Iringa Hope visits 2013: At Ugesa

Last year when we visited Ugesa we wound up with a fearsome drive down swampy roads, around tree stumps, stuck trucks, and midsized lakes! It was therefore with some trepidation that we set out this morning for another trek. Today however took John Mhekwa with us. John is a former pastor from Ugesa who is currently in school working on an advanced degree. Since school is now out he had time to accompany us to Ugesa to see his friends and to help out as interpreter. John assured us that there is a better road to Ugesa than the one we took before, and it turned out he was right. We were also joined by Lyn MacLane, one of our roommates and a long time acquaintance of John.

Ugesa is about a 2.5 hour drive under good conditions. You drive down the hill from Iringa, go west on the tarmac, then turn off and head down one of several dirt roads for 1.5 to 2 hours. Today John directed us back down the road we took the other day to Mgama. The road is actually quite good (for Africa that is) and we made pretty good time. We got to Ugesa by 10:15 without having driven through a single swamp, or around a single stump.

The pastor and vice chairman of the SACCOS were there to meet us. We first had chai at the pastor’s house. Over chai we commented on what appeared to be a higher standard of living in Ugesa compared to other towns we passed on the way in. (Last year we must have been too worried about the roads to pay much attention.) We were told that the people of Ugesa have a wider range of crops that they can grow and are very hard working. The average income here is just a tad above the average – maybe $400-500 per year or so. We noticed that the bread the pastor was serving was particularly good. He told us that they grow wheat here and have their own mill in town so the bread is a hearty whole grain.

We brought the safe in, which seemed to intimidate the treasurer. She and the vice chairman are going to have to learn how to use it. Tom made his customary first donation to the safe and got his receipt.

The SACCOS meeting was held in the church with 41 of their 86 members present. John, Peter and Tom gave presentations regarding how the SACCOS should run. This is the first time that Peter has done a lesson on his own. He does well getting many smiles and laughs. John knows his former congregation well and relates well. While Peter was talking Tom went outside to hand out treats to the children who were wandering by.

When Peter invited questions and comments from the group several of the members stood up to explain how the SACCOS has changed their lives. One man stood up holding two potatoes. He said that he took out a loan for 300,000 Tsc ($190) and got 1,280,000 ($800) Tsc from the potatoes! He paid all his bills, saved some money, and is going to buy another 3 acres!

We adjourned the meeting and had some lunch. After this we interviewed some of the SACCOS members. The first person Tom recorded was the potato man. His name is Zabron Longo, age 56. He is married with 7 children, 3 of whom are grown and one of whom he will send to secondary school this year.

We also talked to Anzifye, age 48, who is married with 6 children. She has been borrowing to buy fabric in Iringa which she then sells locally. Her last loan was for $75. After repaying her loan and costs she made $110 in two months. She told us that after tithing to her church she used the remainder of her profits to buy bricks for a new house, which she hopes to complete next year.

Rose Mahali, age 49, has taken out four loans. Her last loan was for $75 to buy material to sew school uniforms. It took her a month to complete the uniforms. She earned $95 from this.

As we finished it started to rain. We headed for home thankful that the road we were on is so much better than last year (that one was more of a bog than a road). The rain let up and our only delay was a traffic jam of cows.

Along the way home we stopped to drop off two riders near a primary school. When Tom got out of the truck to take their picture they were shy at first and ran away. Soon they were laughing and Tom got his pictures.

We arrived back home shortly before 6:00. We had spent close to 6 hours driving down pitted roads and 4 hours in meetings. Fortunately we have a roommate who cooks, so we sat down to a delicious meal of chili and corn on the cob.

Ugesa is in the lower reaches of the Iringa highlands.

The road was really good - especially compared to last year!

We were greeted by the pastor.

They carried the safe into the back office. They will cement it into the floor.

Tom made the first deposit in their safe.

We went over to the meeting.

There were 41 members present.

Peter gave his first presentation.

Meanwhile the school in town had let the children out for the afternoon.

At the end of the meeting people were telling how the SACCOS had improved their lives. This man told about his potato crop.

Anzifye, age 48, is married with 6 children. She has been borrowing to buy fabric in Iringa which she then sells locally. Her last loan was for $75. She made $110 in two months.

Zabron Longo, age 56. He is married with 7 children, 3 of whom are grown and one of whom he will send to secondary school this year. He earned over $600 borrowing to grow potatoes.