Tuinue Kipato Chetu, Tuboreshe Maisha Tetu!

By Davis Rhodes Jr.

Since 2010, thirteen new Methodist Churches have been born in Northern Tanzania. Most of these churches were in areas of extreme poverty, domestic violence, and hunger where children regularly died of preventable diseases. These people were hungry for meaningful Christian community, but no community could be meaningful without addressing their circumstances, including their financial insecurity.

But how could they become more secure and have their needs met? As missionaries, we could have met their needs through handouts. That was an option. But, my team and I felt it would not have created meaningful Christian community, which was what these folks longed for.

It seemed to us that meaningful Christian community would only be created if these communities could help each other meet their needs. Yet, how could they help each other when each family was already failing to meet its own needs? Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, we looked around for a “wheel” that was already working, and found the Pamoja Program.

“Pamoja” is a Swahili word that means “together.” In this program, between fifteen and twenty-five members of a church commit to saving money together. They meet each week and put fifty cents, a dollar, or two dollars into savings. After about three months, the savings grow to the point that the group can make loans from the money they have saved. They start lending the money out, but only to members of the group. The members all know each other and see each other regularly, so repayment rates are high.

How does this help? Imagine your life without a bank account. Banks have no incentive to operate in such impoverished areas, and it is hard to break the cycle of poverty without saving money. It is hard to be prepared for financial situations that require a lump-sum: your child’s school uniform, a medical bill, or an investment opportunity. A safe, simple way to save and access loans makes it a little easier to fight the cycle of poverty.

Despite Pamoja’s proven track record, things got off to a rocky start. As an Amer-ican missionary and outsider, I had a hard time explaining this program to the churches in a way that they could understand. Yet, we were able to get four groups going through the program, and eventually a few Tanzanian folks started to take on leadership roles. This small group began to improve their lives. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) took notice and invited us to apply for a grant. And that is when things really took off.

With this grant, we trained and hired those Tanzanian folks who had led the groups, and we entrusted them with the work that I had been doing coordinating the groups. We also bought four motorcycles for these new Tanzanian staff members. Their names are:

Mwita Baita, of Tarime, Tanzania

Pastor Josef Tanganyika, of Geita, Tanzania

Steven Baruani, of Mwanza, Tanzania

Pastor Stefano Mulungu, of Dodoma, Tanzania

These leaders knew their communities well. They explained, step-by-step, how the groups would help these faith communities meet their material needs. They hopped on their motorcycles time and time again to visit the groups and help them navigate their first steps of saving and loaning together. They knew their own culture far better than I did, and they were far more successful than I ever was at starting Pamoja groups. 

Exciting things started to happen. Folks started to have lump sums available to improve their houses. Over a third of the group members started to eat better, whether that was because they were able to start businesses, buy chickens, or even to ask other members of the group for some food. Women, like Angel Anatazi, who had thought their only role in life was to cook and clean, now were starting businesses and community gardens based around the church. Folks outside the church heard about these vibrant faith communities that  helped you to meet your material needs, so they also began to participate in the groups, join the church, and be baptized.

We found that the groups did best when they had less than twenty-five members, but, at most of our locations, more than twenty-five wanted to join. Also, other Methodist churches began to express a desire for these groups. The heroes of the story, the four Tanzanian leaders, responded quickly. They hopped on their motorcycles and helped these churches start second and even third groups. They went to new Methodist churches, and helped them get Pamoja groups started there. Folks who had been hungry for meaningful Christian community were being filled.

The UMCOR grant also enabled us to rigorously monitor and evaluate our results. A few months ago, our Tanzanian program manager, Miliary Parmao, sent us a detailed statistical report. Some highlights:

39 Pamoja groups are operating out of 23 United Methodist Churches

807 total members within these groups

$21,229.91 saved within these groups. That goes a long way in Tanzania (For comparison, I can eat well for $1/day in Tanzania)

It has been exciting to see new Methodist Churches meeting the material needs of their impoverished communities. In May, UMCOR awarded us a second grant to extend the program and to expand it even further.

I am excited to say that I successfully  worked myself out of a job! My next venture is to start a cross-cultural intentional community (Tanzanians and Americans) that will create leaders who can create more beautiful stories for the country of Tanzania. I am thankful for the Missional Wisdom Foundation which is helping me prepare for this next adventure through their Launch & Lead program and through inviting me to live in intentional community at the Bonhoeffer House for a few months. 

The title is the Pamoja motto. It means, 

“Let’s raise our incomes, let’s improve our lives."