A Map

Here is a map of our locations.  Some of these we have been to so far, others we are still hopin to visit.  For reference, the Iringa region is about 200 miles across.

Ugesa

Today we visited Ugesa, a village in a beautiful setting, a 2 ½ hours’ drive southwest of Iringa. Rev. John Mhekwa joined us for the day.  John was the Pastor at Ugesa for a number of years.  He started a lending group there which has become the Marine Ugesa SACCOS, a member of Iringa Hope.  John came along to visit friends and to see how things are going.

The road to Ugesa is rutted and rough.  We drove through woodland, past swamps and through several towns.  Today the road was far better than the first time we went to Ugesa, when we drove through swamps that reached to the car’s hood.

When we got to Ugesa the Pastor, the SACCOS chair, the treasurer, the secretary, and several members were there to greet us.  They were glad to see us and insisted that we have chai before we started the meeting.  Talking over chai they told us that their SACCOS has grown this last year to 96 members – with several more waiting to join.  Last year they made over 1,250,000 (about $950) in profits and had a 100% repayment rate.  They were able to make loans to all of those asking for less than $400, but there were 20 members who were asking to borrow more.  They told us that to meet all of the borrowers requests they would need another 8,000,000 TZS. The other borrowers were asking for an average loan of $800.  Since they did not have this much capital they lent them $400 instead. 

There is another SACCOS in town run by the government. We were a little surprised because the government SACCOS we have heard of so far have all closed.  Apparently this one is losing money, but has not gone broke.  We asked what is wrong with the government SACCOS that the people here needed another one, and the chairman explained that there are many problems with the government SACCOS: 1. The SACCOS loan officer is a government employee who only gives loans to his friends.  The SACCOS is happy to take your savings, but almost none of the local farmers can get a loan.  2. One can get a loan for only 3 months, which is not very helpful when you need 6 months to get a crop.  He went on with several other issues, but we thought that the 3 month limit said it all.

Following chai we went into the church for our meeting.  There were 46 members present.  Following introductions, Peter and Rev. Request (our intern) gave two short lessons, followed by a question and answer period.

The people here had a lot of questions – but not about the lessons!  Can you help us get good seeds?  (It turns out that 50% of the seed they are sold will not sprout.)  We can’t get fertilizer here – can you help us get that?  (We talked about other SACCOS and what they were doing.  We will have a session discussing this at our training meeting.).  Can you help us sell our crops?  (It turns out that with them being so remote they get about 40% of the Iringa market price for their crops.)  Can you help us form an AMCOS?  (An Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society)

We had a good discussion with them about their problems.  Finally one of the members rose to say how much they appreciate our work here and how this SACCOS has brought new life into their community. 

As the meeting broke up we stopped to interview two members.

First we met Lodin Mhewa, 40 years old and married with 4 children.  He has been a member here for 3 years.  During this time he has taken out three loans.  His most recent loan was for 450,000 TZS.  He employs 6 people part time on his farm.  This year he expects to earn a 300,000 TZS profit after paying his helpers, paying off his loan, and accounting for all his expense.  He explains that his loans are very important to him.  “Without these loans I could not make a profit,” he says.

Elda Mgaya is a 41-year-old widow.  A mother of 5, Elda is also supporting her elderly mother.  When she was expecting her 5^th child her husband died of TB, following a lengthy illness.  Two years ago Elda joined the Marine-Ugesa SACCOS.  Since then she has taken out four loans.  Her first loan was for 300,000 and was used to make bricks.  Her profit from this was 200,000.  She used her profit along with a second loan of 350,000 to buy beans which were then taken to market in Mfinga.  She has her daughter running the bean business, which has thus far earned a 600,000 profit, and they are still selling beans. Elda’s 3^rd loan was for 400,000, which she used again for making bricks.  Her profit was 1,000,000, which she used to buy land for her sons who are now farming.  She is now in her 4^th loan cycle and she has borrowed 450,000 for farming on her shamba (for fertilizer, beans, corn and hired help), hoping to make a 500,000 profit.  She is able to take out larger loans each time because she has also used profits to increase her savings in the SACCOS.  Elda has provided jobs to others in her community. Brick making has employed six people.  She also hires day laborers during planting season.  She has sent one child to secondary school and one to vocational training.  She has set her daughter up in the bean business and she has purchased land for her sons.  – A very impressive woman.

