The Budekwa community programme
The Budekwa community development programme is located in the
Maswa district in Tanzania's Shinyanga region. World Vision reaches
12 villages that have a total population of about 31,700. World
Vision's partnership with Budekwa started in 1996 and is envisaged
to continue until 2013, as the community is now almost fully
equipped with the resources and skills to continue with its own
development goals. In the past year, significant improvements were
made in the final focus areas of leadership development and food
security.
Issues covered: Leadership development
and food security
Updates on World Vision's work
Leadership development
- To ensure the long-term sustainability of the Budekwa
community, World Vision and community organisations such as the
Busilili Community Care Coalition (BUCCO), the Budekwa Community
Initiative Development Agency (BUCIDA), and the Faraja Community
Care Coalition (FACCO) together are focusing on the empowerment and
training of community members in leadership and management.
- The number of community groups registered with BUCIDA increased
from 85 in 2010 to 125 in 2011, representing 1875 individual
members or 11,250 family members. In the past year, BUCIDA and
FACCO members also supported the most vulnerable, including 4160
children and elderly people, with all kinds of assistance.
Food security
- To help improve families' nutrition and household income,
BUCIDA is managing 125 community groups involved in horticulture,
as well as dairy cattle, dairy goats, and poultry. Through these
projects, the well-being of children has significantly improved, as
they now eat more nutritious food, and parents can afford to send
their children to school.
- 150 farmers benefited from training in modern farming methods
and livestock management, which resulted in an increase in crop
production and animal products like milk and eggs. Not only did
families' nutrition improve, but they could also sell milk and eggs
on the market to increase their income.
The Budekwa community is in the sixth year of its development
journey with World Vision.
Life on
the ground in Budekwa
The fruits of a small seed loan
Robert (back right), his wife Suzane, and
children, Scholastica (front left) and Joseph, who benefited from a
small business loan, and now enjoy a better quality life.
A relatively small seed loan of about NZ$1000 accessed by an
entrepreneurial father of two young children in Mbaragane village,
Budekwa, is reaping fruits beyond expectation and uniting an entire
community in its pursuit of a better life. Robert, 37, and Suzane,
his wife obtained the loan from the community credit and savings
society, which was established with the assistance of World Vision.
Robert attended training sessions run by World Vision and invested
the money in a grocery shop, a poultry project, and growing cotton,
maize and groundnuts. He is now selling his produce, as well as
items from the grocery shop at a reasonable profit. The family has
sufficient food and the children, Scholastica and Joseph, can
attend school. Robert is proud of the new house he is building, and
he is generously sharing his knowledge with fellow villagers to
help put them on the road to success. "I want to thank World Vision
for bringing the project to our area, and encourage all community
members to run projects, so they can increase their family's income
and quality of life," says Robert.
Tanzania at a glance
The shouts of 'karibu', or 'welcome', which greet visitors to
Tanzania, speak of the long tradition of hospitality and
friendliness that characterises East Africa's largest country.
