Ilambilole

Wednesday morning we headed north to Ilambilole.  Ilambilole is normally a 45 minute drive, but we were warned that once we left the tarmac ,much of the road was a swamp from the rains; so we hired a driver for the trip.  The road was actually quite dry after a few sunny days, however it is pretty clear by the deep ruts that they were swampy a few days ago.

The group we met with today was small due to three other meetings going on which involve most of our members.  Scheduling conflicts have arisen due to last minute changes we have made based on road condition reports. 

With a group that was small enough to fit in the main room of the pastor’s house we were able to have our discussion over chai.  We discovered that 23 members of the SACCOS had withdrawn their savings to repay their loans after last year’s drought resulted in a very bad harvest. (Their repayment rate still remained at 100%!)  The chairman told us that all but one of these members kept their shares with the SACCOS and plan to start saving with this year’s crop.  The SACCOS worked just as it should for these members.  They built up savings in the good times so they had some money to carry them through the bad times.  Those present at the meeting were reminded that having savings to carry them is a very good thing and that they should be proud that their actions left them solvent in a bad year.

Everyone was encouraged by this.  The chairman commented (in English, so we could understand first hand), “If they had not had savings they would have had to sell their goat and kettle and other things  The prices were very low since so many were selling so they would have lost a lot.  Instead they have kept these things and will rebuild their savings.  Yes – this is a very good thing indeed.”  There was a lot of agreement that the SACCOS had been a big help to the people.  They understood that they should be emphasizing savings for the future more than they have been.

They are also forming an AMCOS here.  So far they have 87 members in their AMCOS.  Their application has been turned in to the district cooperative officer and they should be registered any day now.  Of the 87 AMCOS members about 60 are also SACCOS members.  This is what we have been expecting to happen.  There will be people who are not yet ready to save and plan but need good seed and fertilizer and want help selling their crops.  We think that over time the two groups will be nearly identical, but for now we are expecting the AMCOS members to outnumber the SACCOS members.

Last year we organized a program to sell fertilizer here.  Everyone agreed that it was an excellent program.  They got what they wanted, when they wanted it, and at a good price.  They were excited to have us expand this again this year.

When the business meeting wrapped up, Sandy turned to the interviews.  The first member she talked with was Frank Nyalusi, 52 and married, with eight children.  Frank has taken out 3 loans since joining the SACCOS.  The last loan he completed was for 300,000 TZS.  He used this together with some funds he had put aside to plant maize.  Fortunately for Frank his land lies five kilometers from the village and got good rains.  As a result his crop was very good, netting him almost 2,000,000 TZS ($1,000) after all of his expenses.  He used his profits to help his three children who are studying at the University and pay fees for another 3 who are still in secondary school.  This year Frank has taken out a 200,000 TZS loan and is again planting maize.

Sandy then talked with Atuwene Fute, 46 and widowed with three grown children and five grandchildren.  Two of her grandchildren, ages nine and seven, live with her, relying on her for their support.   Last year she took out a loan for 120,000 TZS which she used to plant one acre of maize and buy two pigs.  120,000 was the maximum she could borrow because she has 40,000 in savings.  She planted her crop using local seeds and only one application of fertilizer. Atuwene made a profit of 10,000 per pig when she sold them and a profit of 70,000 from her maize.  She used her profit to make bricks for a house, which is almost finished.  She also raises chickens to sell and she sells eggs in town.  She told us that without her loan she would not have been able to do more than earn enough to eat.  Instead she is excited that she is going to have a house in another year or so and can move out of her mud hut!

This group has been hoping to build a small building for their SACCOS and AMCOS.  The SACCOS has been meeting in the village common building and the church.  They have no office for the SACCOS.  Last year they borrowed the village common building for storing their fertilizer, but they had to move it out within 3 days.

They have acquired some land and cleared it to build a building.  Right now they have planted it in maize, but they are eager to see a building on the lot.  It clearly would be a great advantage to them to be able to build. 

