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Dear Friends-

September was a very busy month for Iringa Hope.  During the month we

  • Were visited by the International Consortium for Post-Harvest Loss
  • Were invited to a meeting with the US Ambassador at the Embassy
  • Were invited to the US Mission Dinner in Dar es Salaam
  • Visited the Diocese of Njombe and signed an extended agreement with them

In addition to this we made visits to 8 of our villages, conducted a training session for our DSS program, wrote two grants, and completed shipping planting supplies to our 23 AMCOS.  Phew – another busy month.

Of particular note were the two new partnerships we signed.  The first, an extended agreement with the Diocese of Njombe, represents an extension of the renewed commitment that the ELC,T is making to our work.  With this agreement the Diocese of Njombe has promised to donate land, meeting spaces, etc. to support and expand our program in their Diocese.  We signed this agreement at a ceremony in Njombe early in September.  By the end of the month the Diocese had granted us land in Kidugala and Uhambule where we will construct Integrated Development Centers.  This is the first such agreement that the Diocese has ever made and the first time they have ever donated property.

The second partnership was with the Consortium to Reduce Post-Harvest Loss.  The Consortium is funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Foundation for Food and Agricultural Research.  One of the principals from the consortium, Prof Dirk Maier of Iowa State University, visited our offices in Iringa and went to several of our villages.  You can find out more about this in the article below.

We often write about our members and what impact Iringa Hope has made on their lives, but this month we decided to write about supporters instead.  I hope that you find our article about David and Lee Rokke both interesting and inspiring.

Blessings.

Tom

Dr. Thomas Hendrickson, President

We are regularly reviewed by the nonprofit Charities Review Council and proudly display their seal of compliance


Mission Statement: 

Iringa Hope is a US, non-profit corporation dedicated to alleviating poverty in rural Tanzania.

 
About Iringa Hope:
 
Iringa Hope is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation working in the rural Iringa region of Tanzania. 

We work to alleviate poverty among our members by providing access to micro credit, education and training, and markets and supplies for their farms. 

We do this by developing village based micro finance cooperatives called SACCOS (Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies) and Farmer's Cooperatives called AMCOS (Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies).

All of our cooperatives are locally owned and operated and are fully self-supporting.  Rather than a program, our members see Iringa Hope as a part of their communities.

 
Iringa Hope Board Members:

Rev. Paul Harris, member of the Board of Directors

Dr. T. Hendrickson,      President

Dean Hoffrogge,           Treasurer

Dr. Kent Olson,    
Vice President


Mr. Norm Siekman, member of the Board of Directors






















 
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Iringa Hope Announces Agreements With the
International Consortium to Reduce Post Harvest Loss,
Iowa State University, and
Sokoine University of Agriculture

 
Last year a member of our board, Mr. Norman Siekman, attended the Borlaug meeting in Iowa.  While he was there he met with Prof. Dirk Maier of Iowa State University; a member of the graduate faculty of the Department of Agricultural Engineering and the Director of the newly formed Consortium to Reduce Post-Harvest loss.  Dirk was very interested in Iringa Hope and offered us some useful information on our work.  He mentioned that he would be in Tanzania the next year and would be interested in visiting Iringa Hope when he was there.

As a result of this contact, this past September the Micro Finance Office (MFI) hosted two visitors from the International Consortium to Reduce Post Harvest Loss (the Consortium) -  Prof. Dirk Maier from Iowa State University and Prof. Suleiman from Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.

Arriving on a Saturday, they stopped by our co-ops at Nduli to learn the basics of how the Iringa Hope network of SACCOS and AMCOS works.  On the following day they visited our cooperatives at Ihemii, then made a visit to Ilambilole, two more rural locations.  Finally, they went to see the place where we hope to build a market center for our members and talked with the staff at the MFI along with the managers of our networks.   A very busy few days in Iringa!

