Two Heads Are Better than One
Juhudi is chair of his farmers group, a member of a Savings and Internal Lending Community (SILC), and has greatly improved his farm yields by participating in many training opportunities. Yet one of the things he values most highly from all the improvements in his life is what he now knows about gender equality and equity.
He says, “Before becoming involved in this program, I used to make all household decisions on my own, completely disregarding any input from my wife, Fatima. But after getting gender education, I have now come to understand that we are equal and my spouse should be involved in any issues concerning our household. She has great ideas, and things between us and for the whole family are better now that I can see the situation from her perspective.”
Through effective collaboration with Fatima, they managed to buy a quarter-acre plot in a nearby village by selling tomatoes grown there until they had paid off the loan. Through continued healthy discussions, they have decided to build a small house in that village for rental income.
As Juhudi puts it, “Our SILC group encourages us to save some of what we earn from our tomato sales. When we get our savings at the end of the cycle, we can take out loans for establishing and strengthening our businesses and to handle other household needs that arise. Saving was new to us, and so was being able to take out low-interest loans.”
“We are both so grateful to have been invited to take part in this transformative program. We look forward to more training on life skills like these, since we realize that education is never-ending, and definitely improves our lives.”
Tanzania Mbeya
Led by Catholic Relief Services