This morning we met with Jane and Dynas, the Morogoro
Rotarians, for breakfast, then headed over to the office. Today we were planning to meet with the Micro
Finance staff in the MFI building to go over records, plans, etc. for the
International Rotary Grant.
Iringa Hope built the MFI building on the campus of the
University of Iringa three years ago. It
was funded by a grant from the Peter J King Family Foundation – the same people
who have been funding the construction of our IDCs. The building is very distinctive with a red
roof, white accents, and a brick exterior.
We started the meeting by introducing ourselves and our
functions. There are now 6 full time
people at the MFI – so with us and the two representatives from Morogoro there were
10 in our meeting. We discussed our
organization,
how we handle funds, how we operate, etc. Jane and Dynas had lots of questions which the
MFI staff answered. By 1:00 we were
winding down so we decided to break for lunch.
Normally we would have had lunch at the University, but
classes are now on break so we went into town instead. Our talks continued over lunch, and when we
were finished the group broke up, with everyone going their own way. Jane and Dynas decided to rest up a bit and
get ready for
tomorrow. Sandy went into
town to get things for our time here while the rest of us went back to the MFI
building to work on our long-range plans.
At Iringa Hope we tend to make regular 3-year plans. These plans then guide grants we apply for,
funds we raise, etc. This year we have
the additional complexity of our growing network of Farmer’s Coops (called
AMCOS) and how they will operate and generate the funds they need. By the end of the day we had an outline of
what we need to do and how we might get it all done. It took a long time to discuss, but now
everyone knows what is expected.
As we were breaking up Itiweni told Tom that a group of
government officials wants to meet with us.
They plan to give Iringa Hope a $30,000 plot of land for future use and
wanted to talk to us to communicate how excited they are about our work. Itiweni said that the group includes
Regional, District, and local officials.
We are pleased to be invited to meet with them, but whether or not we do
will depend on our schedule. We will of
course meet with them IF we have time, but members come first (members ALWAYS
come first) so we will have to see if we are able.
Tomorrow morning at 7 we will have a breakfast meeting and
then off to the villages.
It's a good start. Wishing you a wonderful time, safe travels. Greetings to all. A special thank you to Jane, Dynas and the Morogoro club. Kent
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