At Ipogolo

This morning we went down the hill to Ipogolo.  Ipogolo is a small market town at the bottom of the hill from Iringa.  It lies just off of the main roadway and so is very busy much of the time.  To get to the parish where we were meeting you turn off the pavement and head up the hill about a mile or so.

When we got to the parish we decided to take a look at the new church they are building.  The church is planned to have a 1,000 person capacity.  When asked if he thought it would fill up, Enoch’s answer was “I do not really know, but there are many people who come here – so maybe.”

About this time some children came by.  They saw Tom and immediately stated calling “Wazungu!  Wazungu!”  Tom got out some candy for them but so many kept coming that he had to give up (there is a school here). 

We went over to the parish office from here and met with the pastor.  Pastor Nixon was on his way to a meeting of pastors at Ihemi (we were there last week).  He had delayed his departure so he could greet us.  We talked a bit about politics (He, like most Tanzanians, is very interested in US politics and are big fans of Obama.), how his new church is coming, and the school.  Then we went out to get the safe.  As they carried it into the SACCOS meeting space the members broke into song.  Tom had to make the first 10,000 Tsc deposit.  They gave him a receipt and promised to make his deposit work very, very hard. 

We started the meeting of the SACCOS by giving introductions and making brief statements.  This SACCOS currently has 36 members.  This is down from last year.  I asked the chairman about this.  He told me that they required all members to start saving before they could get loans – so a number of people left.  I told him that 36 was a better number to begin with – especially if they all were dedicated to saving and working with the SACCOS.  It took them all of last year to complete their paperwork, complete the training, get a bank account, and start working.  I wish it were faster than this, but things just seem to go at a certain pace here and it is very hard to get them to move any faster.

So far this SACCOS has made 13 loans to members.  It is too early to tell how much profit they will be able to make, however it seems likely that they will do as well as our other branches.  Their average loan at this point is $155.  Last year we arranged for them to receive $2,000 in startup capital.  This together with $750 they raised from savings and share sales is what they currently are using.  At this point they have 100% repayment of their loans and have 24 applications approved and waiting.  (They are hoping that we can help them obtain another $6,250 for the members who are waiting.)

It was a good meeting with a lot of questions and discussion.  Of the 36 members 20 had interrupted their work week to come see us (Remember that unlike the rural SACCOS this one is in the urban area so many of the members have regular work day schedules.)  They were very appreciative that we had come to talk with them.  At one point when Sandy was handing out pens (we brought Iringa Hope pens as gifts) they all broke out in song!

Leaving the meeting we stopped to talk to Aulelia Mgange, 51.  Aulelia is a widow with 6 children ages 7 to 16.  She currently has 2 children she is sending to secondary school (the others are still in primary school).  She took out a $125 loan to buy some pans and make mandazis (A popular breakfast item, like a donut hole.) to sell to the school.  She made a profit of $190 in one month.  She is planning to borrow $375 buy a small freezer and some more cooking utensils.  With these she will start making ice cream, chicken soup, and more mandazis.  She tells us the school has already agreed to buy these.  She thinks she will make a profit of over $600 from this and will be able to pay her secondary school fees, buy school uniforms and still have enough left for her business.

As we are talking to Aulelia the school children get out.  They come running over waving and calling “Wazungus!  Wazungus!”  We take their pictures and show them the photos on our cameras.  They all crowd around and laugh.  Tom takes a short movie of them and then plays it on his Nikon.  The children find this hilarious and sing a song.  Pretty soon the teachers come along and have the kids move on – it is time for them to go home for lunch!

We went into the office and had a brief lunch.  There was more talk of US politics (Do the Republicans really hate Obama?  Can a woman ever get elected President in the US?  What do people think of Hilary?) and then we had to go.

On the way to the car some more children showed up.  Sandy decided to get them to sing with her.  They turned out to be a bit shy when it came to singing – but they really liked to hear her sing!

Ipogolo is about a mile off of the pavement.

Prof Enock Ugulumu came with us today.

We went over to the new church they are building.  It will hold 1,000.

Tom spied some children.  Then a whole crowd came running.  "Wazungu!"  They called.

Children seemed to come from everywhere!

This little girl was especially cute.  For some reason she was not wearing a uniform.

Pastor Nixon had stayed late so he could greet us.  He was on his way to Ihemi for a meeting.

We delivered a safe to them.

The room was full when we started the meeting.

When Sandy started giving out pens everyone broke into song.

Aulelia Mgange, 51, is a widow with 6 children ages 7 to 16.  She currently has 2 children she is sending to secondary school (the others are still in primary school).

As we finished interviewing Aulelia the children got out of school.  "Wazungu," they all yelled as they came running.

Sandy had fun trying to get the children to sing a song with her.  They liked to hear her sing.