If this is Wednesday we must be in Tungamalinga

This morning we took the Ruaha road out the west side of town and headed for Tunagmalinga.  Tunagmalinga is about a 2 ½ hour drive down this road.  The road starts out paved but quickly turns into a pitted road with periodic washboards that will rattle your teeth.  Along the way we pass a few villages, many huts, six or more Greek Orthodox churches (These are large, beautiful churches that have almost no members – left overs from an earlier time.).  We break here and there for the occasional bike, many walkers, a dic-dic, monkeys, and various other occupants of the road.

Arriving at Tunagmalinga it is already 10:20 and our meeting was supposed to start at 10:00. We get out of the truck and are greeted by the officers of the SACCOS.  We talk briefly and go into the meeting room.  The room is filling fast!  Overall twenty nine of the SACCOS members had come to see us and listen to the lesson.

First the officers talked for a little, then we addressed them briefly, finally Peter and Brown got going on a lesson.  As Peter talked about the role of the SACCOS and the members people started to raise their hand and comment.  One woman told how her income has gone up since the SACCOS came.  She said before the SACCOS she had to borrow money from the money lender.  He charged 100% interest for a 6 month loan.  It was hard to make any money.  Now she is able to send her children to school and is building a house for her family.  Another member said that he had tried using a government SACCOS but he had lost all his money when it went broke.  He said he then went to Pride for help but they charged him over 6% per month and demanded payment in two months.  Many other members participated in the discussion. 

Brown talked about savings and budgeting.  People were very interested in his talk.  Most of the members here have been saving and would like to do more.

After the session we sat down with the SACCOS leaders.  This SACCOS currently has 69 members.  They have been limiting their membership so that they members can have a reasonable chance for a loan.  They told us there are over 100 people who want to join and asked us for our advice.  We told them that they should probably admit a few more, but they were right to not allow in so many people that people had to wait too long for a loan.

Last year this SACCOS made 42 loans.  Their average loan was for 400,000 Tsc ($250).  This year they have changed their system so they can have two loan cycles.  They expect to be able to give 90+ loans this year.  They told us that their members earn 150-200 Tsc for every 100 they borrow.  They also told us that they have never had a loan that was not paid in back in full.  Last year their SACCOS made a $2200!

Last of all we interviewed some members.  Most of the members we talked with have been SACCOS members for three years now.  They have taken out loans in each of the previous years and are hoping to take another one this year.  These members had all used their profits to send their children to school (the officers told us that the profits from their SACCOS will send over 40 children to school this year), build homes, and were now expanding their farms and businesses!  A “typical” member was Asha Kimela, 54.  She has 7 children.  She told us that she took out her first loan three years ago to farm rice.  She borrowed $250 so that she could buy a better seed, use fertilizer on her crop, and pay for a larger share of water.  After harvesting her crop she sold it for $1,700!  She sent her children to secondary school, borrowed another $300 and was able to expand her farm from 2 to 4 acres.  With the increased profits from her farm she has been able to buy a tilling machine which she now rents to other farmers.  She is planning on borrowing again and expanding her farm some more.

It seemed that all four of the members we talked with had had similar experiences.  They had been able to send their children to school, build homes, increase their lands, start other businesses, and generally were doing very well. 

Some children came by and out came Tom’s candy. We took our good byes and headed for home.  Another busy day. 

To get to Tungamalinga you take the Ruaha road west out of town.

It is a 2.5 hour drive out through the country.

Many of the houses we pass are isolated.

When we got to Tungamalinga we were greeted by the officers.

First the chairman addressed the members.

Our roommates, Molly and Lyn, had come with us.  This is their sister parish.

When our intern, Peter, gave his talk there were lots of comments.  This woman wanted us to know how grateful she was for the SACCOS.  Before it was here she could had to borrow money from the "lender" who charges 100% for a 6 month loan.

Brown talked about budgeting and saving.

Everyone was very interested and took lots of notes.

Afterwards we talked to several long time members.

They all had similar stories about their loans.

For example, Asha Kimela is 54.  She has 7 children.  She took out her first loan three years ago to farm rice.  She borrowed $250 so that she could buy a better seed, use fertilizer on her crop, and pay for a larger share of water.  After harvesting her crop she sold it for $1,700!  She sent her children to secondary school, borrowed another $300 and was able to expand her farm from 2 to 4 acres.  With the increased profits from her farm she has been able to buy a tilling machine which she now rents to other farmers.  

Some children appeared and Tom got out the candy.

On the way back we drove by the rice fields.  Although it can be very dry in Tungamalinga, there is an area that has access to the river so you can grow rice.

On the way back we stopped for a stretch.  Some of the washboard sections of the road had us bouncing so hard we thought the car was coming apart!