This blog post was written by a Five Talents Supporter, Alison Yeo, who travelled with us to Tanzania in 2019.
An entrepreneur in Tanzania feeding her cattle.
I have been to several Five Talents events and always enjoy hearing about the inspiring projects which are being set up and supported in eastern Africa. In May 2019 I attended a Five Talents event, “Learning through the Lens” and saw wonderful photographs taken by Adam Dickens of Five Talents members and programmes. After the event I decided to take action and was delighted to be able to join the small group on a trip to Morogoro in Tanzania to see the work for myself.
I met my fellow travellers at Dar-es-Salaam airport in the late afternoon and the journey by mini-bus to Morogoro was the first experience of the trip. After getting out from the city the tarmacked roads became more like dirt tracks. Due to recent flooding, there were many deep potholes and ravines so progress along them was slow. In places part of the road had completely washed away
Our first day in Morogoro was Sunday and the group from the UK gathered together to attend a service at the local church. Arriving outside we could see by the crowd that this was going to be a well-attended event and many people welcomed us with handshakes and smiles. Towards the end of the service, our group from Five Talents introduced ourselves in front of the church.
We met Lugenge, the Five Talents Programme Leader in Morogoro, who would be the guide for our stay. In the afternoon a meeting was held with the Bishop, and other representatives of the Diocese to discuss the status of the local initiatives and saving schemes. I realised then what a large area had to be covered by the Five Talents trainer team in Tanzania. Lugenge told us that to get around the difficult, vast terrain he had a motorbike (which he was very proud of).
During the next few days, we attended a couple of the Savings Group meetings. The Group’s treasurer and leaders would ask each Savings Group member, in turn, to come up to the officer’s table and the money they deposited would be recorded in the Group’s ledger. We were also able to meet with several of the members who had borrowed money from their Savings Group in order to set up their businesses. These varied in size and purpose and included farmers with livestock (such as cows or chickens) to sell, shopkeepers and an inspiring lady with a sewing machine who made beautiful wicker baskets.
Wherever our group went we were met by kind members of the local community.
I feel very lucky to have seen some of Five Talents work in person. I now enjoy hearing about progress in Morogoro during virtual Zoom meetups even more.
You can join these virtual meetups or other Five Talents events by clicking here. Five Talents is not currently planning any supporter trips due to COVID-19 but you can learn more about a programme visit and register your interest for future trips here.