After he returned to Iowa Norm and I went to see him at Iowa State.  One of the first things that Dirk said when we met was, “Iringa Hope is the most impressive program I have seen in Africa – why have you kept this a secret?”  Of course we do not think we have kept our work a secret.  After all there have been TV programs about us, radio shows, newspaper articles, etc.  but perhaps we are not well known outside of Tanzania.

We started our visit by having a discussion of how Iringa Hope is organized, funded, and operates.  At the end of our discussion Prof. Maier told us, “I want you to know that I think that Iringa Hope is the best program I have seen in Africa.  Your results are truly amazing – and I have been working in Africa for well over a decade now.”  He went on to discuss how pleased he was to see how we were implementing our DSS program (The DSS program provides financing and secure storage for crops so our members can wait until prices rise before selling.).  He felt that the training we were given was excellent, and he was happy to see us verifying moisture content, cleanliness, and using the PICS bags for storage.  “You have all of the right ingredients for success.  We have been talking about getting people to do this for years and you are doing it!”

Dirk invited us to attend the upcoming Borlaug symposium (Norm Siekman will be attending this.).  He would like to introduce us to some of the other groups he works with.  “I think that they will be very interested in your work and want to know more.”  Dirk also kept urging us to develop a training institute at the MFI.  “I would love to see your approach spread through out the region.  Your work is unique, successful, and should become the model for this area.  I am going to see if we can get a sponsor to fund this.”

Dirk went on to make a few suggestions for our AMCOS.  He offered us some online training courses they had developed.  He noted that we are handling our crops exactly as he suggests and gave us his materials for the DICE (Dry, Inspect, Clean, and Examine) program.  He also made contact with the AGRA program in Tanzania and urged them to support our work.  (AGRA is the largest agricultural program operating in Africa.  As it turned out they have been highlighting our work for years – but have been claiming it as a part of their program – oops!)

Dirk mentioned that Prof Suleiman took samples of our member’s crops to check for various toxins that are a problem in Africa.  He told us that Prof Suleman will be visiting in Iringa and would like to keep in touch with the MFI and offered his help as issues may arise.  Our Agronomist, Venance Msigala, was very pleased to have him as a contact.

For now we have agreed with Prof. Maier to be an affiliated program with the Consortium.  We also agreed to work together on a variety of issues.  While we did not sign a formal agreement, we all agreed to a long term partnership.  Dirk told us one of his goals is to have the Consortium develop a long-term training and demonstration program.  If they do this he thinks that Iringa Hope and the MFI should be the models that they use.  Until then Iowa State University, Sokoine University of Agriculture, and various members of the Consortium will continue to visit us, offer suggestions and training materials, and help us make connections to other resources and programs.
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Meet David and Lee Rokke

                                      by Sandra Hendrickson
 

As the concept of Iringa Hope was taking shape in 2009, there were only two congregations that were being supported for microfinance loans, Ihemi and Nyanzwa. At this point the Iringa Diocese was being entrusted with the funds for the two congregations and a small committee in Minnesota was studying how to make microfinance work in an impoverished area like Iringa. As the hopeful committee members studied the ropes of microfinance in the area, the villagers in Nyanzwa and Ihemi demonstrated what would work and where problems would arise. 

By 2010 the group in Minnesota had developed the concept of the Microfinance Institute (MFI) and how it would work.  The idea behind the Institute was to meet the need to educate the villagers in what would be required of them to make a loan program work.  With the success that was taking place at Ihemi, word was getting out to other villages.  People were becoming aware that there was an organization that was helping their neighbors at Ihemi improve their quality of life. As requests began coming in to the MFI for extending microfinance to include their villages; the MFI began instructing villagers on how to organize a SACCOS.  Key things they needed to learn were how to save, develop a business plan, borrow, and repay their loans. At this same time it was obvious that these poor villagers needed more money than they could raise on their own, and Iringa Hope began the work of raising money from partner parishes in the United States. 

