WeSeeHope - Spring Newsletter 2023

SPRING 2023

NEWSLETTER

OSWALD MALUNDA, WESEEHOPE AFRICA DIRECTOR

SPREADING RISK FOR FAMILIES & COMMUNITIES DURING THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS

Welcome to your Spring Newsletter!

Since the start of the year, I have met with eight of our partners across Tanzania and Uganda and visited the communities where we are running our programmes together.

Speaking with families - whether in Mwanza, Tanzania’s second city, or Gulu, a remote district in northern Uganda - the ongoing challenges presented by the cost of living crisis were a widespread concern.

Sharp price rises are forcing many households to cut back on their spending, with dangerous implications for their children.

For example, in Uganda, where food inflation reached 23% at the beginning of the year, it is children who face the most damaging effects of switching to a cheaper, less nutritious diet.

I was relieved to hear from many of the parents, guardians and community members who I spoke to that their ability to earn money from a number of different activities has been crucial during this time.

Whether it’s livestock and agriculture schemes for pre-schools and after-school clubs, income projects for children living without a parent, or joint enterprises for community banking groups, each of our programmes have built-in mechanisms which help families afford day-to-day essentials, have assets to rely on when times are tough, and to build resilience for the long-term.

You can see some photos of these mechanisms in action overleaf from across the five countries where we work - Kenya, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe - and learn more about our focus on income generation throughout this edition of the newsletter.

This crisis is far from over but thanks to your incredible support, we are able to work closely with our partners and draw on their specific understanding of what this means for the communities we work with. Together we can adapt so that our programmes are the most effective at such a challenging time.

PARTNER UPDATES

FOCUSING ON INCOME GENERATION

Here’s a snapshot of some of the incredible work you have made possible over the past few months.

TRAINING YOUNG PEOPLE IN MALAWI IN EMPLOYMENT & MENTORSHIP SKILLS

MPC Nkhoma, our partner in the central district of Salima, reported that throughout 2022, 48 out-of-school teenagers learnt carpentry, tailoring and bricklaying skills through our Vocational Training Programme.

Samuel, pictured on the right, is 16 years old and graduated from his bricklaying course in August. Since then he has found work building houses and bathrooms, and even helped with the construction of a new pre-school in his community. He also spent six months passing on his skills to Issa, another young person in his community.

ENHANCING ANIMAL REARING & AGRICULTURE SKILLS WITH VOLUNTEERS & TEACHERS IN ZIMBABWE

At the end of last year, 120 community volunteers and teachers who facilitate 15 clubs set up through our Child Rights Programme in Mutare took part in training and capacity building sessions with our partner Simukai.

By rearing livestock or starting their own food garden, the clubs produce resources that they can sell. They then use their profits to invest back into their community, helping to pay for the fees or uniforms of children at risk of dropping out of school.

RUNNING CONFIDENCE BOOSTING & TEAM BUILDING EXERCISES FOR ENTERPRISE GROUPS IN KENYA

In February, 40 young people living on the streets Nairobi who recently formed their own self-help support and enterprise groups through our Street Work Programme went on a camping trip to the outskirts of the city with our partner, Undugu.

They took part in life and business skills training sessions, one of the first steps in helping them to develop safe and sustainable income generating activities.

Camping trips provide a space for members to build their relationships in the early stages of the programme and to have some fun together!

KICK-STARTING SMALL BUSINESSES WITH CHILD HEADED HOUSEHOLDS IN UGANDA

Since last May, 20 more young people living without a parent or guardian in the western district of Ntoroko have been supported with capital and materials to start small businesses through our Child Headed Households Programme, which we run in the region with our partner, RIDE.

Mbusa is pictured recently at the fish stall she has set up at her local market with Tom, RIDE’s Child Headed Households Officer, who visits the households weekly. “The businesses are increasing income with an average of 45,545 UGX (£10) and are supporting them to pay school fees, scholastic materials and bedding,” he explained.

VILLAGE INVESTORS PROGRAMME SPOTLIGHT

CREATING SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS

Whether they are in rural northern Uganda or the informal settlements of Nairobi, we work with communities in which families do not have access to a bank, credit facilities or social safety nets. This puts them at an acute risk. They are living day-to-day with no economic security. Without the ability to borrow money and with no savings, they have few opportunities to find new ways to generate income and are therefore trapped in the cycle of poverty.

Whether it’s dropping out of school to find work, or facing limited access to nutritious food and healthcare, children inadvertently suffer.

