WORTH

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The WORTH Village Banking Initiative in Tanzania

Women everywhere struggle to break their dependency and raise their overall status. Women seek ways to avoid violence, survive childbirth, break the bonds of poverty, care for their children, and garner respect in order to live up to their full potential. from the slopes of Kilimanjaro to the shores of Lake Victoria, thousands of rural and urban women are coming together to support each other’s dreams for a better life to come true through Pact’s WORTH program. The WORTH initiative builds on Pact's award-winning Women's Empowerment Program (WEP) in Nepal, which demonstrated that large numbers of women have the capacity to quickly move themselves from being illiterate to being literate, income producing, socially active members of their communities.

WORTH is an empowerment program that establishes small groups of women who learn together, save money in their own bank and lend each other funds for sustainable businesses. By meeting every week they manage their bank and loans very carefully and use the groups as an opportunity to share their progress and challenges towards prosperity for themselves and their families. They elect their own leaders from their groups and build each other’s confidence to take charge of their personal progress during the WORTH experience. This transformation extends beyond the life of the program as women build on their success and play stronger roles and are more empowered in their families and communities. Pact Tanzania is implementing WORTH activities in 9 districts of Tanzania.

WORTH with The Salvation Army (TSA)

Nearly 5,850 women in Moshi rural, Same, and Bukoba Urban and Rural organized themselves into 260 groups with technical assistance from Pact Tanzania. This particular WORTH activity was part of the USAID-funded Salvation Army (TSA) Mama Mkubwa (Big Mother) Project aiming to improve the lives of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) affected by HIV/AIDS. From their weekly savings of 50 to 500 Tanzanian Shillings (4 to 40 cents) 75 % of these women were able to get loans at a small interest rate of 2% per month. Many of them were able start their own businesses and thereby generating income that has benefited the OVC under the women’s care.

The story of Asha Malick Hamis:

“Sincerely I don’t know where to start when I am asked about the change WORTH has brought into my life and my family, I am short of words”

Asha is a member of WORTH Bumongonzi Village Bank in Bukoba. She is married to Hamis and they have 3 children. Before joining WORTH program, life was not easy for them. She used to struggle to meet the basic needs of her family. With happy tears in her eyes, Asha shared her story to Pact Worth Assistant Coordinator, Mary Mpangala. (The story of Asha Malick Hamis)

WORTH and Support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Pact Tanzania has incorporated the WORTH program into Jali Watoto and Global Fund OVC activities that support communities to care for orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC). Pact Tanzania works to provide 6 essential services to children in need. These services are education, health, psycho-social support, nutrition, shelter, and legal protection.

Pact is working to incorporate WORTH as the seventh and most sustainable service - economic strengthening - and to put it at the centre of service provision for vulnerable families. WORTH Jali Watoto is now being implemented in Musoma Rural, Musoma Urban, Bunda, Bukoba Rural and Misenyi districts. In these 5 districts 4,500 caregivers of about 15,000 OVC have been earmarked. Through the caregivers involvement in WORTH economic empowerment the lives of the OVC are going to improve.

The income generated from the caregivers’ small businesses is going to be used to minister to the needs of the OVC under their care. WORTH program under Jali Watoto is also going to train the caregivers on issues related to child care and protection during the mobile workshops. Starting in 5 districts, the plan is to expand the program into the other 17 districts of Jali Watoto.

Under Global Fund OVC program the WORTH program was just introduced in October in two districts, Hai and Morogoro Rural. In January 2009, the activity of WORTH is going to be introduced into 6 more districts. In each district 1,500 caregivers are going to be mobilized and hence a total of 12,000 caregivers caring for about 96,000 OVC.

The achievements of the women involved in Pact Tanzania’s WORTH activities are remarkable. Members of communities where we are working have been inspired by the positive changes these women are bringing not only into their families but also in their communities at large. We have seen male caregivers developing an interest in the program and so far we have helped establish seven men’s groups. The future of WORTH and empowering caregivers is great in Tanzania.


