CHAWAKUA is supporting several individuals with small business loans in order to create their own small businesses. We educate the individuals on the front-end of receiving the loans, and then provide follow up services and further education in order for their businesses to grow and prosper.
Tomato selling – Ms Efrasion
CHAWAKUA Microfinance Project initiated in 2007 is progressing very well. A percentage of our clients have started to pay back their loans and they are requesting second loans. The project targets people who are vulnerable women and men infected and affected by HIV/AIDS and vulnerable youth above 18 years old.
Efrasion is among CHAWAKUA’s target group people for our microfinance project. She is living positive with HIV/AIDS; however she is still very strong, active and able to do her small entrepreneurship. She is a mother of 4 children, and all of them are still under her support.
Prior to meeting Efrasion, she had a small business selling tomatoes with a small capital of Tsh. 3,000 ($3 USD). She bought tomatoes in a small basin weighing 10 to 12 kilograms and walked from house to house selling them to community members. Due to her failing health, she found it difficult to walk around the village. She continued selling tomatoes, and her capital grew slightly. Efrasion managed to buy a tin of tomatoes which weighed 20 to 25 kilograms. The profits she received provided basic needs for her family, but was not enough to pay the rent or medicine whenever she fell ill.
We met Efrasion during one of CHAWAKUA’s home-based care visits. After a brief discussion with Efrasion about her tomato business, we realized she was a good candidate for a micro financing loan.
CHAWAKUA provided Efrasion Tsh 20,000 financial capital by to grow her business. She used the money to buy big baskets of tomatoes weighing approximately 40 to 60 kilograms. Efrasion sold them at the market at wholesale to local businesses. Efrasion agrees that her business is going well, although there are times when she achieves a loss.
Efrasion goes to the Tengeru market twice a week. It’s approximately 15 kilometers from her residence. At Tengeru, she buys tomatoes from the local growers, and resells them to the public. On a good day, Efrasion can generate an incremental Tsh. 5,000 to 10,000 per day.
Efrasion was able to repay her loan to CHAWAKUA in four months at a 10% interest per month (Tsh. 22,000). The microfinance loan enabled Efrasion to save money for the rent of her house, and transportation costs to actively look for other markets to sell her tomatoes.
We visited Efrasion’s business in Tengeru recently, and she was very happy with her well her business was doing. Her tomatoes were selling well, and she had many customers due to her cheerfulness. She mentioned to us her plan to diversity if she were to receive another loan. Moreover, we had time to share her own personal struggles. Efrasion’s faces the struggle of needing to tap into her capital to purchase medicine when she falls ill due to HIV/AIDS. When she is not able to attend to her business, she loses customers.
Efrasion’s plan when she receives a second loan from CHAWAKUA is to open a second business near home. Efrasions dream is to increase her income to support her family.
Chicken project – Mr. Peter
The chicken project was initiated as a microfinance initiative, and as a support service initiative to Mr. Peter who has lived a difficult life.
Peter has been living positive with HIV/AIDS since 2003. He is a member of TUPO (TUMAINI POSITIVE Organization), a partner organization of CHAWAKUA. We partner with TUPO to provide home-based care visits to individuals living with HIV/AIDS.
When CHAWAKUA started the microfinance project, Peter was amongst the individuals considered to be given a loan for his chicken project. Due to the high start-up costs of creating a chicken coup, purchasing chickens, vaccinations and feeders, CHAWAKUA chose to support Peter in the start-up costs, and provide him a loan for chicken grain.
On our recent visit to Peter’s chicken project, we were pleasantly surprised that he has a few new baby chickens and several eggs. Peter stated that he collects approximately 70 eggs per month. He has been able to start a business of selling eggs to locals and eating eggs for protein.
The only challenge Peter is facing at the moment is that his chicken coup needs to be expanded due to the ever increasing baby chickens. Additionally, he needs a second hut for the chickens who are strictly laying eggs. Peter also worries that his landlord may not support his needs of building a bigger chicken coup to support his growing business. If his landlord agrees to provide him more space to grow his business, CHAWAKUA will support him in his second loan request.
Peter has been attending adult secondary school and is attending classes daily from 03:00 to 06:00pm. CHAWAKUA is responsible for his tuition fees, school books and miscellaneous items. Funding for Peter’s schooling was funded by Mrs. Annette McAlpine (the mother of a previous CHAWAKUA volunteer).
Peter is very happy to be attending school again. He mentioned that he is up early in the morning tending to his chickens, studies in the early afternoon, and attends classes in the late afternoon.
