Women of Dodoma Launch their First Bank

Email from Phyllis Craun-Selka, Pact HIV/AIDS technical advisor, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 11.14.03

Today was a good day to be in the field because I felt part of a movement of women empowering themselves. We marched in the streets of Dodoma, the official capital of Tanzania, although only the Parliament meets here. With two police escorts, more than 100 women, widows and single mothers, marched 5 or so abreast chanting, "We are only moving forward, never back" in Kiswahili. The women were young and old all dressed in blue and white Kangas, some wielding bold neat posters proclaiming, "Women with income can say no to unsafe sex." A light breeze kept us cool in the sunny streets. People in shops came out to see what was happening. After winding our way through the streets of Dodoma for about a half hour, we came to the front of SACCOS' first bank with a blue ribbon across the door ready to cut. After a well organized program with brief speeches from one government official, the chairwoman of SACCO, the director of Single Parent Foundation, and the coordinator from FAWETA (Sauda Kasongo), Pact was invited as the honoured guest to cut the ribbon. The women seemed genuinely excited to have their bank. Across the street they displayed their income generation products-doughnuts, sodas, peanuts, vegetables, textiles, linens, crocheted items abounded.

Sauda did a great job organizing the event. The mistress of ceremonies was stellar with a beautiful voice that peppered Kiswahili chants throughout the program to which the crowd replied in unison. A traditional dance troop entertained everyone three times during the speeches. I wish you could have been there to feel the excitement of the women and the curious goodwill in the streets. Even on the roofs a couple onlookers surveyed the event.

The SACCOs women number more than 400 now in 40 groups. Some of their representatives have been trained in banking by Single Parent Foundation, but they are anxious for business skills. November 20, 2003 Pact, Single Parent Foundation and Sauda will meet to discuss how to move forward. SACCOs is ready to begin working with the four WORTH books. Several trainers will be available for the January WORTH training. Pact, SPF and SACCOs will likely form a partnership and pursue donor support in Tanzania. CRDB bank of Tanzania has already agreed to provide capital support on a loan basis.

As we drove back the six hours from Dodoma to Dar, we flew on the blue gray ribbon of new highway, the best road I've seen in more than 15 countries on the continent. Mango trees are dripping so much fruit they looked like Christmas ornaments. It was a fruitful day.

Speech by Phyllis Craun-Selka

Dodoma SACCOS Launch
November 13, 2003

Representatives of the regional commissioner, government leaders, Single Parent Foundation, FAWETA, honored guests, women leaders of Dodoma

Thank you for inviting Pact to this important rally. Today, we celebrate women who are rising up and getting organized to make better lives for themselves and their families. We all know that women are the glue in families and the key actors in development and the struggle against poverty. We do NOT believe that women are helpless or hopeless, but undertapped powerhouses of resources and riches! Here in Dodoma today, those resources and riches are flooding the streets!

God made human beings male and female. For thousands of years we have needed each other and worked together, but sometimes we must continue alone. We are living in a time of great change - where women and men can make more choices about their roles and goals in life. Today, we celebrate women who are choosing to generate income for the betterment of themselves and their families.

If you ask a woman what is wrong in her life, she will list her sorrows and deficits. If you ask her what are her skills and dreams, she will see her own potential and be inspired to achieve it. SACCOS is taking bold steps to help women achieve their goals in life:

• Organizing women in groups for support and learning.
• Saving together a pool of funds for loans to members.
• Building a bank for proper handling of savings and loans
• Developing businesses that generate income.

If a woman has her own money, she can say no to unsafe sex. HIV/AIDS is everywhere. Women with income can protect themselves and their loved ones. While SACCOs is becoming a source of strength for the women of Dodoma, there is a need for support from the whole community. If you try to hold a woman down (DEMONSTRATE), you can't go up. If you keep a woman down, you can't go up yourself. When it comes to women we are all one nation. We will never give up until every woman and girl lives a life of dignity.

What Sauda Kasongo and SACCOS are celebrating today is the birth of a network of women who are pursuing their goals for economic empowerment that brings better quality of life and more control over their futures. Through entrepreneurship these women discover more of their strengths and confidence. By working together in groups, they are united in support of each other and learning together.

Pact is honoured to lend its support to this dynamic network. We look forward to sharing our own experience with WORTH, a global women's empowerment initiative that stresses women's inner gifts and talents. And we hope this celebration today in Dodoma endures and ripples around the world to tip the balance in favor of those days in the beginning of humanity when women and men were equally valued and empowered in life. Asante sana