Wanavikundi wa Peace Makers VICOBA (PM VICOBA) wakiwa katika ziara ya siku tatu ya maonyesho ya nane nane yaliofanyika mkoa wa Morogoro. Ziara hii iliandaliwa na taasisi ya vijana waleta amani Tanzania ili wanavikundi hao waweze kujifunza ujasiriamali kilimo na kilimo chakisasa kwa maendeleo ya kiuchumi. Zifuatazo ni picha za matukio mbalimbali wakati wa ziara hiyo.
PeaceMakers VICOBA (PM VICOBA) members celebrated the Nane nane exhibition ( farmers day) in Morogoro Tanzania. The arrangement of a visit was prepared by Youth Peace Makers Tanzania with the aim of enhancing VICOBA members to learn agricultural entrepreneurship and how they can use modern agricultural methods to increase quantity and quality of agricultural products for economic development.
Having been working with the community for several years, YPM decided to prepare for VICOBA’s day in Lushoto District, involving all its groups initiated by this Organization with a view to identifying achievements from different groups but also with a variety of products including projects undertaken by these groups.
This Organization is currently hosting more than hundred and fifty groups throughout the region of Tanga and each group expects to bring five participants.
This activity will be held on Saturday morning from till evening, the Honorable visitor is Lushoto District Commissioner Hon. January Lugwangika.
On 28th April YPM participated in the official launching of the Usambara League. The event was held in Soni and was organized by the Sports council of Lushoto district in coordination with the three parliamentarians found in Lushoto (Lushoto, Mlalo and Bumbuli constitutents). The event was launched by the District commissioner of Lushoto.
The competition will involve teams from 8 divisions (Tarafa) in Lushoto district that will be the winners from the ward competitions. The intention of the league despite bringing youths together it will mobilize them to see on how they can make use of the splendid rich environment for tourism as a way to fight poverty. On the other hand keeping the environment will assure more chances to have future opportunities for tourism which in return it provides employment to involved communities.
The participation of YPM is in course of their mission and vision of fighting poverty through involving youth in economic justice. YPM has been presented in the inauguration by the YPM football team of under 20. The team emerged the winners in the day bonanza.
YPM was part of the few sponsors, working closely to the Lushoto and Bumbuli Councils. The events of the day included the half marathon, 5Km competitions and children competitions, there were also volleyball for under 14 and 6 football teams to color the event. The joy has been that YPM won 1-0 against the Mgwashi team from the Bumbuli constituent.
During a visit to our organizational meeting in Lushoto in the autumn of 2017, we conducted a longer interview with the manager of the project, Godfrey Walalaze. The interview lasts for over half an hour and is enough for especially interested. There is no doubt that our project is big and means very much to many people in the village in Tanzania. We change lives!
On 10th Feb Sunnfjord group had a chance to visit VICOBA in Maasai village with YPM host Vicent who coordinate our Programs in Korogwe district. The Maasai VICOBA members welcomed guests with performance of cultural songs and then had the opportunity to explain on the operation of the VICOBA project and the challenges they had. The Visitors were very impressed on the extended work by YPM to the point of reaching even those in the remote areas in the plateau of Usambara mountains. The guests also had the opportunity to see the joy and trouble of driving in the rough roads as they had to spend some times cleaning the path for their bus to pass through so as to reach the intended village. That shared with them the now and then challenge faced by YPM in reaching the intended people so as to shed the light of hope to such communities.
The group in the Maasai land reported that they are benefiting from the loans that enable them to raise their livestock which are the main activities of the Maasai people. Since the establishment of their group so far they have invested shares of more than two million shillings where one share is two thousand shillings and a social fund only five hundred shillings.
After learning about the group they were fortunate to visit the Maasai ceremony on the rite of passage; that is the passage of young people from childhood to youthful and adulthood. It is the ceremony that declare them ready to assume further responsibilities in their communities. They played traditional songs as well as jumping from as part of the joy and celebrating their traditions.
The purpose of this trip to our visitors is to learn cultures and to live with Tanzanians but through a visit to the Maasai, they have given a new image and understanding of the vast but well celebrated culture in our Tanzanian contexts.
Sunnfjord Folkhoghskole is the school in Forde that is accommodating a number of youths all over Norway for the One year program in Development Issues, Sports and Talent Development. One of the line is the Youth Peacemakers Movement. Among the year plans is to visit the partners and see the support to Development in their local communities.
On January 16 2018, YPM received a group of 11 students and one leader from Norway Sunnfjord FHS who came to Tanzania with a view of exchange and sharing on culture, Tourism and support to Development projects under YPM.
After arriving these visitors had the opportunity to relax in Dar es Salaam and on 18 they arrived in Lushoto. After reaching Lushoto they had the opportunity to visit the Irente Institutions where they get to see the charity work done by the ELCT-NED through the Blind school and Children’s Home (Orphanage).
In addition the visitors did hiking to Mkuzi waterfalls and ride the bicycles to and from Mkuzi. On 01st. February they had the opportunity to visit VICOBA groups at the Msongolo Village in Bumbuli Council where they learned how the community benefited from this project through saving money and taking loans. They also visited the members’ projects and were more delighted to see the 24-year-old young man Stephen Richard’s house. His house which is the outcome of his investment and loans from VICOBA has four bedrooms, a storeroom and a sitting room; he is still continuing with the construction. Afterwards the team visited a field of tomatoes that is also the product of VICOBA member.