We had a rider on our way back to Iringa.  One of the ladies needed to go to town for a funeral and riding with us saved her almost a day of travel!  In Iringa we went to the Huruma Center with a large bag of potatoes from Ugesa to the children at the center. We had a very short visit with Mama Chilewa before delivering Peter and Request to their homes and then finally, returning to our own apartment.  

Ugesa is a 2 hour drive once you leave he pavement.

On the way you pass through one of the few forests.

This used to be part of the forest but is now just piles of sawdust.

We were greeted when we arrived and told that we must have chai first!

We had lively discussion with the leaders over chai.

We have been bringing along our calendars which feature members of the SACCOS and thier stories.  They are always a hit.

After the talks there were a lot of questions.

The members of this SACCOS wanted me to take their picture afterwards.  There were over 50 members at the meeting.

They had a lot of fun posing for the picture.

First we met Lodin Mhewa, 40 years old and married with 4 children.  He has been a member here for 3 years. 

Elda Mgaya is a 41-year-old widow.  A mother of 5, Elda is also supporting her elderly mother.  

It is a long way back to Iringa.

We stopped at the orphanage and gave them a large sack of potatoes we bought at Ugesa. (Ugesa has the best potatoes)  It is always good to see Mama Chilewa

Kiponzelo

Kiponzelo is an easy 70 minute drive southwest of Iringa.  After leaving the tarmac, a dirt road leads past several villages.  As you get close to Kiponzelo you will see a cliff edge rising in the distance.  Kiponzelo lies near the edge of the ridge traveling west from Iringa.  It is a pretty drive, especially as you approach the village and can see the cliff in the distance.  As we came up to Kiponzelo we spotted some familiar folks walking along the road.  The Agricultural folks visited Kiponzelo today too. 

In the meeting room the SACCOS chairman greeted us and apologized for the small turn out (there were 37 members at the meeting).  There were two other meetings going on in the village today – a village election and a planning meeting for a large funeral.  Actually, about 33% of the SACCOS members were present, which we consider to be good.

Following introductions Peter and Request gave lessons on borrowing and using money.  While they are giving their talks Tom went out and wandered around a bit.  The school had just let out so there were lots of kids wandering about.  At first they were afraid of Tom – there were many shouts of “Wazungu!” and many running feet.  After awhile some of the girls came over and wanted to touch Tom’s head while they said “shikamoo”, a traditional greeting of respect which requires the response “marahaba”.  Then, of course, Tom, the candy man, had to hand out candy.  Soon there were more kids than candy and everyone was giggling.

Fortunately for Tom, Peter came out about then and told him that he and Request were finished with their presentations and that Sandy had three people prepared to be interviewed.  There is a lot of excitement here about this SACCOS.  They have been here only one year and already they have 85 members and a waiting list of over 300.  This village seems to be very progressive and has some good leaders.

Our first interview was with Samuel Bangi, 39, married with two children.  His mother also lives with his family so he is supporting 5 people.  He took out a loan for $600 to help him plant his maize crop.  He has not harvested but maize prices are already low and the weather has not been the best so he is only expecting a profit of about $550 from his crop.  He tells us that one of the problems here is that they do not have much access to the maize markets.  Most of the maize is sold to traders in trucks who come to the village.  Their prices are very low, but currently there is no other option.

Agnes Mgimwa is a 70 year old widow who lives alone.  Her husband was a civil servant who retired to Kiponzelo and died 6 years later.  She took out a loan of $400 to plant ½ acre of maize and ½ acre of beans.  She also is worried about the low prices that people are getting.  She is sure she will make a profit from her loan (maybe $400 or so?) but it will not be what she expected when she planted.  She tells us that there used to be two groups that would market their products but they both are gone now.

So what happened to these groups?  Tom went to see the chairman of the SACCOS to find out.  He told us that there was a government AMCOS here (an AMCOS is an Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Society) which got better prices for the crops, but the government officials stole all of the money and it went broke.  

The second group was a private, family owned AMCOS here.  It gave everyone fertilizer and seed on credit and then took in the crops to store and sell when prices were better.  The first few who got their corps into this AMCOS got paid, but when most of the crops were brought in the AMCOS sold them and took the money and left – so the farmers got nothing.

