Empowerment Transforms Lives in Tanzania

CRWRC’s mission is to work with local churches, communities and families around the world to change their story from poverty, injustice, and disaster to a new story of assets, shalom, and hope. Seeing community members in our program achieve this kind of transformation is such a joyful part of my work. Here is a story from one of my partner churches, the Africa Inland Church of Tanzania – Mara/Ukerewe Diocese (AICT MUD). It is a great example of the changed stories we are seeing through our partners, as reported by AICT MUD Development Officer Philip Chiwanga.

Empowerment Transforms Lives in Tanzania

Philip writes: “Mrs. Maimuna Mgonyoro is a mother of three, married in a polygamous relationship to an elderly Mr. Mgonyoro of Kwikuba village near Musoma in northern Tanzania. Coming from a polygamous family, Mrs. Mgonyoro’s basic needs were hardly being met by her husband, especially after bearing children, due to the heavy burden weighed upon her husband (a peasant farmer) by the other wives and their children.

Her restaurant has grown in the last three years to become the village’s favorite meal joint or “the village’s five star restaurant.”

She had three children in school – two in primary school and the other in a secondary school. Raising them hadbecome a nightmare to her. Life had become very miserable and unbearable both for herself and her children. In 2008, Mrs. Mgonyoro joined the Mwangaza self-help group which was supported by the AICT MUD Diocese office and the local AICT church in Kwikuba. Through the self-help group’s empowerment training, Maimuna learned that although she was a woman and therefore had limited status and power in Tanzanian culture, she could do something about her situation and that of her children. After identifying with Maimuna’s struggles, the Mwangaza savings and credit group extended a loan of 50,000 shillings (about $30) to Maimuna to put towards her juststarted home catering services. Maimuna testifies that the small business training conducted in the village by AICT offered her great inspiration and hope that her business would grow if she remained faithful, diligent, and committed to her objectives while keeping good records. Within a year, her client list had grown significantly, and she needed a larger space. Maimuna then got a second loan of 200,000 shillings ($125) from the group to rent some rooms in her village centre. Her restaurant has grown in the last three years to become the village’s favorite meal joint or “the village’s five star restaurant.” Through the restaurant, Maimuna has been able to build her own house, furnish it, feed her children, clothe her family, meet all her basic needs including the education of her three children, and have money for future investment. Her restaurant provides jobs for youth in the community, helping to improve even more lives. She has also started growing crops to diversify her income for more financial security in uncertain times.

Maimana saves her surplus profits gained from different income earning activities in the Mwangaza group savings account. This enables her to access more credit in times of need. The account also helps her control her savings, avoid overspending, and increase her ability to improve her socio-economic development and that of her children, husband, and wider family.”

I love the way that this story shows the church demonstrating God’s love and provision to Maimuna and how God equips and empowers His people. The Africa Inland Church of Tanzania is serving as God’s hands and feet to the poor in Tanzania.

Changing Weather, Changing Times

Another way that we are trying to transform communities is to help them better prepared to deal with changing weather and rain patterns that have made it harder for them to profitably grow crops and feed their families. With the same partner above (AICT MUD), we have been working in the community of Wagete near the Serengeti National Park to help community members do just that.

Philip Chiwanga from AICT MUD and I have led several community discussions over the last six months to identify the main challenges and risks to their livelihoods, the most important resources, and how changing weather patterns in the last twenty years affect their farming. From this discussion, the community identified their need to:

• improve health care and education services.

• improve soil fertility and agricultural practices to be able to adapt to the increasingly uncertain and erratic rainfall.

The community members were very excited by these discussions and said, “It has been great to talk about these things because some important issues like the lack of health services that our village has been facing for a long time were addressed.” They also insisted that we continue working together to make sure that the identified issues are dealt with so that they can finally have good health care and education services in their community. The next steps for AICT and CRWRC will be to:

• Help the community set up their own management committee to help the community take ownership of these issues and work together to find solutions to them.

• Bring new ideas into the community from the work of our other partners in Tanzania on effective activities in soil fertility, water management, improved health care and education, and persuading the government to provide more support

Blessings,