This afternoon we are off to Mbeya to look at a project for the University.  We know the VC of Academic Affairs here and he wants our advice.

It is easy to see that this road was a swamp just a few days ago.

Two of the members of the SACCOS and AMCOS came from another meeting.  The chairman of the SACCOS greeted them and asked about the other group.

The first member Sandy talked with was Frank Nyalusi, 52 and married, with eight children.  Frank has taken out 3 loans since joining the SACCOS.

Sandy talked with Atuwene Fute, 46 and widowed with three grown children and five grandchildren.  Two of her grandchildren, ages nine and seven, live with her, relying on her for their support.

The members have acquired this land to build a combination SACCOS and AMCOS office.

They have been using this community building.  It leaks and has no storage.

Kilolo

Today we went out to Kilolo.  Kilolo is normally not a bad drive.  You go down the hill on the tarmac, make a right then left turn, and head down the dirt road.  The road itself is often not bad, but we had been told by many folks that the rains had turned it into a minor river.  We decided to hire a driver for the day (they only cost $20) rather than fight the mud.  To our surprise the road was dry! 

We have mentioned before that it was raining every day here for the last 2 months, but on Saturday it stopped.  There has been no rain since then and the forecast is for no rain for the next 10 days.  With the hard pack soil around here it tends to dry out fast.  While slick and greasy when wet, once the water disappears it gets pretty hard pretty fast.  As a result the road was more rutted than normal but dry and hard.

It is usually a 45 minute drive to Kilolo from Iringa, but today it took us a little over an hour; not bad for a drive that a few days ago was leaving trucks stranded and cars sliding around. 

Arriving at Kilolo we found only 2 people waiting for us – the new vice chairman and the old secretary.  The secretary started to make excuses that there were other church meetings, village meetings, etc. but Itiweni cut him off.  She smelled a rat and she was not going to listen to his excuses.

The Kilolo SACCOS has been slow getting started.  When we first went there in 2012 there was a group of 34 who were very enthusiastic and wanted to start a SACCOS.  The first year they collected a small amount of capital.  The second year they were given 3,200,000 TZS so they collected the remaining funds needed.  By 2014 we had gotten them to organize themselves and become a “group.”  This took a lot of work on our part and is the first step in registering as a SACCOS.  When we visited them last year they had made a few loans and the members had good results, but they had not grown their membership nor had they grown their capital.  At that point we were worried that they were becoming more of a “click” than a SACCOS, so we worked with them to expand their membership and finish their registration.  We talked with the pastor at Kilolo about this and he agreed, and said he thought the leadership was the real problem.

Late last year Peter went there with the co-op officer and looked things over.  The co-op officer chided them for making no progress and they once again promised to finish their work and admit new members.  Today it appeared that they had once again failed to follow through.

Tom started to talk and Itiweni politely cut him off.  “It is time for Itiweni to be the bad cop,” she said.  She then proceeded to lecture the two officials about their failings, the consequences, and what they needed to do.  The secretary had started to say they had repaid their loans and were working to move forward.  Looking at the records however it was clear that this was not true.  “Do not lie to me,” Itiweni told him.  He quit talking and said nothing from then on.

The new vice chairman, a “traditionally built woman” who owns a beauty salon, started talking and she and Itiweni talked for a long time.  Wondering what was going on we called Peter over to translate for us.  He said that the vice chairman told Itiweni that everyone was late on their loans.  They all said they were going to pay in a few months, but she didn’t believe them.  The old officers hadn’t done anything since they too were late.  She said that the real problem was that the group had decided that the SACCOS must be owned by the church and so they were only taking out “church money.”  Since they were all members they decided they did not need to repay the loans or do anything.  She said that the ringleaders of this were the old officers.  The old secretary said nothing, but just sat there. 

