Country: Tanzania

Organization: Foster Care Work Group, Southern Highlands Income Development Agency Fund

3) Strategy Summary:
Our organization envisages to form sustainable village funds for development by forming peer groups of 60 people per village. A loan to be managed as a union peer group shall be availed. They will be required to contribute $20 each towards it. A business center shall be established while the entire group is being trained in leadership of the project, loan management, planning, entrepreneurial skills and business development services. A field agent shall be trained who must be one of the residents of the village. Our funds and their contributions shall be used as capital for the business center so created for the purpose of selling agricultural inputs and other services. The profit so earned shall be re-invested plus money from new members each $30.

4) How the Strategy Works:
The women shall be organized in groups of 5 peers. Twelve peer groups shall make one UNION PEER GROUP in the village with 60 peer members. These peer members shall be trained how to plan, implement projects, lead their village development fund ;as well they shall be trained how to identify and retain their markets and ultimately they shall be trained how to manage loans. The organization shall participate in all the process of training, forming leadership, establishing systems and availing them with small loans collectively. They shall be required to contribute $20 each as training fees. They shall recruit others at a fee of $30 each once the village fund has attained legal status. A trained field agent shall be chosen amongst them who will be responsible for giving advise and reports to organization. The organization initially shall be involved in the village business center for the purpose of making sure that the loan is repaid. Once the loan is repaid our organization shall hand over leadership to the village development fund management while our organization shall be giving advisory services until they are firm in running the business themselves. The village development fund shall be sustainable in that it will receive funds from profits of the business, new members' fees and volunteer service from the field agent. As the village will show changes noted by the nearby villages, these will strive to replicate.

5) Key Strategy Elements:

i. Mobilizing Citizen Support:
We shall have to train a volunteer as a field agent who shall be advising them and giving reports to us. The stakeholders will be the 60 peer women who shall form the village development fund. The new members will be women who will opt to join the village development fund.

ii. Generating Financial and Nonfinancial Resources:
Membership contributions and purchases of commodities from the village business center shall be cash money.

iii. Establishing Relationships with Strategic Partnerships:
Our organization will earn income out of membership fees from the village development funds so formed.

iv. Engaging and Managing Volunteers:
The volunteers shall come from the village residents who shall be responsible for reporting and advices,

v. Developing Information and Spreading the Message:
We shall disseminate information through outreach campaigns.

6) Increasing Self-sufficiency and Social Impact:
Item 4&5 will relieve our organization from using a lot of money as we will use the field agent in increasing social impact.

8) Organization Mission and Vision:
To form village development funds through women participation. Our vision is 'Abject poverty is reduced by 50% by the year 2015.

Looking Forward to the Next Three Years:
We envisage to form 126 village development funds in Mbeya Region, Mbeya rural district by 2007.

Contact Information:
Lawrence Richard  Makheya
Foster Care Work Group, Southern Highlands Income Development Agency Fund
P.O.BOX 3020 MBEYA
Tanzania
Tel: 255 748 611830
Fax: -
Email: makheya@yahoo.com
Website: -