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WORTH The WORTH Village Banking Initiative in Tanzania Women everywhere struggle to break their dependency and raise their overall status. Women seek ways to avoid violence, survive childbirth, break the bonds of poverty, care for their children, and garner respect in order to live up to their full potential. from the slopes of Kilimanjaro to the shores of Lake Victoria, thousands of rural and urban women are coming together to support each other’s dreams for a better life to come true through Pact’s WORTH program. The WORTH initiative builds on Pact's award-winning Women's Empowerment Program (WEP) in Nepal, which demonstrated that large numbers of women have the capacity to quickly move themselves from being illiterate to being literate, income producing, socially active members of their communities. WORTH is an empowerment program that establishes small groups of women who learn together, save money in their own bank and lend each other funds for sustainable businesses. By meeting every week they manage their bank and loans very carefully and use the groups as an opportunity to share their progress and challenges towards prosperity for themselves and their families. They elect their own leaders from their groups and build each other’s confidence to take charge of their personal progress during the WORTH experience. This transformation extends beyond the life of the program as women build on their success and play stronger roles and are more empowered in their families and communities. Pact Tanzania is implementing WORTH activities in 9 districts of Tanzania. WORTH with The Salvation Army (TSA) Nearly 5,850 women in Moshi rural, Same, and Bukoba Urban and Rural organized themselves into 260 groups with technical assistance from Pact Tanzania. This particular WORTH activity was part of the USAID-funded Salvation Army (TSA) Mama Mkubwa (Big Mother) Project aiming to improve the lives of orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC) affected by HIV/AIDS. From their weekly savings of 50 to 500 Tanzanian Shillings (4 to 40 cents) 75 % of these women were able to get loans at a small interest rate of 2% per month. Many of them were able start their own businesses and thereby generating income that has benefited the OVC under the women’s care. The story of Asha Malick Hamis: “Sincerely I don’t know where to start when I am asked about the change WORTH has brought into my life and my family, I am short of words” Asha is a member of WORTH Bumongonzi Village Bank in Bukoba. She is married to Hamis and they have 3 children. Before joining WORTH program, life was not easy for them. She used to struggle to meet the basic needs of her family. With happy tears in her eyes, Asha shared her story to Pact Worth Assistant Coordinator, Mary Mpangala. (The story of Asha Malick Hamis) WORTH and Support to Orphans and Vulnerable Children Pact Tanzania has incorporated the WORTH program into Jali Watoto and Global Fund OVC activities that support communities to care for orphans and other vulnerable children (OVC). Pact Tanzania works to provide 6 essential services to children in need. These services are education, health, psycho-social support, nutrition, shelter, and legal protection. Pact is working to incorporate WORTH as the seventh and most sustainable service - economic strengthening - and to put it at the centre of service provision for vulnerable families. WORTH Jali Watoto is now being implemented in Musoma Rural, Musoma Urban, Bunda, Bukoba Rural and Misenyi districts. In these 5 districts 4,500 caregivers of about 15,000 OVC have been earmarked. Through the caregivers involvement in WORTH economic empowerment the lives of the OVC are going to improve. The income generated from the caregivers’ small businesses is going to be used to minister to the needs of the OVC under their care. WORTH program under Jali Watoto is also going to train the caregivers on issues related to child care and protection during the mobile workshops. Starting in 5 districts, the plan is to expand the program into the other 17 districts of Jali Watoto. Under Global Fund OVC program the WORTH program was just introduced in October in two districts, Hai and Morogoro Rural. In January 2009, the activity of WORTH is going to be introduced into 6 more districts. In each district 1,500 caregivers are going to be mobilized and hence a total of 12,000 caregivers caring for about 96,000 OVC. The achievements of the women involved in Pact Tanzania’s WORTH activities are remarkable. Members of communities where we are working have been inspired by the positive changes these women are bringing not only into their families but also in their communities at large. We have seen male caregivers developing an interest in the program and so far we have helped establish seven men’s groups. The future of WORTH and empowering caregivers is great in Tanzania.



Pact Tanzania, P.O. Box 6348, Dar es Salaam (255) 22 2761933/4/6/7 tanzania@pactworld.org