Since our project secretary has left the keyboard unattended, the remaining parts of the team is taking over! Linda, Kristina and Rafael will from now on, with combined forces, try to keep up the great communication level of Leif.In his absence, we started the day by meeting Mr Ramadhani Jawa, the Ward Executive Officer of Tanga Sisi Ward, being the contact between local communities and the City Directors on a district level across all areas; education, health, infrastructure, livestock etc. Mr Jawa used one of the HiLights for more than two weeks to put it to test.
- I would like to buy it myself, for my mom. She does not have electricity and uses kerosene for light, which is exponsive. My friends who saw it likes it very much, they want to know where to find it!
The discussion focused on how people in deciding positions could understand the need for the product to include it in a coming budgeting for the city municipalities and region. We also explored the presence of local NGOs and financial institutions like PRIDE TANZANIA, FINCA, BRAC, POVERTY AFRICA and SEDA; all providing ways for people to borrow small amounts of money to start businesses providing an income for the families. In Tanzania today, only 5% are eligible for loans at the regular banks!
Our amazing host Ruth Nesje at TICC helped us further in our search, by arranging a meeting with Michael Nyangusi. Mr Nyangusi founded a nursery school in Popatlal, is Swahili teacher and initiator to a local VICOBA group; the latter being reason for our interest.
VICOBA stands for Village Community Banks, a "saving and credit society", creating small, local "banks" run by the group members. After saving money regularly for 3 months, you are eligible for a loan of 3*your savings. Since your fellow "bankers" are friends and neighbours, the risk of not getting the money back is limited. To our current understanding, this system seems to be a good way to get the local communities to work together to create an improved situation for the neighbourhood!
After a long day, we are looking forward to an early morning meeting with the head teacher of the local school. I'm excited to hear his opinion on HiLight and how it could simplify his daily life!
5 comments:
I connect in Rome as the airplane land here I feel the connection. YES you are on the right track. It is amazing to have been part of this journey where the product we have been traveling with has shown to have a potential use for about 80% of Tanzanias population.
Rafael, take your time to write! Your voice needs to be heard, as you have so many important things to say!
I wish you good luck!
Nu la jag till bilderna också! Hemma!
Has things been as you expected from the start? Have you met any suspicions to your device? Have every testperson been interested in keeping "their" lamp? How many lamps will you leave behind? Finally: What will you miss the most when you leave Tanzania?
@Leif: yes, we miss you here, but we'll do our best to keep up your good work. See you soon!
@Ann: Thanks! We're now focusing on finding a suitable local parter for a continued, larger project related to HiLight. Tomorrow we're off to Dar es Salaam to discuss possible projects with the government and local NGOs.
@Gittan: Nothing is as expected! :-) But as a wise person said from the start: as long as you keep track of the goal, the road to get there can change all the time - and it does! Somehow, I notice that the unplanned roads often end up being better than what we looked for in the beginning...
Regarding the test results: I think every test person wanted to keep "their" HiLight, some more heart breaking cases than other. It feels great to leave about 10 items behind, which will be used by rural maasai communities, field nurses, and teachers. The HiLights we take home will soon return to Tanzania to be tested in schools during the coming months.
What will I miss...? Well, not the ugali! :-) I will miss the weather; sun and >30C almost every day. I will miss the beautiful birds & flowers, and all animals! Yesterday, we had to pause a telephone conference to "monkey-secure" our belongings! I've never used that excuse in any of my telephone conferences in Sweden... yet. :o)
But most of all, I will probably miss the amazingly friendly and helpful people we met during our trip. When we had a car breakdown in the middle of nowhere, EVERY driver stopped to check if we were all right, and offered help! If we did that in Sweden, I personally think we would have a warmer society, despite a chilly outdoor temperature...
Post a Comment