This last quarter, I was very blessed to be part of an infrequent yet much anticipated occurrence. Two of CRWRC’s local partner organizations, after 12 years of partnership, have built up their ability to carry out their programs enough to “graduate” from CRWRC’s direct financial support and continue their work independently. This graduation is the ultimate goal of CRWRC’s partnerships with local churches and non-government organizations (NGOs). It is a lengthy and challenging process, walking alongside these partnerorganizations, from years of low capacity until they are functioning so well that other organizations come to learn from them.
Weighing Babies and Graduating Partners
Warm greetings from Mwanza, Tanzania, to all of our supporters. We hope you had a blessed Christmas and wish you a happy 2011.
This last quarter, I was very blessed to be part of an infrequent yet much anticipated occurrence. Two of CRWRC’s local partner organizations, after 12 years of partnership, have built up their ability to carry out their programs enough to “graduate” from CRWRC’s direct financial support and continue their work independently. This graduation is the ultimate goal of CRWRC’s partnerships with local churches and non-government organizations (NGOs). It is a lengthy and challenging process, walking alongside these partnerorganizations, from years of low capacity until they are functioning so well that other organizations come to learn from them.
CRWRC’s collaborations with these two graduating organizations goes all the way back to CRWRC’s early days in Tanzania, when we partnered with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) in the 1990s. SISA (Sengerema Informal Sector Association) and MEDRA (Magu Evangelical Development and Relief Agency) were both formed in 2003 to continue ELCT’s transformational development work in the communities of Sengerema and Magu. Readers of Steve Michmerhuizen’s newsletters will remember hearing often about these organizations and their very dedicated leaders. Joseph Shigulu is the development coordinator for SISA, and MEDRA is headed by Mr. Evarist Pamba – two wonderful leaders with hearts for God and the communities they serve. In September, CRWRC completed direct financial assistance for SISA and MEDRA. We continue to offer coaching and training where needed and visit their community groups from time to time to encourage their ongoing success.
This group sells more than 500,000 tree saplings a year. Planting trees helps protect the soil from erosion, improves soil fertility, and protects the environment.
As part of this graduation, I was part of a CRWRC staff team from Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda that did an evaluation of these organizations to guide them in the next phase of their work. We all left extremely impressed with their achievements and their plans for the future. In Magu, MEDRA has now established mutually beneficial connections with 19 local and international partners, including Magu’s local government. SISA has a wide funding base from local and international donors and is regularly contracted to provide consulting and training to other organizations in the area. It was selected by the United Nations Community Development Fund to oversee the recently constructed Business Development and Entrepreneurial Training Center for entrepreneurs in Sengerema. Both organizations are pillars in their communities in reducing poverty and inspiring people to use their skills and abilities to God’s glory and the service of others. The maturation and success of SISA and MEDRA are a testament to CRWRC’s unique and effective model of partnership. Your support to CRWRC over the years has helped achieve this.
Many visitors have noticed this remarkable success. In October, Andrew Ryskamp (a CRWRC co-director) came to Tanzania and saw SISA’s work. He was very impressed with SISA’s organizational capacity as well as its community.
"Visiting with SISA was such an encouragement. Communities were proud to show what they were accomplishing by working together, and SISA itself had several creative initiatives focused on ensuring its own sustainability. Organizational ownership and Christian joy were evident at every level, from the community right up to the executive board." – Andrew Ryskamp, CRWRC co-director
Here are some highlights from our evaluation visits with the two organizations. In Magu, I squeezed into a crowded clinic room with mothers who visit monthly to have their babies and small children weighed and assessed by a community nurse. A baby in a colourful sling (with only a few tears) was placed in the scale, and older children hoisted themselves up from a hook, to register their weight. If a child’s weight is below a certain level, the mother is referred immediately to the hospital. Because of MEDRA’s health training with these mothers in the last few years, the number of weighed children who need hospital attention has dropped significantly. Of 4,530 children who came to one of the program’s ten clinics in a three month period, only four needed a hospital referral while 509 children were recommended an improved diet.
In Sengerema, a community group of 35 youth started a business running a tree nursery that is now the primary supplier of tree saplings in the district. This group sells more than 500,000 tree saplings a year. Planting trees helps protect the soil from erosion, improves soil fertility, and protects the environment. Thanks to this group, Sengerema is a much greener and less dusty area than it used to be. The youth are using their profits to start a school for vulnerable children.
While they have graduated from our direct funding, SISA’s work with CRWRC will continue for at least another year because they were awarded a special one-year grant under our Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security (SAFS) program. Their project assists farmers with acquiring title deeds for their land and trains them to use bio-fertilizers and improved seed varieties for better harvests and drought- and disease-resistant crops. Land titles offer farmers the security they need to invest confidently in their land because they know it cannot later be taken away from them without compensation. This project is gaining more support and interest from other NGOs and the local government than was originally expected, and could lead to a significant change in land rights in Tanzania. Stay tuned–in my next newsletter I will have some stories about the difference this project is making in these farmers’ lives. It is exciting to see that CRWRC’s work can change not only the lives of individuals, but also influence nation-wide issues!
Thank you for your continued support of CRWRC’s work with our partners in Tanzania. We hope to see more of our partners reach this point of graduation in the future, and will start with two or three new partners in the next few years, depending on the resources that are available.