In rural communities in Kilimanjaro Region, most families own very small holdings which they use to grow their own food. So whilst they do not experience food poverty, they do not have the means to buy or access services including education and healthcare.
Our Rural Microfinance Initiative aims to give families with children the means to generate a regular, sustainable income to meet the every day costs of accessing education.
We currently provide 3 levels of livestock investment:
1) Dairy Cows
We provide a dairy cow to a family so that they can sell milk to neighbours. The family is required to make a regularly payment from their income until the full value of the cow has been recovered.
2) Herd of Goats
Families are provided with a 5 goats (4 female and 1 male) that over time will reproduce and grow the herd. Families may then decide to sell goats to generate an income and meet important costs.
As a condition of participation in the project, families are required to return 1 goat to the project within 2 years, and an additional goat in all subsequent years, until the initial donation of 5 goats has been recovered.
For the duration of the project, families have access to training and professional guidance from Masai herdsmen who are employed by Kijana Kwanza to offer support, particularly for those who are new to goat farming.
3) Flock of Chickens
Single mothers are provided with a flock of 10 chickens (including 1 cockerel) to enable them to sell eggs to neighbours. With time they can grow their flock and expand their small enterprise to meet essential household expenses. Recipients make a monthly payment for 12 months until the value of the flock has been recovered.