Itiweni reminded him that we do arrest thieves.  She reminded him that the money was NOT the church’s or his nor anyone else’s to give away.  She told the new vice chairman to make a list of what was owed and to go around and demand payment, making it clear that if they do not pay we will be back with the means to make them pay.

We also noted that the membership of this group has not grown nor changed in the years since they started.  Every year we are told of people waiting to join – but none ever seem to do this.  The new vice chairman laughs a little and says that this group does not want to let any others in so they have been happy to not have it grow.  New members would only make new demands.

We were very proud of Itiweni and Peter.  Every time Tom went to say something they told him that they had already said that or were doing that.  What a grand thing!  Five years ago when we started our work this would not have happened.  The change in these two is very gratifying (and, I believe, just what is needed to keep things working).  We had said that starting this year we would make NO decisions and run NOTHING here in Iringa since the MFI team and the Iringa Hope Joint SACCOS board can run it all themselves, and here was proof.

Peter and Itweni made a plan with the new vice chair to have another meeting in a week or so at the village center.  The meeting will be announced as a village meeting on the SACCOS.  At this meeting we will have the old officers thrown out and new ones put in.  By the time of the meeting the new vice chairman will have collected as much as possible.  We will then have the village chairman start the legal process to collect from everyone else.  We think that they will be able to collect all of the funds.  The members are clearly worried about us collecting and will likely pay quickly.  They have heard about us making arrests in Nyanzwa and they don’t want this to happen in Kilolo.

At the meeting other villagers will be invited to join the SACCOS.  This is a key step to breaking up the “click mentality”.  Most of the SACCOS are 85% church members and 15% from the village at large.  This type of mix seems to keep the SACCOS from becoming a small group and helps it work and grow.  For a SACCOS to really work well you need good participation.

Peter and Itweni seemed satisfied that this location will start working soon.  We hope so for the sake of the members of this parish.

As we left Kilolo and headed back to town Sandy and I were pleased to see that Itiweni and Peter  have grown so much and can handle things so well. 

Tomorrow we are off to Ilambilole.  Right after that we are heading to the town of Mbeya, which is about 300 km from here.  The University has asked us to go and take a look at their campus there and give them some advice on it.  They are hoping to cut costs and attract more students.  We will be going with their Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and the Interim Vice Chair of Resources Management. We will be gone until late Thursday night and so will not post until Friday.

We were told that a few days ago this road was a minor river.  The hard-pack here dries fast so today it is just a badly rutted road.

The secretary started to make excuses but Itiweni cut him off fast.  After that he just sat there and made a sour face.  He knew that he was in trouble.

The new vice chairman is a "traditionally built woman."  She listened as Peter and Itiweni chewed them out and told them what they had to do and how long they had to do it.

The new vice chairman seems very pleased to get things going.  She was happy we came.  "We really need this SACCOS here.  Other groups come and go, but I know that Iringa Hope is here to stay."

One thing Tom loves to do is give the children candy.  It seems however that Peter and Itiweni are now doing that too!  "What is left for me to do!" Tom whined.

Right now the crops look good.  If the rains really stop things should turn out well for the farmers this year.

At Itungi

Yesterday morning we went to Itungi.  When we went downstairs at 9:00, expecting to get in and go, Tom turned the key we heard “grrrrr-grrrrrr” - oh-oh a low battery. 

We had no jumper cables in the vehicle, so we called Denis Ngede, who co-owns the vehicle with us.  He called to send someone “ right over”, and  this being Tanzania we settled in for a 30-50 minute wait.  An hour and a half later we were getting anxious when the mechanic finally arrived.  He tried to give us a jump start – but to no avail. 

On further inspection the mechanic decided that it had an electrical problem that would take a while to fix, so Denis sent us a different vehicle and driver for the day while it was repaired.  Itiweni called ahead to the SACCOS officers at Itungi to inform them of our 2-hour late start.