So why do the farmers not form their own AMCOS and run it themselves?  “We have thought about it but we need help to train us, do the legal work, and guide us to organize.  We also think that it will need a little capital to get started.  We are hoping Iringa Hope will help us.”  Maybe.

Finally we talked to Rehema Kasinga, a 53 year old widow with 6 children at home.  Her husband got sick and slowly died when the children were in primary school so there was no money available to send them to secondary school.  She has borrowed $200 to plant maize.  Like the other  people we interviewed,  she expects low prices and a poor growing season to limit her profit to maybe $150-200.  She will use this money for tuition for her youngest child, who is still in primary school.  She hopes that next year she can get a loan for $400.  “With that I can plant my whole field using fertilizer and good seed.  Then I can send some of the children to secondary school.”

Currently this SACCOS has 8,500,000 TZS in capital (about $5,500).  We also arranged for Iringa Hope to lend them another 8,000,000 TZS.  Still, they had a waiting list of 41 people for loans.  They don’t want to admit any more members since they don’t have enough capital to support them.  We will see if Iringa Hope will have the capital to support them.

Over chia we talk a little about what the SACCOS might do to help the people here.  It seems that there is a real need for jobs in Kiponzelo – but we assure them that that is something our SACCOS are creating in other locations – so we believe that will happen here too.  They also need to have their SACCOS sell them seed and fertilizer.  The problem seems to be that the local dealers get their fertilizer too late for the fields and the seed they sell them often does not germinate. 

Tom explained how other SACCOS have started to do this.  

He also mentioned that there will be another business plan competition this year so they should have a good plan.  

The drive out this morning is inspiring.

We were all impressed by the new sign over the SACCOS 

office.  Request and Tom stopped to take a picture.

We were warmly welcomed.

This safe was put in the right way!  All of this cement has it firmly in place.

We met in the local government office.  They have given the SACCOS space for their office here.

The SACCOS office is located in the Kiponzelo government building.

Kiponzelo is located next to the cliff that runs out from Iringa.

Our first interview was with Samuel Bangi, 39, married with two children.  

His mother also lives with his family so he is supporting 5 people.

Agnes Mgimwa is a 70 year old widow who lives alone.  

Her husband was a civil servant who retired to Kiponzelo and died 6 years later.

Finally we talked to Rehema Kasinga, a 53 year old widow with 6 children at home. 

 Her husband suffered a stroke and languished for two years before his death.  

There was no money available to send their children to secondary school.  

Sandy interviewed SACCOS members with Request doing the translating.  These ladies told us about the previous groups that were selling crops.

Another beautiful drive home

At Ukwega

After leaving Ipalamwa we traveled about 20 kilometers (about 12-13 miles) down the road to Ukwega.  Ukwega was a preaching point of Ipalamwa until a few years ago.  It is a 30 minute drive between them so it easy to see why they became separate parishes.  Arriving in Ukwega we were greeted by a good sized crowd.  They were all excited to see us and talk to us and Malila.

When we were here last year they had 43 people interested in forming a SACCOS and they were very excited.  One year later they have 61 members and have collected 6,000,000 TZS from savings, sales of shares, and earnings (they earned 200,000 TZS last year by giving some small loans).  They have completed all of the paperwork, had their elections certified, and been to two of our training sessions.  In two weeks they will be fully registered.

Malila told them that they had done very well in collecting their capital.  He told them that he expected that they would be one of the best SACCOS in his area.  He reminded them of their responsibilities once they get their certificate.

Peter then reminded them that a SACCOS is not “Lutheran” and that it was open to all who are responsible with their finances.  He taught them about the importance of savings and then complimented them on their good start.  He went over the rules of the SACCOS and the obligations and privileges of members.  Finally he talked about how to plan for and make use of loans.

Following the meeting we sat down with the chairman who told us that the SACCOS made 31 loans last year, averaging 100,000 TZS ($65). They had a 100% repayment rate.  This year he thinks they will make over 60 loans.  The village chairman was also at the meeting.  He is very excited about all of the jobs that the SACCOS members are creating.

We interviewed two of the SACCOS members who had taken out loans.  Aniki Duma is 29 and has 3 children.  She took out a loan for 100,000 TZS.  Using her loan she bought seed and fertilizer for beans.  After harvesting the beans and repaying the loan she made a profit of 150,000 TZS ($100).  She is using her profits to pay school fees and improve her shamba.

