At Isimani

Yesterday we went to two locations and did a radio show – busy day!  We were so tired when we finally got done (about 9:30) that we just went to bed.   We will split our blog into two parts to make it easier to follow.  First, our visit to Isimani:

Today started out well.  When we got up we found that King of Kings in Woodbury had decided to complete all of the funding for Kilolo!  We called the pastor at Kilolo to tell him the news.  He was very excited.  After we left the other day they had started working on a list of what they might sell to raise the rest of the funding for their SACCOS.  He said they were going to start selling things this coming week.  He seemed very moved that they would not have to do this.  He told us thank you, thank you – but we told him they should thank King of Kings –asante sana!

We picked up Itiweni, Brown, and Peter and headed out the north road towards Dodoma.  We were planning to drive to Isimani (about 1:45 minutes or so) and then stop at Ilambilole on the way back to town.  Driving this way we pass the turn off to Nduli, the airport at Iringa, the Chinese compound (the Chinese are building the road to Dodoma), and some dryer parts of the countryside.

We turned off just outside of the “town” of Isimani and took a small dirt road back through the village.  We were told that our meeting today was at “the main church location.”  This is at the far edge of the village.  We wound up driving down a path that winds between the trees, just missing a few houses at times. 

Finally, after a few wrong turns, we were there!  But where was our welcoming committee?  We were met by two lone men (and later a few others joined us).  We were told that the pastor who was responsible for making the arrangements was not there since he is working on a Master’s degree and only comes out on the weekends.  Itiweni had expected to see the assistant Pastor, but he is not here either.  The “theologian” came along and we talked with him.  He gathered a few of the SACCOS members who lived nearby and we talked with them awhile.  We expressed our concern that with such a poor turnout, with no officers, we hesitated to recommend to their partner parish that they send any start-up funding for a SACCOS.  Just as we were about to leave the theologian asked us if the meeting was maybe planned for “the main location.”  Where is that we asked?  “Well, we normally meet at the preaching point back in town.”  We had been there for an hour and a half and this was the first time he mentioned another meeting location.  We have learned that it is often a matter of asking the right question because people tend not to offer information on their own.

We called over and discovered that the SACCOS members had been waiting for us at the other location and after an hour had gone home.  After we were assured that many would come right back to meet us if we stopped at the other location we left and drove back into the village.  Sure enough, there was the chairperson, the secretary, and a number of members (including the assistant Pastor). 

We started our meeting with a prayer.  Brown gave them a talk on how much a SACCOS can help them.  He talked about how the Diocese supported Iringa Hope but emphasized that the SACCOS belonged to them.  Tom talked at length about how they owned everything while the church and Iringa Hope owned nothing.  They were very pleased.  This is what they had thought and wanted, but they had been told otherwise by their previous Pastor.  The current pastor then apologized to the members and told them he wanted to assist them anyway he could.  The chairman was very excited and asked what to do next.  Itiweni took over the meeting and discussed the constitution, their rights and obligations, and what they should do next. 

Before leaving we talked briefly with Ashery Ngoro, age 50.  He is married with 7 children.  He would like a loan for sunflowers.  He thinks that a loan of 900,000 will yield a net profit of 300,000.  He hopes to be able to earn enough to send his children to school.

Then there was Consolata Mngonzo, age 40.  She is married and has one child.  She wants to take a loan to buy inventory for her small shop.  Her estimate is that she can earn the 500,000 Tsc ($300) that she needs to send her child to school. 

Although many of the SACCOS members would have liked us to stay longer, we had to cut our time with them short because we were expected in Ilambilole in the afternoon.  We told the leaders we would see them at our training session next month.  Then into the truck and on to Ilambilole.

The scenery is beautiful along the drive to Isimani.

We sometimes see children out playing with old tires.

The road goes out past the "international airport" (a local joke).

You have to watch out for the commuter traffic.

The drive down to the main church goes through a narrow village road.  Be careful or you will scrape the sides of the houses.

We were met by a few members who just happened to be there.  None of them knew anything about a meeting.

The church has a wonderful view of the mountains.

When we got to the right place we were greeted by the chairwoman.  She was very happy to see us.  She had been waiting for our visit since last November.

The Pastor apologized and told everyone he wanted to help anyway he could.

Ashery Ngoro, age 50, is married with 7 children.  He would like a loan to plant sunflowers.

Consolata Mngonzo, age 40, is married and has one child.  She wants to take a loan to buy inventory for her small shop.  Her estimate is that she can earn the 500,000 Tsc ($300) that she needs to send her child to school.