 Arriving at Itungi we were greeted by the chairman of the SACCOS and some of the members.  He told us that everyone had decided to wait until we got there.  This SACCOS is small.  It has only 20 members and has not grown in the last two years.  It is also still registered as a group (a lower level registration) since they have not yet completed their paperwork.  Perhaps the biggest issue is that the leadership here is relatively weak.  Still, we expected more progress than this.

We started the meeting as usual with Itiweni, Sandy, and then Tom making introductions.  Itiweni was tired from her “little case” of malaria so she decided to give her talk while sitting down.  We were concerned that she might get over tired but she told us, “This is just like when you are a mama.  When the papa gets sick he gets to lie down.  When mama gets sick she still cooks dinner.  I guess I am cooking dinner.” 

She gave them the class she has been delivering on the importance of buying shares and building community.  Then she lectured them for a while questioning why they had not completed their paperwork nor built up their members.  The chairperson agreed that she had not done her job and promised to do better – we will see.  Then the pastor talked about one problem in particular they had had last year.  It seems another group had come into their area offering to supply seed and fertilizer, then collect and sell the crops and give the farmers the difference between the cost of the inputs and the price of the crops.

Many people who were going to join the SACCOS decided that this was an easier thing to do so they signed up.  As it turned out when the group collected the crop they took all of the money and gave the farmers nothing.  They claimed that the crop barely covered expenses.  Everyone felt cheated since other farmers around them had made a profit, but they got nothing.  This year no one has signed up.

Near the end of our visit the pastor and chairperson got up to thank us for being so faithful to them and promising to be faithful to the SACCOS, working hard to improve and grow.  Then everyone broke out in song.

After the meeting Sandy sat down to talk with Wilson Kulange.   Wilson is 69, married, and the father of 4 grown children.  It was apparent that Wilson has a serious problem walking.  In the US he might be a candidate for a hip replacement, but here he tolerates the pain, which is tolerable at times and at other times incapacitating. Because of this he needs to hire laborers for field work.  He has been a member of the Itungi SACCOS since it began and has taken out 3 loans.  Last year he borrowed $120 to plant maize.  Despite his physical limitations, requiring hired help, he managed to earn a $200 profit, which he used to pay for a trip to the hospital for his hip, medicine for his treatment, and school fees for his grandchildren.  This year he has taken out another loan to plant green peppers.

Next we talked with Neema Kabuli, 30 years old, married with 2 children.  She too has been a member here since the beginning.  Last year she borrowed $180 to plant tomatoes and buy two pigs.  The tomatoes did well and her sow had piglets, which she sold.  Overall she earned $240 from her loan.  She has used some of this to increase her savings.  The rest she is using to buy fertilizer for this year’s crop.

All of the members we spoke with said that they did much better than their neighbors who had signed up with the group offering inputs.  They felt that they made better decisions for themselves and were happy with their choices.  Their neighbors were left feeling cheated and distrustful.  They think that some of them will want to join the SACCOS now while others will take a while before they trust anyone again.

Since we were planning on being here by 10 they had made us chai!  So we went over and had chai for lunch then took our leave.  When we got home the car was back and working again.  It turned out that when we drove through the muddy stream that was yesterday’s road, a mixture of water and mud had filled the fuse box.  Since the fuse box sits about 2.5 to 3 feet above the roadway this was a bit of a shock!  Sitting in the mud and gravel overnight the fuses shorted out and drained the battery so the car wouldn’t start.  After they had cleaned out the box and put in new fuses everything worked fine!

Well, today is Sunday and we have spent the day with Itiweni and her daughter Mercy going to church at Cathedral and then having lunch.  Pastor Mbozo spotted us there and had us go up front to give a greeting. 

Tomorrow we will be spending the day in the office working on plans and reports and meeting with various officials – so no report tomorrow!

The way to Itungi lies mainly along the main highway.  It is not raining as we leave (2 hours later than planned) so it is an easy drive.

When you get to Ilula you turn off the main road and climb the hill on a dirt road. 