That’s why we have developed our Village Investors Programme (VIP). Through it we:

TEACH

groups of parents and guardians how to pool small amounts of money together to form their own community banking system.

PROVIDE

each VIP group with a savings tool kit, which includes a cash safety box, padlocks, financial notebooks and calculators.

The VIP is completely driven by its members. Groups meet once a week when they each deposit “shares” into a Savings Fund. With knowledge from the training sessions, they then take loans from their group to invest in materials for a business, and use their profit to

TRAIN

members in banking, business and financial skills over three years so they are able to run independently of any support.

pay their loan back with interest over an agreed period of time.

VIP members have started and grown a whole host of businesses, including farming projects, beauty salons, bakeries, phone charging stations, grocery stores, and thousands more.

With the ability to continually invest in them, these businesses give members the best chance of earning money

regularly, safely and sustainably, and to pass on the benefits of the VIP to their families, including:

What’s more, at the end of each savings cycle, groups “share-out”. This is when all of the money in their group is divided among members depending on how much they have saved as an individual throughout the cycle.

In areas where families are relying on day-to-day income, share-outs significantly boost their standard of living and economic security. They enable them to invest in assets such as:

A GREATER & MORE VARIED DIET

SCHOOL FEES & MATERIALS

HEALTHCARE & HYGIENE COSTS

Meet Ndilindiyani, an entrepreneur from Majuwa, a village in the Ntcheu District in southern Malawi, where she lives with her three children aged 16, 14 and 11.

Before she joined the Tiyanjane VIP group back in 2018, Ndilindiyani often struggled to afford necessities for her children and pay for the upkeep of her house as she did not have a reliable job or source of income.

After joining the group, things began to change for Ndilindiyani and her family. Taking what she had learnt from the VIP banking, business and finance training sessions, she started her first business. Initially, she took out a loan and bought clothes and dried fish at wholesale, and started selling them on for a profit at a nearby market.

During her group’s first share-out, Ndilindiyani received 85,000KWA (£67) which she invested in the upkeep of her

house. She also purchased several bags of fertiliser so she could set up a food garden and start her own agri-business.

As her group progressed, Ndilindiyani’s savings accumulated and her annual share-out improved from 146,000KWA (£115) at the end of Cycle 2, to 210,000KWA (£166) after Cycle 3, and 285,000KWA (£226) from her fourth cycle ending in 2022.

Ndilindiyani’s growing income has enabled her to invest more in her agribusiness, from which she has seen a very promising return. She now rents 4.5 hectares of land and grows a variety of crops including maize, groundnuts, soya beans and potatoes. She has even hired two people in her community to help with production.

“WHEN YOU HAVE A VISION, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A GO.”

NDILINDIYANI, A MEMBER OF THE VIP IN MALAWI

The success of her businesses and diversified income has allowed her to continue paying for all of her childrens’ school fees, as well as improving and upgrading their house. She was also able to invest in a mountain bike to help her get around and a phone for her son so that he can access online school materials.

Alongside the incredible financial progress Ndilindiyani has made, she has felt empowered to take on new pursuits and become a leader in her community.

“When you have a vision, you have to have a go”, she explained.

After starting out volunteering at a pre-school as a caregiver, Ndilindiyani has now trained to become the school’s headteacher, and she now acts as a group mentor for all the pre-schools in the area. She has also helped other nearby VIP groups to get up and running, taking an active role in training new members in important banking skills such as bookkeeping.

THE INCREASE IN NDILINDIYANI’S SHARE-OUTS CYCLE-ON-CYCLE

In addition to the increase in her earnings which she spent day-to-day, the chart shows the remarkable increase in the amounts Ndilindiyani received at group share-out each cycle. For context, this is in a country where the average monthly income is £43 and in an area where families are often earning much less than this.

£30 IS ENOUGH TO HELP A PARENT OR GUARDIAN LIKE NDILINDIYANI TRANSFORM THEIR FAMILY’S FUTURE

WHAT’S COMING UP? OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT

Whether it’s on your bike or behind the wheel of a classic car, we’d love you to take to the road over the next few months...

JOIN OUR RIDELONDON CYCLING TEAM THIS MAY

Take on the 100 mile ride from London to Essex - and back again! - on Sunday 28th May.

A stunning route with an incredible atmosphere along the way, whether you’re a keen cyclist or novice.

SIGN UP TO THE ANNUAL HOPE CLASSIC RALLY IN JUNE

Get behind the wheel of some of the world’s most iconic classic cars on Friday 16th June, followed by an evening of celebrations at the five-star Great Fosters Tudor Estate in Surrey.