Jeremiah Nosa is 35, married, and has 4 children.  He and his wife also support his father, making a family of 7.  He took out a loan of 100,000 TZS for his farm.  Using his loan together with the money he had he bought seed and fertilizer.  Unfortunately he had stomach problems and had to go to the hospital for an operation. He had to hire a helper to weed the field, but he told us he made a profit for the year and is hoping to borrow again.  (By the way, his surgery cost about $100.) 

After dinner at the pastor’s house we called it a day.

Traveling to Ukwega from Ipalamwa is a very pretty drive.

There was a large groupd gathering (about 70)

Malila was greeted with cheers when he told them he would finish registering them in two weeks.

Peter reminded them that not only Luterans are welcome!

After the meeting Sandy interviewed some members.

Aniki Duma is 29 and has 3 children.  She took out a loan for 100,000 TZS. 

Jeremiah Nosa is 35, married, and has 4 children.  He and his wife also support his father, making a family of 7.  He took out a loan of 100,000 TZS for his farm.

There was a big group for dinner.

Back the way we came towards Iringa.

It is a 3 hour drive.

The cattle were out making the drive a bit slower.  We were home by a little after 7.

Off to Ipalamwa

Today we are off to a double header.  First we are going to visit our Ipalamwa location and then continue on to Ukwega.  Ipalamwa is located in the mountains, about 110 kilometers (about 70 miles) southeast of Iringa.  The road is barely passable during the rains, but today the roads were in pretty good shape (by African standards that is) and the drive went well.  The scenery is magnificent as you climb the mountains.  

We set off at 7:30 and stopped in the village of Kilolo to pick up Malila, the Co-op officer from Kilolo that we've been working with.  While we were there we stopped in to see the Kilolo District Co-op Executive.  He is new this year, having replaced a gentleman who has been very helpful to us in the past.  We certainly hope that this Executive will be as good to work with as the last one. 

The road to Ipalamwa winds its way up the hills and around the bends giving beautiful views everywhere we go.  They are apparently working on this road as there are holes and piles of dirt everywhere. 

When we arrived in Ipalamwa the Agricultural folks had already arrived and the meeting started as soon as we exchanged pleasantries.  There were 34 members of the SACCOS present today.  Following introductions, Vanance (form the Ag. group) gave a lesson.  Malila then gave a brief talk telling the group that the neighboring village of Ukwega is far ahead of them in collection and organization, and that their SACCOS will be registered in two weeks.   He chided them for being slow to change and adapt.

Ukwega used to be a preaching point of Ipalamwa but is now a separate parish.  It is about 20 kilometers down the road from here.  We got the feeling that he’s trying to get these two locations to compete.

Then The Agricultural Field agent made a few remarks.  He said he has worked in Ipalamwa since 1979 and he doesn't understand why there is so little progress there.  He laughingly said that, “Maybe the Pastors need to pray more.”

When it was Peter’s turn to speak, he told them how much capital is needed to get their SACCOS organized (We have told them they needed to collect at least 1,000,000 TZS – their partner is sending more to help them, but we believe that a community needs to buy in to make things succeed.)  He told them that Ukwega has already raised 6,000,000 TZS. 

Peter went on to explain how to finish registration and how to apply and use loans.  As we closed the meeting it was clear that the members here have been stirred up.  It is Malila and Peter’s belief that they will soon have the needed funds and will complete the registration materials.  Malila told me that he feels “95%” certain they will be working well by the next planting season.

When we stopped at the Pastor’s house for chai he told us that this is one of the most important changes he thinks they need to make in Ipalamwa.  He thinks that getting a SACCOS up and running will make a great difference in the community.

We loaded up in the truck and headed down the road to our next stop.  It is going to be a late night.

We stopped at the municipal building.

Malila, Peter, the new District Executive, and Tom had a meeting.

The views on the way to Ipalamwa are spectacular.

The villages up here have great settings.

When we got there the Agricultural Institute group were already there.

The Ag. Institute gave a class on improving Ag. practices.

Peter and "mama" addressed the group.

After chai Sandy couldn't resist take pictures with the kids.

Then down the road to Ukwega.