Itiweni was tired today from her "little bit of malaria" so she sat down for her talk.

The children found Tom sitting and listening.   Pretty soon they were looking at pictures and laughing.

 

Sandy sat down to talk with Wilson Kulange.   Wilson is 69, married, and the father of 4 grown children.  It was apparent that Wilson has a serious problem walking.  In the US he might be a candidate for a hip replacement, but here he tolerates the pain, which is tolerable at times and at other times incapacitating.

Next we talked with Neema Kabuli, 30 years old, married with 2 children.  She too has been a member here since the beginning. 

As we headed home it began raining again.  It would rain all night but stop by the morning. 

And On To Ifunda

Yesterday when we left Kiponzelo it was raining hard.  We took a left hand turn on the “road” and headed back.  I say “road” because it really looked more like a river.  The water was running hard and fast.  In places it was up to the bottom of the car doors.  It was flowing deep enough and strong enough that we were wondering if it might carry the car away – but we survived.

After floating along for a while we crested a hill.  Lo and behold, this part of the road was totally dry (too bad it was only 100 yards from the tarmac – why couldn’t this have been back a few miles?).  So we motored along and drove the few miles into Ifunda on good, dry roads.

When we got to Ifunda it was starting to cloud over, but it hadn’t rained yet.  When we went in to the church to start the meeting the clouds opened up.  While Itiweni greeted everyone Tom stepped to the door and took a shot at the rain.  It was just warming up, and soon it was pouring again.  When we stood to greet the group the rain was coming down so hard that we couldn't be heard above the noise on the roof.

Itiweni had everyone move up close and huddle together.  As she talked she kept raising her voice until she was waving her arms and shouting at everyone (the first time I have seen her shout).  Still, the members seemed interested in her talk and paid close attention.  Soon they all formed a very tight group and Itiweni stood directly in front of them in order to be heard.

This SACCOS is fairly new.  It started with a gift from House of Prayer.  They have 68 members now and are doing well.  Last year they made their first loans, 22 in all, and all for planting.  Their crops are still in the field, so we didn't interview anyone about their loan history.  People here are good savers.  In one year the members saved 6,587,000 TZS ($3,150). 

We sat down with one of the officers to discuss their first year in operation.  They gave out only 22 loans because that used all of the capital they had.  Those members he knew of who had taken out loans told him they expected to earn

Today we visited Itungi, but we will wait until tomorrow to post that report.  

The road looks a lot like a river system.

At times it seems like the current will sweep the car away.

The water and mud reached to the doors.  We did not know it then but this spelled trouble for the next morning.

Just a short way away at Ifunda it had not rained at all today.

As Itiweni started to talk the rain began.

Tom stepped to the door to see how bad it was getting.

As Sandy introduced herself the rain got louder and louder.

Before long Itiweni had everyone group up so she could talk to them.

Even then she had to shout.  It is the first time I have ever heard her raise her voice!

As we left and headed down the road it was hard to see our way.  Still, we made it back for another day.

The Rains Came At Kiponzelo

Today we visited two villages.  The first one was Kiponzelo, a relatively new location that we have been to several times.  The drive there is usually a pleasant drive, about 40 minutes down the tarmac and then a 20 minute drive down a relatively good dirt road.  But that was before the rains came.

It rained overnight in Iringa, pouring down in the early morning.  This of course does not affect the drive on the tarmac, but when we turned onto the dirt road we were in for a bad surprise.  The Kiponzelo road, which was once relatively smooth and flat, is now a deeply rutted expanse of mud and water puddles.  We drive down the road taking care to stay away from the worst of things, often hugging the side of the road or doing a little off road driving.  Soon we are sliding along; unable to steer, no braking ability, and absolutely no idea how deep that next puddle was going to be.  We didn't see much traffic, but there were a few motorcyclists stopped along the side of the road trying to get their motors started again.

