Emotional Conflict

Now the hard part. Just like last year we don’t want to leave/we want to be home. Since we can’t be two places at once, we’ll have to get on the plane this Tuesday. Leaving will be hard.

The last two years when we arrived in January, it took us about 15 minutes to feel comfortable here again. Last year when we returned to Minnesota and our wonderful life, it took about a month to adjust. Very curious.

The last two weeks have been very satisfying. We’ve solidified our partnership with Tanzania Agricultural Productivity Program (TAPP). They will deliver the basic agricultural materials our target population wants. These include seeds, fertilizer, and drip irrigation, plus critical education on propagation, uses and eventual sales of high value crops. The centerpiece will be moringa, the remarkable trees we have been investigating.

TAPP is a strong advocate for moringa because of its nutritional value for humans and animals, its ability as a legume to improve soil, the potential for commercial sales and its surprising ability to purify water. Our focus last week was in the southern part of the district (which has a history of cholera outbreaks); villagers are excited about moringa. The enthusiasm for a new crop has surprised us. Although moringa won’t be a substitute for current crops, it is still very difficult for a farmer to risk raising something new (if it fails his/her family may starve). The seeds are known for their traditional medicinal properties, but few know of moringa’s other benefits.

TAPP will at first focus on WellShare’s Survive and Thrive Groups (STGs). As mentioned in previous postings, these consist of young single mothers without adequate educations or income-generating skills. The objective of starting the STGs was to provide health education to improve health through pregnancy, delivery and child rearing as well as improving newborn health. An additional challenge these women face is their financial survival. Karatu is a tourist area with many guest houses, restaurants and bars. Young women often are attracted to town jobs since they usually have no means of support in the village, but the move can lead to prostitution and abandonment of their children (“orphans”). The group members are excited about agricultural techniques that can provide improved nutrition and an opportunity to earn money.

On another trip to the field, Sharon and staff headed out to visit villages that have VICOBA micro savings groups. WellShare created a relationship with this organization after they caught our attention last year. Facilitators deliver comprehensive financial literacy training. The program is for one year, with 16 weekly meetings followed by monthly sessions. Materials are culturally sensitive and allow for language variations and even illiteracy. Most importantly, the program is completely free, and all money stays in the villages.

Unfortunately, true to form, Sharon got her usual village food reaction and had to leave. However, we left the camera and list of questions with the staff and they had wonderful results to report back. Four groups were started and universally the women were thrilled with the program. Each village had saved a remarkable amount of money in only 9 months, and all had taken loans and paid them back. Some had used the money for agriculture, others for opening shops or restaurants. All have made a profit and want to continue once the first year ends.

Others in these villages also want VICOBA groups. (Sharon stopped at one village last week that had a different micro savings program, but they want VICOBA because, as they said, “it works”. They specifically mentioned the extensive, high-quality training.) The women in this area would not have gotten this program without the help of WellShare; VICOBA had no plans to be in this area because of the distances and awful roads.

We take a great deal of satisfaction in having discovered VICOBA, TAPP and moringa; we see how they are transforming lives in this very poor part of Tanzania, and will continue to do so. While there is still much work that needs to be done to expand these programs, we have a very capable staff person who will follow up after we leave. It is easier to depart when we know things will not come to a halt once we get on that plane. Moringa has also become an innovative cornerstone of WellShare’s new grant proposal to USAID for a program in western Tanzania.

We could not have done this work without WellShare’s wonderful support and willingness to let us explore options. And, we have lots of work to do when we return to Minnesota. We would like to see the programs continued in this district after September when the USAID phase of the project officially ends. We are returning full of ideas and data with hopes of successfully submitting some grant requests to other NGOs, foundations and individuals to support continuing this important work. If anyone knows of possible funders, please let us know!

Again, we must say “kwaheri sasa” (goodbye for now) Tanzania. We will miss you!