Mkwawa

Mkawa is a suburb of Iringa Town, so our drive was only about 15 minutes.  The Mkwawa SACCOS was registered a little over a year ago.  Most of the members work at jobs in town during the week and go to their shambas (small farms), which are on the outskirts of the city, on Saturday. Consequently, our visit today was with the SACCOS officers instead of the whole group.  Itiweni and Peter often give seminars here so our most important task at Mkwawa was to speak with the officers for updates on how things are going.

 We timed our visit to Mkwawa so that we wouldn’t interrupt the Saturday school children with their marching and singing.  When we got to Mkwawa the chairman and treasurer were waiting for us so our meeting started promptly, a rare experience. 

Last year Mkwawa had 29 members and a little over 7,000,000 TZS that we had arranged for them.  This year they have 38 members and 12,000,000 – so where did the extra 5,000,000 TZS come from?  Their SACCOS has been selling shares and taking in savings at a good rate.  They have also earned over 500,000 TZS in profits, which is a good profit for a SACCOS of their size. 

The Mkwawa SACCOS has 5 members waiting to join.  They think that they could easily end the year with over 60 members – if they want to.  Right now they have enough capital so that all of the members who apply can get a loan.  They are concerned that if they grow too fast, this will change.  This last year they had 100% repayment of loans.  They only made 23 loans, but they tell us that is all that applied.  They have many members who belong for the purpose of saving, which is very good. 

Since Mkwawa is in the city, we suspected that their SACCOS may be making more loans for shops and raising livestock – but that was not the case; most of their loans were taken out for agricultural purposes.  The officers extended thanks to Iringa Hope for the help they have received.  They told us that we have loaned them “hooks” and that their members have used these hooks to catch lots of “fish”. 

They would like to open an MPESA shop (MPESA is a cell phone based system to send money and pay bills.).  They had sent in a business plan to our competition last year but did not win.  They told us that they think this will attract members to their church as well as make a little money for their SACCOS. The economics are not bad.  For every 1,000 TZS they take in they will be paid 4 TZS.  This may not sound like a lot, but with their location they should be able to average a few million TZS a day.  This would net them $10/day or a few hundred a month.

Our interview today was with Jefa Duma, the chairman of the SACCOS.  He is 59, married, and has three children.  Both he and his wife are members of this SACCOS.  He tells us that he has a shamba a little ways from town that he uses to supplement his other income.  Last year he borrowed $460 to farm maize.  After he sold his crop and paid his bills he made a $400 profit.  He explained that maize prices were very low and he hired much of the work so his profit was less than others.  He hires 10 workers for planting season and 5 for weeding during the growing season – quite a sizeable impact on jobs in his area.  All of his profits are being put back into his farm.

One of the SACCOS members, Leonard Chun’gunge, came into the office for an interview.  Leonard is 51, married and has 4 children.  He has been a member of this SACCOS for 3 years.  He farms 10 acres.  His last loan was for $1,000 which he used to buy fertilizer and hire help for his farm.  After he paid his bills he had earned $1,350.  He employs 6 people full time and 10 part time on his farm.  He farms in addition to his other work in town.

When we finished our interviews we went to see the new Mkwawa church.  They are plastering the inside walls now.  The church can hold about 1,200 people, so two services could provide space for over 2,400 people a Sunday.  They are planning to rent out their old church for weddings, meetings, etc.  The new church will provide a place for larger events as well as church services.

We have enjoyed a much-appreciated, quiet afternoon with a mix of rain and sunshine.  We keep tabs on the weather in the upper Midwest.  Your snow is making Tom jealous.  

We were met at Mkwawa by the SACCOS chairman and treasurer.

We thought you might enjoy the sign above the door of the office.

Tom talked to the officers about what was happening at this SACCOS.

Our interview today was with Jefa Duma, the chairman of the SACCOS.  He is 59, married, and has three children. 

One of the SACCOS members, Leonard Chun’gunge, came into the office for an interview.  Leonard is 51, married and has 4 children. 

When we finished our interviews we went to see the new Mkwawa church. 

They are plastering the inside walls now.  The church can hold about 1,200 people.

Tom wanted to give the children candy but there were just too many for the amount he had brought.

In the afternoon Sandy went shopping - we are having a dinner party tomorrow.

You have to check those avocados!