Tom was sure he had lost what little color was left in his hair by the time we reached our meeting.  We were met at the SACCOS office door by the Treasurer, Esterina Bangi.  She is the second treasurer, having replaced a woman who had no prior book keeping experience and struggled to keep good records.  We were invited into the office for chai and to review their records.  Tom got busy right away asking questions and looking at numbers.  He is checking the SACCOS to see how much capital they each have for their members, how much the members need for their farms, and how good a job they have been doing managing the conflicts of needs versus the available funds.

This SACCOS has grown quickly.  The membership here is 88 individuals and 2 VICOBAs.  A VICOBA is an informal group that pools their funds to make small loans to their members.  VICOBAs are popular around the world since they only make use of the funds their members are able to pay in and are therefore cheap to start.  Unfortunately they also seldom have enough funds to make a difference to their members and being unregulated suffer from a lot of graft, corruption, and theft.  These two groups have avoided the problems of graft, corruption, and theft; but have also found that the VICOBA is just not helpful in their farming.  Still, since they have been together for many years; they asked to join the SACCOS as a “group” and were told “yes.”  When you add in the 45 members of the VICOBAs to the 88 other members this SACCOS has a total of 133 – a very large group.

Last year was their first year of full operations.  During the year they made 42 loans averaging $400 each.  The loans here are for 6-9 months depending on the crops being planted.  They had a 100% repayment rate and were very happy with their results.  Having completed a good year they were eligible for a loan from Iringa Hope – so they have borrowed $15,000.  Using this together with their existing capital they will be able to service a larger portion of their members.

When we went to the general meeting the room was full.  This SACCOS is meeting in an old community building, too small for the entire membership, but still a welcome change from the rain outside.  Sandy and Tom gave a brief welcome statement.  Sandy had prepared and was able to make her statement in Swahili.  She told everyone that we have 3 children and 11 grandchildren and then passed around a Christmas photo of our family - she was clearly the star of the hour.

Peter was home with malaria today so Itiweni gave the class and we had no translator today.  (Actually Itiweni also has a “little” malaria, but she wanted to come anyway.)  She told us ahead of time that she would be telling them about the need to buy shares and increase their capital similar to talk she gave yesterday at Kitapilimwa.

When Itiweni’s class was over, the meeting continued and we returned to the office to interview a couple of the members.  The rain was really coming down again, making quite a racket on the roof.

Our first interview was with Speranzia Dallu, 50, and unmarried.  Speranzia cares for her blind mother who is about 79 years old – they weren’t quite sure.  She has been a member of this SACCOS since it began and has taken out 2 loans.  Her latest loan was for $300 for 9 months.  She has used this to help plant 2 acres of fresh corn (small cobs that are roasted).  Despite the rains she says that her crop is looking pretty good so far.  If her crop turns out like last year’s she will get enough maize to feed herself and her mother for this coming year and earn a $300+ profit.  With the prices of maize back up this year (last year the price was 50% below the normal level), she thinks that she may earn as much as $950+.  Last year she used her profits to make bricks for a new house.  It will still be small, but it will have brick walls, a metal roof, and windows and a door!  She thinks that if the price of corn remains at its current level she might be able to finish her house this year.

Next Sandy talked with Angelo Kiyeyeu, 65.  Angelo is married with 5 children and 7 grandchildren.  One of his children is still living at home along with 2 of his grandchildren.  He too has been a member of this SACCOS since it began and has taken out 2 loans.  His latest loan is for $300.  He used his loan to plant an acre of fresh corn (Note-it costs a little over $300 to plant an acre.  Some people, like Speranzia, add cash to their loan to do this.  Others, like Angelo, must borrow the full amount).  Last year he used the profits from his loan to send his youngest child to secondary school.  This year he is planning on doing the same thing.

We said good bye and headed over to where they are hoping to build a new SACCOS building.  The land that they have purchased seems a long way away from everything else, but they tell us that the government is trying to move things over there near the new secondary school.

