 In September, PWC held a three-day training for seven grassroots CBOs aimed at improving the CBOs’ staffs’ ability to properly monitor and evaluate (M&E) organizational project activities as well as develop the organizational MEL framework. The training covered approaches to M&E, theory of change and introduced various tools to track the impact of their interventions in the target community. At the end of the training, participants agreed to develop an organizational log frame by November 2022.
PWC recently recruited a climate change officer who will help guide pastoralist communities through the challenging process of adaptation to environmental changes in order to build climate resilience and reduce vulnerability. We welcomed Namayani Edward to the PWC team in September to support this role. Namayani is a young professional with a master’s in Climate Change and Sustainable Development and vast experience in community engagement and research within her community and in Tanzania. She has over eight years of experience in land use planning, sustainable rangelands management and climate change as a cross cutting agenda. Working with pastoralist and other communities on land use and rangelands management, Namayani has a high interest to continue working and researching sustainable rangelands management and agriculture as an alternative means of survival for her community. PWC was invited to present our work to the Ngorongoro District Council. We received recognition for compliance with government regulations, efforts in community development and our collaborations with relevant authorities. PWC was invited to attend the Annual Regional Education Learning Initiative (RELI) convened in Dar-es-Salaam and share our experience in implementing the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) methodology. The RELI network is a member-driven initiative comprising of 70+ East African organizations working to ensure inclusive learning for all children in East Africa. Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) is an evidence-backed educational approach that helps children develop basic reading and mathematics skills. PWC has trained teachers in twenty-one schools in our target districts on how to use the TaRL methodology to improve learning outcomes. Our presentation was about the successes and challenges in implementing Teaching at the Right Level in secondary schools’ slow learners, a programme which has been implemented for the first time in Tanzania by PWC.  The majority of the communities we serve live in arid and semi-arid areas resulting in burdensome and time-consuming household chores and unpaid care work for indigenous and pastoralist women, especially in sourcing clean water. One of the ways in which PWC supports communities is by digging deep water boreholes and empowering community committees to manage the boreholes and water catchment areas. The boreholes support communities, address the effects of climate change, ensure access to clean water for livestock and domestic use, and reduce the time women and girls spend fetching water- enabling them to participate in income-generating and development activities.
We recently collaborated with government water department experts RUWASA to conduct an extensive scoping study to identify existing water sources and determine the needs in sixteen villages in Ngorongoro, Longido and Monduli. This helps better understand their needs and challenges, while it also proposes strategies to combat those challenges to ensure availability of clean water for human and livestock consumption. In Ngorongoro District the study findings provide recommendations to drill a borehole in Piyaya and Engobereti villages; build a dam in Mondorosi, Piyaya, Masusu, Malambo villages; and improve the existing solar water system at the main source by constructing 50,000-liter reserve tanks in Engaresero village. In Longido District the study findings provide recommendations to drill boreholes in Leremeta, Ngoswa and Matale C villages and build a dam in Wosiwosi and Loondolwo villages. Finally, in Monduli District the study findings provide recommendations to drill boreholes in Makuyuni, Embaash, Baraka, and Indoinyonado Lepurko villages and construct a reserve water tank in Selela village. Additionally, there is a government water provision project headed by RUWASA due to start soon in Esilalei village.  To help with climate change mitigation, PWC and Lakipia Women Development Organization have collaborated to train on making clean cooking cookers at Ketumbeine PWC office. Six women have been trained on identifying the right soil sample to use for the cookers, making liners and moulding the cookers and have already made eleven of these energy saving cookers. These women are trainers who will pass on the knowledge gained to others n their communities. After fourteen days of drying the cookers, they will be hardened in a kiln and ready for use.