An early success story for the MFI came from Ugesa, where members of their partner parish, Marine on St. Croix, donated the necessary funding to start a SACCOS.  Through a combined effort of village leadership and support from their partner parish in the United States, Marine-Ugesa SACCOS quickly organized and began operations; becoming one of the first SACCOS formed through the work of the MFI.  Since then this SACCOS has continued to grow, being responsible for tremendous improvements in the life of the villagers who are members.  Two other locations that were quick to realize the power of a SACCOS were Pommerini and Ilambilole.  These two SACCOS have continued to be two of the best run and most progressive locations. 

Throughout 2010-12 (and continuing to the present), village leaders are organizing their members while Itiweni Luhwago (the first employee) at the MFI was busy visiting villagers who were eager to learn how they could improve their farming, and consequently, the lives of their families. Also during this time Iringa Hope USA was attempting to get the word out about what amazing changes these families were experiencing.  Although there were some donations from partner parishes, the major input of funds to the Iringa Hope network of SACCOS came from faithful individuals who are firm believers in helping others to help themselves, and who recognize that the responsible use of credit by SACCOS members makes donations to Iringa Hope gifts that keep on giving. 

As a recipient of this newsletter, you are likely one of these generous people, and you are in the good company of hundreds of others. After having interviewed hundreds of our SACCOS members in Iringa, I decided to interview a few Iringa Hope supporters in Minnesota who are making these life-changing loans possible.

I decided to start with long-time supporters David and Lee Rokke, talking with them just before one of our patio parties in September. I have been acquainted with the Rokkes for many years through a Norwegian genealogy group and a Norwegian language group that has been meeting for many years.

The Rokkes told me that they have been married for 66 years, and have raised three boys. Lee said she worked as a teacher when the children were young, giving her a schedule that worked well with her children.  After leaving the teaching profession she pursued her lifelong interest in her Norwegian heritage, working as a genealogist and promoting connections between US citizens of Norwegian decent and their Norwegian relatives. Over the years Lee’s contributions to her home district were so great that she was presented the St. Olaf medal for distinguished service to Norwegians here and in Norway. This prestigious award led her to have a private audience with King Harald of Norway at the palace in Oslo.

David Rokke is a retired pastor who served as a parish pastor and then as treasurer for the Executive Board of Trustees for the ALC and then as Executive Director of the Lyngblomsten Foundation Board.  In his work for the Lutheran World Federation he did audits, examined programs, and reviewed the churches in Tanzania, Mozambique and Uganda.  Talking about Tanzania he recalls that he was impressed at the lack of natural resources in Tanzania.  “The people seemed to me to want to improve things for their families, but there was very little education and virtually nothing to work with.  I always felt that there was more we as a church should be doing to help them.”

David went on to tell me about his many experiences working with the various people from the church in Tanzania.  He told me that he believed they were well intentioned, but needed more training and expertise.  “That is one of the things that drew me to Iringa Hope,” he said.  “Their emphasis on education and training for their members is great!  Combining this with resources to work with is what I believe makes them so successful.”   

David and Lee first heard about our work in Tanzania in my Norwegian classes.  When Tom and I started spending time in Tanzania I would be asked by my Norwegian language teacher to tell the class about our experiences (in Norwegian). So, from the very start of Iringa Hope, David and Lee have been hearing about the successes we’ve been seeing among our members. 

David told me that they were immediately impressed and excited about the life-improving changes we were seeing, and since then have been among the enthusiastic supporters of Iringa Hope.  Says David, “Our motivation has been that the program is designed to help the members help themselves.  I could not imagine not supporting Iringa Hope.” 

So to David and Lee, and to all of the generous supporters of Iringa Hope, we say thank-you for recognizing the uniqueness of the program. Iringa Hope SACCOS members are demonstrating how a little education and the access to loan capital creates change that will lift them out of poverty.


Know someone who is interested in learning more about Iringa?  Why not invite them to receive our newsletter?  Just send us a note at iringahope1@gmail.com and we will add them!
 
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