The secondary school is very nice.  It has just opened this year.  According to Allen, the SACCOS chairman, starting this year there will be NO COST for students to go to school.  We asked Itiweni if this is true.  “Yes,” she tells us, “It is supposed to start this year, but maybe it will not happen until next year.  Still; all fees, charges, tuition, etc. will be gone from schools so that all children who work and pass their exams can go through secondary school.”  What a change that will be!

Coming tomorrow – driving through torrential rains and flooded roads to get to Ifunda, our second stop of the day.

Other years the road was pretty good.  Today it looks a bit more like a river.

First thing we had chai and talked about what was going on. 

Sandy greeted everyone in Swahili and told about our family then passed around a Christmas photo.  She was the star of the meeting!

This woman got up during the meeting to ask, "Where is our AMCOS!"  She has paid her fees and is very impatient for it to get started.

After we left the meeting Sandy and Itiweni got to talking with two members.

Speranzia Dallu is 50 years old and unmarried.  Speranzia cares for her blind mother who is about 79 years old (she is not quite sure). 

Angelo Kiyeyeu is 65, married, and has 5 children and 7 grandchildren.  One of his children is still living at home along with 2 of his grandchildren.

The members have purchased this lot to build a new home for their SACCOS.  It seems far from everything but with the opening of the new secondary school the government is encouraging people to move here.

Our First Stop Is Kitapilimwa

Today we made our first SACCOS visit.  With the rains and the poor condition of many of the roads we started with one of the nearer locations. 

Kitapilimwa is one of the Iringa Hope SACCOS.  It was organized two years ago – first as a “group,” a lower level organization, and then upgraded to a SACCOS (Savings and Credit Cooperative Society).  The group started with 37 members – it now has 41 full members and 3 who are working on becoming full members.  This SACCOS is unusual in that the majority of the members are men (21 out of the 41).  At most locations the women outnumber the men.

Kitapilimwa is a 30-40 minute drive west of Iringa on rutted dirt roads.  The road seems to be worse than last year – probably due to the rains.  As we travel along we notice that while the crops are not bad, many of them are showing signs of too much water.

While the members gathered we spent a little time looking at the numbers with the Treasurer.  Last year this SACCOS made 35 loans to the members (an average loan was for $160).  All of the loans were paid on time and in full.  This year they were able to borrow funds from Iringa Hope so the SACCOS made 40 loans with an average loan value of $345.  All of the loans here were made for farming and were 6 to 7 months in duration.  (They asked if it was OK if they went to 8 months so they had more time to sell their crops and we said that it was their decision, after all it is their SACCOS as long as they stay within the legal limit of 12 months).

The treasurer was happy to report that he was able to triple his income from his loan.  He borrowed 400,000 TZS (about $200) and after paying off the loan and all of his bills he earned 1,250,000 TZS more than he had last year.  This meant he went from earning 620,000 TZS to 1,850,000 TZS or about $900.  This is the most that he has ever made. 

We checked the church financial records to see how donations to this preaching point were going, and were told us that this year the offerings had tripled over the previous year.  The treasurer credited the higher incomes of the SACCOS members for the increase in church offerings.  The treasurer went on to add that before the SACCOS started here they used to argue over whose children got a scholarship.  “Now,” he proudly told us, “all of the SACCOS members send their children to school themselves!”

When we met with the members we first introduced ourselves and talked a little about Iringa Hope.  Then Itiweni gave a talk about the importance of buying shares in the SACCOS.  This SACCOS has been doing very well selling shares.  The members here have bought an average of 9 shares each at 5,000 TZS.  This has raised 1,800,000 TZS (about $900) in capital.  They are planning on having all members buy 50 shares over the next 5 years.  Together with an increase in membership to 80 they are hoping to raise $8,000; an ambitious goal among a group who used to have an average family income of $300/year before they became SACCOS members.