We have developed a short video documenting the impacts of our climate change interventions in the target community featuring how we raise awareness, facilitate loans through ENGISHON microfinance, and expand VICOBA groups. This video includes collected stories and lived experiences from project beneficiaries. Check it out here: https://youtu.be/_ekQRMsGTjo With the support of a climate change resilience volunteer, PWC undertook a study to develop a climate change strategy to guide our interventions. Based on relevant literature and interviews, this community strategy will help pastoralist communities to build their resilience and adaptation to climate change. The report presents information on the scope and pace of climate change in northern Tanzania, the effects it will have on pastoralist communities in the region, and how it affects all aspects of PWC’s work in these communities. It also provides concrete and actionable suggestions for how PWC can increase its engagement on climate-related issues and incorporate them into its existing fields of work.  In August PWC facilitated the training of forty community health workers (CHWs) in Monduli with the support of the District Medical Officer. The CHWs are often traditional birth attendants who we recruit and instruct on the importance of encouraging women in pastoral communities to visit the health clinic during their pregnancy and childbirth. They are critical in: breaking taboos related to pregnancy and nutrition, following up on adherence to treatment and medication for HIV/AIDS and TB patients, and acting as mediators and translators between patients and healthcare workers. They will be integrated in local health facilities to link the community to health service providers. Women across Monduli district also aired their concerns in regards to the health services offered from local providers to the District Medical Officer who was a part of our team.
Construction on the Ormanie dispensary started in August, 2022. The health center was built after the unfortunate passing of a woman with prolonged labor pain who could not make the two hour trip to the nearest hospital. The site was visited by the district engineer before building began. Members of the community have been very receptive to the project and have fully participated in clearing the site area and collecting locally available materials. They have also pledged to contribute to building a house for the doctor who will oversee the health center. Additionally, the district engineer, officers, and local government representatives from the health department promised their support during project implementation and will follow up accordingly.  Pastoralist communities in Tanzania face a myriad of challenges in equitable access to quality education. They live in rural areas where there are limited education opportunities, healthcare services, and clean water. The pastoralist communities are herders which means they move around a lot; this affects school attendance when families move or rotate pastures for livestock. Also, many of the community members do not value education and even encourage their children to fail on purpose so that the students do not finish their schooling. Most parents are illiterate and as such do not cooperate with the school in following up on their child's progress since they undervalue the importance of education. PWC is working with five schools in Ngorongoro and Longido districts northern Tanzania to increase enrollment, retention and completion of secondary school education of 2,000 girls. One of the approaches we are using is increasing parental engagement with their children’s education through the formation of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs). The Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) is a partnership between parents and educators who strive to enhance student learning and enrich the lives of the students within the school. It is also a forum for parents to obtain knowledge and voice their opinions about what is happening in their school. Over the past few months, we have met with parents, communities, and local leaders in workshops to educate them on both the importance of education and the role that parents and guardians play in ensuring their children make the most out of opportunities. With training and team building activities, the workshops have reached hundreds of people and resulted in the formation of PTAs in five target schools. Check out some highlights in this video: https://youtu.be/mXaix-5Sxng Another solution that we are working on is supporting girls to manage their menstrual health. During a recent PWC intervention, which provided training on reproductive health and rights, PWC distributed reusable sanitary pads to over 3,000 girls attending Lekule Girls’ School, Engarenaibor Secondary School and Natron Secondary School. This intervention is making it possible for girls to enhance menstrual hygiene and consistently attend lessons, thereby improving their performance. Period poverty affects many women and girls who don’t have access to safe, hygienic sanitary products. In many cultures, the management of menstruation is surrounded by secrecy and taboo. Due to the stigma associated with menstruation, girls often isolate themselves at home during their period, even missing school. Girls are expected to intrinsically know how to manage their menstruation and are not provided with accurate information or products to help them do so. Additionally, the high cost of sanitary products and the lack of water and safe pad disposal facilities further limit access to menstruation management products. They are often forced to use unhygienic solutions, including using strips of cloth which can spread fungi and infection. When girls miss school because of their periods, this impacts their educational outcomes and can then increase the gender disparities in the education system. Promoting menstrual health understanding through information, services and products helps break the silence surrounding period poverty in Tanzania. Check out some highlights here: https://youtu.be/pMSFrbbg9rw
This August PWC held a graduation ceremony for members of the Kitapua Ndomonok Women’s Solidarity Boma and Cultural Center. Women’s Solidarity Bomas (WSBs) are livestock ‘cooperatives’ that promote property ownership and provide income generation opportunities. They mirror traditional Maasai homesteads (bomas) with the key difference being that these bomas are managed by women and the livestock are women-owned. This helps gain community respect for women’s property rights by demonstrating their abilities to own and manage land and livestock. To date, we have facilitated the establishment of six WSBs with a total of 1,140 livestock supporting 581 women.
