seedlings which are worth $0.15 or so each (over $5,000
in all). He plans to sell some trees
soon and will probably build a new house and pay school fees.</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">By the time
we finished talking with Mashak, Venance had completed his lesson on the
planting of maize so the meeting was ending.
A song started up from the members and they sang and danced their way
out of the IDC warehouse. We said good
bye and headed down the road to Ipalamwa.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzqmefNvVZH6H04q0gHtVh456PL_DV2q9kIQ1xyoKsiNwq3qU7OwDkEIpz3uVy0-ei5oHPXK0jWboI74bI_fhyphenhyphenDiYZCtIqktHWQkuAHBNmDAQFoN2YN3KoejFVXyBGDmt7ZHSm14_ZEY/s1600/2.mp4" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUzqmefNvVZH6H04q0gHtVh456PL_DV2q9kIQ1xyoKsiNwq3qU7OwDkEIpz3uVy0-ei5oHPXK0jWboI74bI_fhyphenhyphenDiYZCtIqktHWQkuAHBNmDAQFoN2YN3KoejFVXyBGDmt7ZHSm14_ZEY/s400/2.mp4" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A song started up and we sang and danced our way out of the meeting.</td></tr>
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Tom & Sandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06110829663573621951noreply@blogger.com0