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UVIMAKI is a league of Youths who have come together
in an effort to raise their standard of living and improve their
economic well-being. The league was established in 1990. UVIMAKl
means "Kinesi Youth Development Group" so the foundation
is known as UVlMAKI FOUNDATION.
Much of our progress emanates from the volunteer efforts of members.
We use local resources whenever they are required. This situation
has generated feelings of self-sufficiency, self-awareness and knowledge
of the responsibility of each individual to all of mankind.
Our Organization is established in a rural area
where most of the population resides. It is true that the level
of development is rising rapidly as UVIMAKl is performing its activities
at the grass-roots level.
OUR SURROUNDINGS AND POVERTY
Women are generally the most common victims of poverty, yet
women are forgotten in the implementation of poverty elimination
strategies. Most strategic efforts aim at gender balance, but these
efforts often end up differently. Although it is recognized that
women are the most important food producers, they get little access
to production skills and receive little money when compared to their
jobs. Worse yet, no programs are developed to educate them how to
improve land development and productivity through the use of modern
inputs and technology. The wave of rural-urban migration for young
men and women is becoming a serious problem in about 20 villages
of Suba Division. The only permanent solution for poverty eradication
in our area is through empowering the respective beneficiaries with
capacity building to empower them with adequate knowledge of social
and economic opportunities. The initial strategic step taken by
UVMAKI was to empower the community through education and training
in the areas of health, nutrition, income-generating activities
and labor capability. The knowledge and skills imparted to community
members will serve as essential tools for increasing their productivity,
and hence aiding in the alleviation of poverty.
TRAINING SEMINARS
UVIMAKI has been offering seminars on a range
of topics since 1992 including:
- Group Creation, Organization and Administration
- Fishing
- Grazing
- Horticulture
- Bookkeeping
- Credit and Savings
- Environmental Protection
- AIDS Prevention
To date, over 1,500 participants have attended
UVIMAKI seminars.
UVIMAKI PROJECTS
1. The Community Centre
Construction of the Community Center began in 1992. Initially, the
project was financed by Youth Employment and Food production Foundation
(YEFOFO) based in Dodoma, Tanzania. The funds allocated were used
to purchase building materials such as corrugated iron sheets and
timbers. Tarime District Council offered transportation of the items
and the rest of the materials were acquired through group contributions
including brick laying and burning, building and roofing. Over US$
15,000 has been expended so far. However, according to the scheme
of work, the building, which consists of a nursery classroom, seminar
theatre, 4 offices, a conference hall, 20 bedrooms, 4 toilets, a
library and canteen is only partially completed. More than US$ 20,000
is needed to complete the work.
2. Savings and Credit
This activity was introduced in 1997 with initial capital of US$
200. By 2001, available capital had reached US$ 1,000. In 2002,
Global Resource Alliance of Ojai, California granted the program
an additional US$ 1,000 to expand our outreach. Based on loan demand,
however, we estimate the program needs capital of US$ 57,500 to
fulfill its purpose.
The scheme has been facilitating service to members and non-members
under the following procedures:
- Every member shall deposit his/her share.
- Every member shall contribute a Saving Deposit
which will be used for credit circulation.
- Currently the maximum credit facility is Tsh.100,000/=
(US$ 100).
- Loans are repaid over six months at an annual
interest rate of 10%.
Despite inadequate capital and a short repayment
period, recovery of the loans to date has been satisfact-ory. The
following projects have received credit facilities:
Fishing implements: lanterns, fishing nets and
hooks.
- Garden implements: water cans, rakes, seeds
and insecticides, purchase of a garden site.
- In-out door grazing system: Exotic cows and
bull, local cows, local hens.
- Technical implements: carpentry tools, sewing
machines, spanner sets and building tools.
- Agricultural implements: ploughs, oxen, purchase
of paddy farm.
- Commerce: licenses, construction of a small shop.
3. Fishing Project:
This project began in 1998 with the assistance from the World Bank
through the Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project for US$
10,000.
GRANTS
In addition to the program activities above,
UVIMAKI has made grants as follows:
- Tsh.200,000/= (US$ 200) to parents who are
unable to pay school fees for their children.
- Tsh.300,000/= (US$ 300) to women group for
construction of a milling machine house.
- Tsh 200,000/= (US$ 200) to Kinesi Health Center
for construction of a pit-latrine.
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UVIMAKI executive director, Albert Machiwa
UVIMAKI founder, Claud Egito
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