These Young Adults Now Have Hope for the Future
Ayoub and Pelice used to think that there was no hope for their futures, until they were able to start their own business thanks to a local VSL group.
Did you know that half of Tanzania’s population is younger than 18?
Yet so many young people struggle to see a hopeful future.
Where the majority of the country’s working population depends on rain-fed agriculture for their income, the lengthening dry seasons and the unpredictable rains are leaving more and more people in poverty. Younger generations are faced with the increasingly alarming reality that, as the climate shifts, they may not be able to sustain themselves.
This could have been the story of Ayoub and Pelice, a young couple in their early twenties living in the rural village of Mkoyo. But when they joined a local Village Savings and Loans (VSL) group at their church at the ages 20 and 23, their lives as they imagined it changed.
Through Tearfund, this VSL group provided training in various areas. Ayoub and his wife learned about conservation agriculture techniques, creation care, gender equality, marketing, and how to best mobilize their own resources. With this newfound knowledge, they began to dream of a brighter future. “These tools help me and my wife to think about what we can do with our resources to diversify household livelihoods and income,” Ayoub explained.
Taking what he had learned, Ayoub applied many of these skills to his biggest passion: motorcycles. At the end of the first VSL cycle, Ayoub used his shareout of savings he received as well as the marketing and business skills he learned to invest in his own motorcycle repair business. From there, it only took him one year from beginning this business to generate enough income to build a shop to sell the motorcycle parts!
Alongside the motorcycle shop, Ayoub and Pelice kept a sunflower farm. Using plant-sustaining storage bags called “PICS bags” that were provided by the church, they were even able to increase their income throughout the year enough to afford livestock.
Their lives had been utterly transformed.
Ayoub and Pelice used to believe that they would struggle all their lives toiling under the hot Tanzania sun just to harvest any meagre crops to eat. But now, early in their twenties, they run a business and are living comfortable, secure, and happy lives!
Now, this couple tells others of the impact that the VSL group has had on them. Through their participation and joy at their own transformations, they are encouraging other young adults to get involved, spreading a ripple effect of hopeful futures to other young people!
Tearfund works to bring long-term, lasting hope to people like Ayoub and Pelice. The generosity of people like you allow God to continue his Kingdom work in places like Tanzania!