History of DEVSELF-TZ

The seeds of DEVSELF-TZ were first sown in September 2010 when some of our staff were interacting with TUNAJALI Home Based Care clients in Singida Municipality and encountered absolute poverty amongst them. Poverty, so severe, that it was seriously retarding or, in fact, counteracting the benefits of the treatment that they were receiving. Therefore, it was decided to undertake a form of ‘Household Survey’ in an attempt to identify the ‘poorest of the poor’ HBC clients that would subsequently take part in a Participatory Needs Assessment (PNA) designed to highlight their income-generation needs and ways of addressing them.

The Household Survey instrument was served on some 60 HBC client households’, the names for which had been supplied by their HBC group leaders. It was possible to score a maximum of 20 points as a relatively well-off household in Singidan terms down to a minimum of 0 for the poorest household. In the final outcome of this survey, the results ranged from a high of 15 to a low of 2. It was the 27 participants surveyed who had scored 5 or less who were invited to attend the first phase of the PNA.

The PNA process undertaken is fully-documented under separate cover but can be made rapidly available to any reader of this page who might be interested in seeing it. However, the needs identified during the first workshop, on a roughly 50-50% basis, were either ‘employment’ or ‘capital needed to be self-employed’. At the final PNA meeting in November 20 10, attended by TUNAJALI Regional Programme Manager- Singida, Dr J Tayali, the participants were advised of two possible projects to address the needs they had identified but were also advised that the projects’ subsequent implementation would be dependent on gaining donor funding.

The two projects outlined to the participants were:

a. A pilot, micro-lending project which if successful could be expanded to include more HBC clients and/or PLHA who found it difficult to access credit due to their condition.

b. A test project wherein participants who had voted for straight 'employment' could be funded to join, and play an active part in, a local women's co-operative who were gearing up to go into the citronella candle-making business.  If successful, this too could be expanded to either include more of the poorer HBC clients or offered as an idea to other similar cooperatives or employers.

None of the existing NGOs in Singida, however, were prepared to use this research and turn it into a project funding proposal. So, our CEO, Chris Dyer, and our Chairman, Mr Bernard Maira, decided to form Development for Self-Reliance Tanzania (DEVSELF-TZ) to take things forward. Mr Maira was quickly able to gather together 12 Tanzanian founder members and we achieved registration as an NGO in March 2011.

While preparing the constitution and registration documents, the founder members felt that they particularly wanted to include youth as a focus for poverty alleviation. In addition, wherever possible, members wanted the focus of sustainable job creation to be on so called ‘green jobs’. Not only would this create possibilities for sustained poverty alleviation but it would also make a much-needed contribution to environmental conservation in Tanzania.

Historia ya DEVSELF TZ-

mbegu za DEVSELF TZ-walikuwa wa kwanza kupanda katika Septemba 2010 ambapo baadhi ya wafanyakazi wetu walikuwa na mazungumzo na TUNAJALI wateja Home Based Care katika Manispaa ya Singida na wamekutana umaskini uliokithiri miongoni mwao. Umaskini, hivyo kali, kuwa ni umakini retarding au, kwa kweli, kukabiliana na faida ya matibabu ambayo walikuwa kupokea. Kwa hiyo, uamuzi wa kufanya aina ya 'Utafiti wa Kaya' katika jaribio la kubainisha 'maskini' wateja HBC ambayo hatimaye kushiriki katika Tathmini Shirikishi Mahitaji (PNA) iliyoundwa na kuonyesha mahitaji yao ya kipato na njia za kukabiliana nao.

Chombo Kaya alikuwa mjumbe katika baadhi ya kaya 60 mteja HBC ', majina ambayo alikuwa hutolewa na viongozi wao HBC kikundi. Ilikuwa inawezekana na alama ya upeo wa pointi 20 kama kaya kiasi cha kutosha-off katika suala Singidan chini ya kiwango cha chini ya 0 kwa kaya maskini zaidi. Katika matokeo ya mwisho ya utafiti huu, matokeo umetofautiana kutoka juu ya 15 na chini ya 2. Ilikuwa washiriki 27 zilizofanyiwa utafiti ambao alifunga 5 au chini walioalikwa kuhudhuria awamu ya kwanza ya PNA.

Mchakato PNA uliofanywa kikamilifu katika kumbukumbu chini ya cover tofauti lakini inaweza kufanywa kwa haraka inapatikana kwa msomaji yoyote wa ukurasa huu ambao wanaweza kuwa na hamu ya kuona hivyo. Hata hivyo, mahitaji yaliyobainishwa wakati wa warsha ya kwanza, juu ya msingi takriban 50-50%, walikuwa ama 'ajira' au 'mji mkuu wa zinahitajika kuwa kujiajiri. Katika mkutano wa mwisho PNA katika Novemba 20 10, na kuhudhuriwa na Mpango wa TUNAJALI Meneja wa Mkoa-Singida, Dr Tayali J, washiriki walikuwa wanashauriwa wa miradi miwili ya kushughulikia mahitaji inawezekana walikuwa na kutambuliwa lakini pia alishauri kwamba miradi ya 'utekelezaji baadae itakuwa wanategemea kupata ufadhili wa wahisani.

miradi miwili ilivyoainishwa kwa washiriki walikuwa:

a. majaribio, ndogo za kukopesha kama mafanikio ya mradi ambayo inaweza kuwa ni pamoja na kupanua na wateja zaidi ya HBC na / au PLHA ambao ni vigumu kupata mikopo kutokana na hali yao.

b. Mradi mtihani ambayo washiriki ambao walipiga kura kwa 'kazi' moja kwa moja inaweza kufadhiliwa kujiunga, na kucheza sehemu kubwa katika, wanawake ndani ya ushirika ambao walikuwa gearing up na kwenda katika biashara citronella mshumaa wa maamuzi. Kama mafanikio, hii pia inaweza kuwa ni pamoja na kupanua na ama zaidi ya wateja maskini HBC au kama wazo inayotolewa kwa vyama vya ushirika nyingine zinazofanana au waajiri.

Hakuna hata NGOs zilizopo katika mkoa wa Singida, hata hivyo, walikuwa tayari kutumia utafiti huu na kugeuza kuwa pendekezo ufadhili mradi huo. Kwa hiyo, Mkurugenzi Mtendaji yetu, Chris Dyer, na Mwenyekiti wetu, Bernard Maira, aliamua kuunda Maendeleo kwa Kujitegemea Tanzania (DEVSELF-TZ) kuchukua mambo mbele. Mr Maira alikuwa haraka na uwezo wa kukusanya pamoja 12 waanzilishi wa Tanzania na sisi mafanikio ya usajili kama NGO Machi 2011.

Wakati maandalizi ya nyaraka za katiba na usajili, wanachama mwanzilishi waliona kuwa wao hasa alitaka ni pamoja na vijana kama mwelekeo wa kupunguza umaskini. Aidha, kila inapowezekana, wanachama alitaka lengo la kuundwa kwa kazi endelevu ya kuwa juu ya hivyo kuitwa 'ajira ya kijani'. Je, hii si tu kujenga uwezekano wa kupunguza umaskini endelevu lakini pia kutoa mchango unaohitajika kwa hifadhi ya mazingira nchini Tanzania.