Tanzania
Changing lives through the local church
Overview
For decades, the people of Central Tanzania have faced challenges with hunger and food insecurity due to a lack of rainfall and ineffective farming methods. As the majority of families rely on agriculture as their only source of income, many of them live in extreme poverty and survive on less than one dollar per day. Through Tearfund and local churches in Tanzania, you can help farming families grow more food to eat and sell so that they can generate more income, and begin their climb out of extreme poverty.
Quick Facts
of Tanzanians live on less than $2 a day
0
%
of households in Dodoma survive on one meal a day
0
%
farmers received training in the last year
0
Our Projects
In partnership with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and the Diocese of Central Tanganyika (DCT), through Tearfund you can help address the hunger crisis by providing training in agriculture and savings groups to thousands of farmers and their families in the Dodoma City District and the Chamwino District.
Project 1
Conservation agriculture and village savings and lending
Problem
Increasing population pressure and traditional ways of farming degrade the land. Together with climate change, the result is a decrease in water sources.
Challenges
Families can only produce enough food for half of the year. Women and girls lack decision-making authority and are overburdened with daily chores.
Activities
The local church participates in training farmers in conservation agriculture techniques to preserve soil moisture and fertility and increase crop yield. Additionally, savings and loans groups are established to provide families with capital to start new income generating activities such as buying more land or starting new businesses.
Project Details
- Location: Dodoma City district and Chamwino district
- Timeframe: March 2021 – February 2025
- Total Budget: $800,000
Outcome
3,000 farmers will be able to grow more productive crops and increase their incomes. 4,000 savings and loans group members will have the tools and training they require to increase and save their income and climb out of extreme poverty in a sustainable manner. Local churches who are facilitating the work will continue to influence and be lights in their communities. Communities will begin to thrive.
Stories of Transformation
A new family
As a young girl, Pendo’s stepmother never allowed her to attend school past grade five. Instead, she was married off to a man twice her age. He abused her, so she fled, only to find she had no where to go. She worked as a housemaid, but the pay barely covered the bus fare to and from work. Alone, Pendo felt trapped. That is, until she discovered a Village Savings Group run by the local church. She joined, and today she makes 20X more than she did before, and has found the family she never had.
Rediscovering the "lost crop"
Esther and Nelson struggled to feed their five children in the dry Dodoma region of Tanzania. They thought it was impossible to grow enough. But after they joined a farmer’s field school, they learned about a crop that had long been forgotten. The lablab bean. It thrived, and now Esther and Nelson are making sure that all their neighbours re-discover this wonderful crop.
Power for the children
A recent father, William wanted to find a way to provide a better life for his wife and newborn son. Planning for the future of his family, he wanted to tap into his village’s solar power system – the only electricity source in his village in Tanzania. His entrepreneurial journey was just beginning, and he was looking to get his wife involved in the action too! With the help of a Savings Group, William was able to invest in a new innovation that made him the talk of the town.
Partners
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