Take a look at the melting snowcap on Tanzania’s Mt. Kilimanjaro, and it’s obvious deforestation is a problem. Take a look down the mountain, and it’s clear the problem dramatically affects smallholder farming families. Once-fertile soil is not producing like it used to, so incomes are decreasing while hunger is increasing. In fact, Tanzania’s rate of chronic under-nutrition in children under age 5 is 42%.
The majority of farmers we work with in Tanzania are women, many of whom are widows or single mothers. In Tanzania, women and children are among the poorest of the poor, and 25% of households are headed by women. About 98% of rural Tanzanian women who are economically active earn a livelihood through agriculture, yet they typically don’t have the same access to training and other resources as male farmers. As a result, the average yield of a female farmer is 20-30% lower than that of a male farmer.
Through the sustainable agriculture training Plant With Purpose provides, partnering farmers in Tanzania are doubling their crop production through bio-intensive gardens, and they’re restoring land around Mt. Kilimanjaro by planting more than a million trees a year. They’re gaining access to savings and credit through Village Savings and Loan Associations. They are also growing in their understanding of the love of their Creator, their role in caring for creation, and their responsibility to love their neighbors through a Bible study called “Redemptive Agriculture.”
Beyond basic needs like food and income, Plant With Purpose programs have also brought a sense of God-given dignity and empowerment to farming families in Tanzania.
After losing her husband in 2006, Glori Urio found providing for herself and her four children difficult. In addition to school fees, Glori needed money to continue growing maize, bananas, beans, and sunflowers.
When one of her children contracted malaria, Glori turned to her community for financial help to pay the doctors bill. Glori joined one of Plant With Purpose’s Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA).
In her third year of being a part of her VSLA, Glori requested a loan to buy three pigs with the hope of breeding and selling piglets. She has now sold her second litter, and has also borrowed money for more seeds to expand the crops she grows. And years later, the pigs have proved to be a worthwhile investment, allowing for all four children have been able to remain in school.
Sponsor A Village
By sponsoring a village for as little as $1 a day, you can make a lasting impact on an entire community as they are given the tools and training to lift themselves out of poverty. Sponsor A Village in Tanzania today and change the future for people like Glori Urio.