For Tanzanians, employment is a major challenge but through this project we see how young people are self-employed and act as a model for some young people to stop complaining about the needy and instead to start fighting poverty by joining existing
Tuesday 21st and Thursday 29th of September, YPM held VICOBA trainings in Mshangai and Kamngobole for leaders from twenty three different VICOBA-groups around the area.
Secretaries, discipline masters, treasures and chair persons met to report and share experiences from their VICOBA groups, and get professional input from head office. The aim of the meeting was to discuss several themes on VICOBA, to make sure our leaders feel supported and return to their communities even more confident and knowledgeable than before. Strong leaders are necessary build strong and durable VICOBA groups, and represent important figures in community development.
Participants get training on importance of good leadership
A leader should always be elected from members within the group. One of his or hers main responsibilities is to be a positive motivator and empower others to save more. A successful leaders is one that sees that others succeeds. But leadership is also about making sure that the rules are followed and the VICOBA members pay their shares and fines according to the law of the group. VICOBA does not permit losses. This is the communities money, and trust is needed for the system to work. Each VICOBA group should have a constitution which help govern their activities, and leaders may refer to this in case of disagreements on eg. payment of fines. It is important that leaders upheld a strict, but fair, line on deadlines for payments of VICOBA money, and go in front as good examples themselves.
Group assignment: participants are calculating how to divide profit from VICOBA according to a persons shares.
It is important that leaders upheld a strict, but fair, line on deadlines for payments of VICOBA money, and go in front as good examples themselves.
The training in Mshangai also gave to thirteen groups chance to present themselves, and their achievements this far. Some groups had started only recently, and only gathered some hundred thousands shillings, but most groups were between 25-40 members and had collected from 2 million to 4 million shillings. One group had even managed to collect more than 6 million. Most of the groups reported meeting the same challenges: members who used to long time to return loans, and lack of facilities to run group projects. Most of the groups had tree planting projects, or other small group businesses.
YMP are grateful for all the good work done around in the villages, especially by the group leaders, who volunteer of their time to run our projects. You are indispensable to our work, and real makers of changers in the lives of your neighbors, friends and families.
On the 12-13th of October, YPM visited Korogwe for follow up and training of leaders in VICOBA and PETS. Aim of the visit was to train leading figures of VICOBA to improve the groups performances, and to do follow up on PETS to see what participants from our last workshop has achieved until now.
Leaders of VICOBA in Korogwe
15 leaders from five different VICOBA groups attended our leadership training on 12th of
Group work
October. The meeting gave participants possibility to share and reflect on their success and challenges so far, and get professional input from the YPM. Many groups reported problems with poor attendance and drop out from the group because of bad harvest (= people don’t have money to save in the group) and students traveling away to attend school. To little knowledge about VICOBA and each members obligation to buy shares every week was also mentioned as problems, particularly among new members. Follow up on groups, and adequate support and training of group leaders running our activities, will be necessar
One VICOBA group had project of making Batik clothes
to overcome these challenges.
More about the content in our VICOBA leadership trainings can be read here, from our previous training’s in Mshangai and Kwadeghe
On Thursday 13th of October, participants from five different villages around Korogwe met for follow up training on PETS. Aim of the workshop was evaluations and assessment of work done in the villages since last YPM workshop.
All participants had stories of achievements to share, although PETS is quite challenging work, and it will take time before the big results and changes starts to occur. However, there is some success story where by one village that used to have no three months village general meeting now is convened without missing. In addition, PETS ambassadors from one village had however managed to draw focus on illegal timbering in government forestry around their area. PETS ambassadors from another village managed to put focus on a possible corruption case related to construction of a school. The case is now under investigation, and involves prominent persons.
The cases above are only some examples of the importance of PETS. YPM hope the movement will foster and grow strong, so we can see even more achievements in the future.
Manager is checking the book keeping of one of the VICOBA groups
During our visit to Msongolo and Ngwele last week, YPM were able to see some of the achievements brought to life by VICOBA. We call these “success stories”.
Mrs. Evelyn Apeles from Ngwele is one of the persons who got her life changed through VICOBA. With a loan of 300 000 shillings, she managed to build a new house for herself and her family.
ONLY VICOBA CAN CHANGE THIS
INTO THIS
Mrs. Apeles’ new and old house is lying next to each other. The improvements are easy to see. Thanks to VICOBA, her new home has double size of the old one, and is build in bricks rather than mud.
Loans from VICOBA are usually invested in small, income generating projects or businesses, which assure that money will be brought in to refund the loan with interest. Mrs. Apeles does not have a business of her own, but work on a nearby tea plantation. By taking extra shifts and working hard 6 days a week, she has been able to make 450 000 shillings.
– VICOBA is my motivation. I know that for each share I save in VICOBA, I can get loan of three times as much.
Mrs. Apeles is always trying to buy five shares every week, for two thousand shillings each share. Now she is saving up to extend her house with two extra rooms, giving the house four rooms in total.