This update is a transcript from a conversation held on Skype.
Father Peter picked up Toni and Claire at the airport, and at the request of Bishop Kaggwa, stopped in Masaka. Bishop Kaggwa stepped out of meetings, greeted them warmly, inquired about Sister Barbara Moore and Mary Lou Bennett and the group from earlier this year. Toni and Claire learned that the cow project is continuing to grow. Three parishes and one convent will soon start with the cow project (instead of a family farm being the base for the cow, the parish or convent will be the base).
The experience in Bukoba has been rewarding. Toni and Claire have met so many wonderful people. Michael is a marketing person; he goes to village groups and sets up under a tarp to teach people about basic principles of marketing. Today there is an example of a regularly held session, under tarp, for the village of Bukoba. Michael is here. Bridget is another teacher. She encourages the women through holistic exercises, to remind them of the tremendous potential and worth that they possess. Bridget includes stretching exercises and self esteem activities. Two years ago, the women would not even look up to meet the gaze of the teacher. Now they have their own tee-shirts which proclaim, “Teach a woman; educate a nation.” The women look confident—they have grown. At the end of the workshop, each woman says something self-affirming: “I am a great soy bean grower.” “I am a strong vendor.” The women look happy.
Regina is the leader. She is a wonderful personality, warm, smart, nothing is impossible. In her younger years, she was a teacher who traveled throughout Tanzania. As her eyesight deteriorated, she was no longer able to teach. Regina then started a prayer group that met once a week on Saturdays. The group found that they wanted to do more than prayer, so they developed a plan of action, which they call “Mary Go Round,” in honor of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. A group of ten women put in $10 per month, and each month that $100 goes to one of the women in the group to support her income generating activity. This is how the Bukoba’s Women Group started.
The group started around 1998-1999, and now they have 27 groups, with 5-6 women in each group. There are different groups in different villages. They all come in once a month for meetings and orientation. They have continued the revolving loan program, “Mary Go Round,” and have incorporated the requirement that members have a savings account.
There are a variety of projects underway in Bukoba. One of the most significant is a soy project. The villagers grow soy beans and convert the beans into powder. This soy powder is then added to their oatmeal, boosting the nutrition for the children. A professor from Incarnate Word University in San Antonio, TX, got a grant to study the impact of this project, and screen kids before and after they had had the benefit of the soy powder. The documented positive effects are amazing.
Jerry Brennan, of St. Louis, brought a processor to make soy milk from the soy beans. This machine works much like an automatic juicer. This soy milk apparently has more nutrition than cow milk—amazing! A similar study will document the before and after impact of soy milk for the children as well. All this is very hopeful.
Another project is a water project. Another professor from Incarnate Word got a grant to try this out. The contraption uses a plastic tube that you roll as you walk, and this purifies the water as you walk. The research project includes interviewing 100 women, quantifying the time and effort it has always taken them to acquire water each day, and then following up every six months to see the differences in the answers.
Future plans include expanding a small processing center, a one room “factory” for the soy bean projects. Jerry Brennan, who is a chemist by training, is very particular on quality assurance, and the process includes purifying the jars, sealing them, and ensuring that they have a shelf life of one year.
From what we have seen so far, there is much to be impressed with. The savings accounts, loan accounting, bookkeeping, general record keeping, accounting, and data all seem to be very thorough and well organized. The connection with Women’s Global Connection in San Antonio is constant. The group also partners with World Vision. From what we have seen of that partnership, World Vision also looks like a good group, very supportive, and they admire Regina as well. World Vision has leased BUWEA 50 acres of wheat and soy, and provided access to a tractor. The women harvest 10 of those acres themselves.
BUWEA has an office, smaller than MPA’s office, with one desktop PC. On this trip, the representatives from Incarnate Word brought 4 laptops. There is a 22 year old Incarnate Word student there, Terry, who is spending time in Bukoba as an indispensable IT guru, teaching the women how to use computers. Terry has converted the desktop’s graphic user interface from English in the drop-down menus, to Swahili, to make the training more efficient. How ingenious!
It has also been a wonderful experience to spend time with the two women from Father George Ssemmombwe’s parish. These women joined Toni and Claire on the way from Masaka to Bukoba, and have been sharing about cultural norms. They have been actively engaged in sharing information with the BUWEA women and learning from them as well. For instance, these two women shared information with BUWEA about a special chicken feed that they had discovered. And, they eagerly learned about the BUWEA’s tips for maximizing banana plant productivity and minimizing banana weevil issues.
Today the vendors are convening in a big arena, and Claire has gone to explore. Toni is finding that jet lag has just now arrived in full force, and is taking some time to recuperate. Tomorrow may include a short safari, but each day comes one at a time.
With the schedule, it may be a couple of days before Toni and Claire are able to access internet. In the meantime, they carry all of us in their hearts as they learn much about the women of Tanzania.
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