New volunteering challenge

For the last three weeks I have been doing volunteer work for the Rural Women Development Association, after meeting Gloria Nkungu who founded the Association. They are financially supported by The Kanga Project, a UK charity and as I understand The Kanga Project was set up exclusively to help this association. Since KP has got a website, I thought it would be good to make it lively with a blog.

Now things are not always (often, more like) easy in Tanzania. They do have internet cafes, but the connections are not always reliable and as I have to wait to be in Singida to post, don’t expect me to write a book, more likely to be in dribs and drabs. Better not waste time then and get on with it.

Well, it was Gloria’s drive and inspiration for the work she was doing that inspired me to ask if I could help. So here I am, hoping to make a difference and to discover what it’s really like to get involved with a grassroots organisation that is working towards being effective and sustainable and all through their own hard work. I understand that back in the UK, The Kanga Project is still a small charity, just like this one, but from what I can see they are both honest, motivated and trying their hardest.

Currently, I am working with three projects. The first is a chicken business run by 15 women from Ilongero which involves buying chickens from their local (and surrounding) villages and selling them in Singida for a profit. For many of these women, this is the first time they have been involved in any kind of business or had the opportunity to make decisions that will effect their future. They are full of hope and energy and only really need the encouragement and a push in the right direction to succeed. We have met quite a few times over the past two weeks to further discuss and plan their business, discuss important business tactics and stress the need for teamwork. They have been given a loan of 100 000 Tsh (approx 100USD) to start with and at this moment are engaging in buying chickens and making a relationship with a buyer to secure good prices. We will meet regularly to assess their progress and smooth out any problems they encounter. This is meant as a good exercise in preparation for the next project.

The other project, related to the above one, is the building and running of a chicken house, with incubator, to house many chickens in the aim of rearing chickens and selling them. The project will be run by the same group that are currently buying and selling the chickens on a small scale. I am currently in Singida with another Kanga member, Angelo and we are here to buy the materials to finish off the chicken house. It is near completion and almost ready to house the first batch of chickens. Today, we will order these chickens to come when the building is finished. There are a few challenges in this project, mainly logistics that do delay some progress. However, all people are in motion and working together to improve the lives of this dedicated women's group.

The third project is the building of a dormitory for young women who are attending Ilongero secondary school from neighboring villages. There is just the septic tanks and outside wall to finish. We are currently making bricks for the wall and should start building it in the next few weeks. The bricks are completed for the septic tank and next week, we will be in the process of lining the septic holes with these bricks. Most of this work is being done voluntarily and I have even sourced a couple of friends who are currently working with another organisation to help me when they are finished. Hopefully, when they arrive to work, we will have some photos to show this.

Please log on in two weeks time for an update on these projects progress and internet willing, some photos.