This is World Renew's mission, and every piece of it is present in this small land rights story from Tanzania.
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." ~Jeremiah 29:11
Samwel Manyama, a forty-six year old father of seven, eked out a living on the land he inherited from his parents and grandparents for years, but he did not hold the legal right to his acreage. Investing in his land in a serious way did not make sense, when he was at risk of losing it to big mining companies or other large investors; nor was it a possibility to use the land as collateral to secure bank financing for his big dream of starting a food processing company.
One day Samwel learned that World Renew’s local partner organisation, the Sengerema Informal Sector Association (SISA), was teaching farmers in his area how to obtain title deeds* for their land. Samwel applied to have his land surveyed, and was able to obtain his land ownership certificate.
With the ability to prove ownership of his land, Samwel could invest in it. He decide to devote three acres to fast-growing pine trees; the initial investment of seeds was not too costly, and the land was secure. Heeding the advice of his bank Samwel registered a company; he will now be able to use the land as collateral for a business loan. With this financing in place, together with the profits earned by timber, Samwel looks forward to establishing his business, supporting his family, sending his children to school, and even being able to respond to the needs of widows and orphans in his community.
World Renew and SISA are training 4,750 farmers in 76 Tanzanian villages about land rights. They are teaching these same farmers improved farming techniques.
*This project was funded by the Foods Resource Bank (FRB), a Christian non-profit organization based in the U.S. that is committed to raising resources and awareness to support smallholder farmers in developing countries as they grow lasting solutions to hunger.