Women’s Solidarity Bomas are managed by select women in the community for a period of three years while they focus on growing the number of livestock and undertaking other income generating activities. During their time living in the boma they receive various trainings in business and leadership. At the end of three years, they graduate and are given their own cows and livestock. The Kitapua Ndomonok Lake Natron Women Cultural Boma is one of six WSBs established by PWC (five founded in Ngorongoro District and one in Longido District). It was previously established as a tourism cultural center but faced challenges during the Covid pandemic due to diminished tourism opportunities. The boma has however been highly successful in livestock breeding. Graduating women each receive livestock to support them in building their own herd. Formation and training of VICOBA groups in Ilchurleen in Pinyinyi Ward. 470 women were introduced to village community banking and trained on the methodology for managing the microfinance group. Our program officers observed that the village was very remote and isolated. Further, these women had never received any development intervention from any organization except the building you can see in the background which has recently been built by the Tanzanian government.  In August 2022, PWC held a training of two women’s rights forums to provide education, awareness, and empowerment on general human rights, women’s rights, and children’s rights. The training was conducted in two villages, Oltepesi and Lesing’eita, and reached forty-eight participants (forty women and eight men). The main objectives of the training were to educate and raise awareness on both women’s rights and additional leadership forums that focus on gender-based violence, probate and estate issues, and accessing legal platforms for justice. Participants were also trained on the proper agencies to report human rights violations to, including the local government authorities, police stations (gender desk), social welfare offices, and courts of law. They finished the forums with training on how to run the forum and the forum’s role in their community.
 Local community-based organisations (CBOs) play an important role in places where services are difficult to access. Over the past few months, we have invested in building the capabilities of seven CBOs who work with pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities. Over the past few months, we have supported the CBOs to
Mr Baran Juma Lehit is a primary teacher who is was enrolled as a focal for Endulen Primary school. He has appreciated that, there is a great achievement from this project “since the start of this project, I can see notable progress in-terms of improving literacy, I have been a teacher at Endulen for over 28 years, I know the environment of the students especially those who have difficulty learning. There has been a lot of improvement, out 183 student who didn’t know how to read and write, 48 student have improved their literacy, it sound low in term of per percentage but to us is a big achievement. I wish this project would continue so as to bridge the gap.”  As a result of our climate change interventions in Longido, Monduli and Ngorongoro, local government authorities, communities and NGOs have raised and committed funds amounting to over 900,000 USD in key development projects. These funds have helped communities enact local by-laws for protection of water sources and grazing land, provide food aid during the draught period, build dispensaries, fence water sources to ensure effective management of water and protect water from contamination, rehabilitate water systems and constructed new water points and irrigation systems. Additionally, some of the climate change resilience and adaptation strategies being implemented in our target communities include the regeneration of trees that have previously been cut, pasture cropping to improve livestock grazing resources, protecting water sources and planting trees PWC collaboration with Laikipia Women's Association , piloted two innovations aimed to help rural communities tackle the effects of climate change. The first is a simple farming methodology designed to reuse water from household chores to irrigate trees and the second is energy-saving cooking stoves that require very little wood fuel. The facilitators engaged with 60 people, teaching them the methodology so that they could teach it to others in their villages. The activity saw the installation of these energy saving cooking stoves as well as planting of fruit trees in 30 households in Monduli and Longido Districticts. Check it out here.  “We have come across people who were (suffering) at home and had not received medical attention who have been treated today” Grace Messe, doctor at Ololosokwan health center Awareness raising on health: our amazing team in collaboration with the Ngorongoro district health and community development departments was in Loliondo and Sale Divisions hosting free, mobile medical camps to provide health awareness and services. The medical camps reached over one thousand adults, children, youth and elders with health-related information, and services. We engaged with pastoralists on common illnesses,nutrition practices towards safe motherhood and sexually transmitted diseases. Additionally, we provided counselling, testing, treatment and referrals for HIV/AIDS, STIs and cervical cancer. The health clinic also provided an opportunity to promote the use of public health insurance known as ICHF (Integrated Community Health Fund). https://youtu.be/teZbileoIXg In June, working with the health departments of Ngorongoro, Longido and Monduli districts, PWC facilitated the training of 40 new community health workers (CHWs) from across the three districts with the aim of upscaling continous community wide awareness creation on general health and SRH services GBV prevention and response. |
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