Iringa Hope visits 2015: Magubike and Three Cups of Coffee!

Many of us recall the hit book entitled Three Cups of Tea which described how it took three calls on a remote village to be trusted enough to have a talk about issues. Well, among Norwegians and Tanzanians at Magubike, it has also taken three visits with discussions over tea (and coffee for Tom) to get to the heart of their SACCOS issues.

Magubike is a 75 minute drive from Iringa. The turn-off to Magubike is on the road to Ruaha National Park, in the midst of tobacco country. We first visited Magubike in 2013. At that time there was a group led by the Pastor who wanted to buy a sunflower press to make oil from sunflower seeds. Tom reviewed their plans for “a machine” and explained how it would not make money and would most likely be a burden to them. The Pastor was very insistent that this was the thing to do. He had a group of church members who also were convinced that this was the way to go.

During that first visit we had a group meeting in the church to describe our approach to SACCOS and how it would work for them. There had been a government SACCOS in Magubike at one time which went broke, taking many people’s money with it. There was also a SACCOS in the nearby village, but it excluded most of the local farmers. On that day in 2013 over 100 people pledged that they would join a SACCOS, and 48 of them paid a small amount down on their entrance fees.

On our return the following year we found there were only 21 members in the SACCOS. What had happened? Most of the 100 people had thought that this would be like the government SACCOS and they could get “free money.” When they found out that this was not the case, they left. The remaining 21 members seemed to understand what we were doing but were very nervous about their savings.

Once again the Pastor had a plan for “a machine,” and once again Tom went over the many problems with his plan. At the end of this visit the Pastor seemed to accept that he would not get his machine – but that an Iringa Hope SACCOS was a very good thing for his parish.

Today marked our third visit to this village and we discovered that there were some problems here. It seems that the former Pastor had a scheme worked out to get money out of a “machine” purchase – which was why he wanted it so badly. He was very frustrated that we found so many problems so he decided that he would get some money out of the SACCOS instead. He had been telling his congregation that the SACCOS belongs to the church (which is not true, it belongs to the members NOT the church) and if he did not get enough funds from their tithes, he would just take money out of the SACCOS. This did not happen, probably because he had been told that we go after Pastors who try this, but the threat had been enough to cause people to lose interest in the SACCOS.

We talked to the officers of the SACCOS. They were very happy we had come to check on things. They have been working with the 20 folks that have joined. This past year they made 15 loans to their members, with an average loan of $210, had 100% on time repayment, and earned over $1,000 for their SACCOS. Reviewing their records we found some mistakes (everyone seems to need reminding) but nothing that they won’t correct in the future.

Finally we asked to interview some of the members who had gotten loans. The first person Sandy interviewed was Katalin Kilasi, a 64 year old widow. Katalin was the mother of ten children, seven of whom have died, leaving her with 3 children and 10 grandchildren. She is supporting herself and one grandchild whose father has died. She has taken out two loans to plant her cash crop of beans. Her first loan was for $100. This allowed her to plant her 2 acres with beans. Last year prices on beans were low, but she managed to repay her loan plus she earned a $100 profit. She used her profit for school fees for the grandchild she supports, and, in addition, she invested in a yogurt business. She buys milk, makes yogurt and delivers it on foot to her neighbors. She isn’t the only one benefiting from her investment, as yogurt has nutritional value for those who consume it!

Katalin’s second loan of $180, is still in the ground, but she is expecting a profit this year too. She plans to use her profit from this year’s crop to expand her business. Sandy complemented her on being so clever. She told her that her grandchild is very fortunate to have such grandmother. Katalin, who had been looking very serious, broke out into a big smile.

We next talked with Julius Mbwilo, 60 years old and divorced. Julius raised four children and now he has three grandchildren. He supports himself and 1 other relative. Julius took out a loan for $135 which he used to plant tomatoes on his one acre. After harvesting his tomatoes he repaid his loan and had earned a profit of $170. He used his profit to invest in his next crop, so as a result, this year his loan was smaller. He thinks that this year he will earn a very BIG profit because it has been a perfect year for tomatoes.

As we prepared to leave, one of the evangelists told us that he would like us to come to a church service and explain what a SACCOS can do for them. He said that they need to know that Iringa Hope SACCOS belongs only to them. He explained that he had not joined the SACCOS previously because he was afraid the pastor would take his money. Now that he understands what we are doing he will join the SACCOS and would like others in his preaching point to do so too.

Our third visit (our third cup of tea- or coffee) was an eye-opener. We learned that there has been a great deal of miscommunication and false representation of how an Iringa Hope SACCOS is structured and how it works. We hope that our visit has dispelled some of the rumors that have circulated and that more members of the community will decide to take advantage of being a member of a SACCOS.