Success story
In over 20 years PADI has been providing micro- credit support to older people and MVCs care givers in Njombe and Ruvuma region. The program started with one group with 10 members. The project set aside Tsh. 100,000 from PADI member contribution whereby 5 group members started to receive the loan after a month the rest started to receive the loan one after another. To date the project has covered over 1500 beneficiaries (in Njombe and Ruvuma) and over 560 IGA groups has been formed with over 10,000 members (with capital of over Tsh.90 million from different donors including Help Age, SATF and District Councils).
The project has benefited a lot, the majorities have managed to expand their projects, renovated their houses, paid school fees for their children and grandchildren, being part and parcel in participating on community gatherings, being valued by their colloquies and older people have been recognize by different stakeholders that older people are able to seek loan and recover successful.
To list few stakeholders who have trusted older people and started to provide loan to their IGA groups include.
- Njocoba bank
- Wanging’mbe DC
- Njombe TC
- Postal Bank
Story No. one:
Among the members who managed to expand the project include Lucy Mpangala.Lucy Mpangala is a widow (70+) caring …children and mother in law aged 96 years in Mletele ward. Lucy is among of over 1500 micro-credit beneficiaries who joined the scheme in 2003, she started with Tsh. 15,000 as the first loan which she invested on tomato garden ( for pest side and fungi side).
After successful recovering the loan and saving part of profit she got Tsh. 30,000, Tsh. 50,000 and Tsh. 100,000 as loan Phase two, three and four respectively, while at that time Lucy was having Tsh. 60,000 as saving at the bank.
In 2004 Lucy used the fourth phase of loan and Tsh. 50,000 of her savings to buy a female calf for Tsh. 150,000. At the moment Lucy has sussed to sell 4 calves valuing Tsh.1.5 million ,selling over 35 litters per day@tsh.1000, has 3 cows valuing Tsh.900,000 each and 3 calves.
Mrs Lucy Mpangala (OP) has managed to raise her income from gardening to Dairy cattle and bio gas is among over 1600 Micro-Credit beneficiaries in Njombe and Ruvuma regions
In her own words Lucaid. “I really want to convey my sincerely thanks to my sponsors for all what they done to me, I was completely poor economically, eating two meals per day, I was not able to support my mother in law in terms of shelter, meals and medication when needed. I also faced a big challenge to pay school fees for my children and grandchildren. To date all these challenges have been solved in addition I have managed to install Biogas plant which is supplying light and cooking energy”.