After the meeting we talked with two of the members who have done especially well this past year.  The first one was Arafat Chengula, 31 and vice chairman of this SACCOS.  Arafat has been a member here since this location started 2 years ago.  During that time he has taken out 3 loans – one for 9 months, one for 3 months, and one for 6 months.  He has used his loans for his tomato and maize crops.  Arafat farms 11 acres and now employs 6 laborers to work on his farm.  He hires them for 4 months paying them 250,000 TZS plus room and board.  In the “off season”, he and his laborers go to Morogoro to work on a 10 acre farm that he rents there. 

This year Arafat borrowed $950 from Iringa Hope.  He used this to plant his corn and tomatoes.  Right now his tomatoes are “not too bad” while the corn is “still good” so if the rains stop he will be OK.  He thinks that after paying all his bills and repaying his loan he will earn $3,800 this year.  He impressed us as a very hard working man and we look forward to following his progress in the next few years.

Our second interview was with Mary Sanga, a 50 year old proud grandma.  Today she had her infant granddaughter with her.  Many young children here are afraid of us wazungus, and this child was even afraid of Itiweni.  “I guess I am a wazungu today,” she joked.

Mary has also been a member of this SACCOS since it began.  She has taken out 2 loans to use on the 10 acres that she farms.  She owns 6 acres and rents the remainder.  An acre of land here rents for 30,000 ($15) Tsh per planting season.  This year she planted 2 acres of tomatoes and 8 acres of corn.  Last year she borrowed $500 for her farm.  After selling her crop and paying all of her bills, repaying her loan, and paying her two laborers she earned $1,650 – a record for her and her family.  She combined her profit with her husband’s earnings (he is also a farmer and rents the acres that he farms), and together they bought a milling machine.

Mary told us that recently electricity had come to Kitapalimwa.  This meant that they could now use an electric motor to run their milling machine.  With ugali being a main dish here there is a big demand for ground maize flour.  Up to now this has been supplied by a diesel engine driven grinder.  The diesel grinder costs 2,000 TZS (about $1) per bag to mill the maize.  With an electric motor driven grinder the quality of the ground maize goes up while the cost drops by a factor of 4 or 5. Mary told us that she and her husband bought this mill in January and mill maize for $1 per bag.  They have already have recovered half the cost of their mill.

We have been mentioning the constant rain that is taking place this year.  The rain has been so hard for so long that some of the buildings have started to collapse.  As we were looking at Mary’s mill we noticed a building that looked like it was sagging.  It turned out that that building was in the early stages of falling apart from the rains.  The SACCOS Treasurer then showed us a house that had recently collapsed during a night time rain when the family was sleeping.  Luckily the family all got out OK, but their bikes, sewing machine, and other possessions were not so lucky.  The Treasurer went on to tell us that after the house collapsed the SACCOS members had gotten together and helped the family build a new home.  It was small, but it was built with bricks and concrete and should stand up.

We left the village and headed for Iringa.  We hope that the rains stop soon!

These children remembered Tom from last year and came running to see him.  They like the candy he brings!

Sandy had to say "Hi" to the children who were playing ball in this classroom.

We went over to meet with the members.

After the meeting Sandy talked with Arafat Chengula, the vice chairman.

Since joining the SACCOS Arafat has expanded his farm and now employs 6 laborers.

Mary Sanga came to the meeting with one of her grandchildren.  Her grandchild was afraid of us wazungus as well as Itiweni.  Itiweni decided she must be a wazungu today.

Mary and her husband have earned enough from their loans to buy this milling machine.  They are now the preferred source of ugali flour in the village.  They will probably need to hire some help soon.

While visiting Mary we noticed this building that was starting to collapse from the rains.

Not long ago this building collapsed at night during a rainfall.  Luckily the family were not hurt, but their bicycles, sewing machine, and other possessions were not so lucky.  If it does not stop raining soon there will be other buildings that collapse here as well.