Tanzania Partnership

Supporting a microfinance cooperative in Tungamalenga is one of several ways our partnership has worked together for economic development.  Rural Tanzanians have typically had little to no experience with banks or loans until the recent development of locally owned Savings and Credit CoOperatives (SACCOs). Most Tanzanians in the rural areas like Tungamalenga and Makifu are subsistence farmers.  They grow enough each year to feed their families, sometimes earning enough to pay a child's school fees.  There is usually not much left over to set aside for long term savings. Ottavina leads a microfinance training session Here's where Iringa Hope is helping to bring about change.  Iringa Hope is a nonprofit organization based in Minnesota and working to provide small loans in rural Tanzania.  (Iringa Hope has some close ties to Shepherd of the Valley -- SOTV members Ben Kilgore and Tim Campbell are board members.)  Iringa Hope operates in Tanzania as an umbrella SACCO