Wende Women's Group Update

Margaret Njuguna ~ January 2012

The Wende Women’s Group is a spin-off from CRWRC’s earlier community development work with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Iringa, Tanzania. Wende was formed in June 2006, after CRWRC and Lutheran Church staff trained the community about the benefits of working together in groups to identify available resources and utilize them to meet most “felt needs” within their communities.

About 20 of the women who attended the training decided to form a group to work together toward improving their social and economic status. After a series of training sessions on leadership, management, resources, and development of vision and mission, these women registered their group as a Community-Based Organization (CBO). The members then developed a constitution and other policies to guide their income-generating projects.

Soon the Wende Women’s Group grew from 20 to 30 members, and they registered as a non-governmental organization. Wende has a working executive board of eight women who are all volunteers. The executive board meets each month for planning and reporting on the previous months’ assigned activities. The members also assign responsibilities to those among them. Eleven of the women are also widows. Here are some of the group’s projects.

Savings and Credit Fund: Members borrow from the fund to start and improve their small businesses. The fund currently has Tshs.10,780,000 ( or about US$ 7,000). At the end of each year, Wende leaders calculate the profit they have earned. Sixty percent of the total earned is distributed among the members as a cash benefit and the remainder is used to purchase school supplies for the orphans project.

Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC): Supports 200 orphans and vulnerable children with school supplies, basic personal supplies (sanitary towels, soap), and school tuition including primary, secondary, and vocational (trade) education.

All but a few of the orphans in the support program who are in secondary schools away from Iringa attend life skills and social days twice a month. This table shows a summary of the OVC program.

Small Animal Project: In this income generation project, Wende members and some parent guardians from the OVC Program raise and sell small animals such as goats, pigs, and chickens. Proceeds from sale of these animals go toward school supplies for the children.

Wende Children’s Center: The Wende group purchased a two-hectare plot of land on which they plan to build a centre for the children in the OVC Program. The children currently meet every other Saturday at a neighbouring Lutheran Church. Meanwhile, the Wende women grow crops on their farm, some of which they use for Saturday fellowship with the orphans and some they sell for profit.

African Fabric Shop: Wende sells Vitenge and Kanga fabrics and purchases children’s school supplies for the OVC Project with the profit.

Community Outreach: Wende members train community women about benefits of working together through various projects, such as planting trees, visiting local health centers and people living with HIV and AIDS, and visiting those who are homebound, elderly, impoverished, or disabled.

On behalf of Wende Women’s Group and all the children in the OVC Program, I would like to say a big “thank you” to all who support this project.

Margaret Njuguna
CRWRC Tanzania

About Margaret Njuguna

Margaret hails from Nairobi, Kenya and has worked for CRWRC since the end of 1983 when she started as a Finance and Administration Manager. After 8 years of working in Kenya, Margaret went for further studies to the U.S. She has a Sciences Degree from Calvin College and a Masters of Business Administration from Century University. Since early 1995, she has worked with CRWRC in Tanzania in different capacities, the current being the country director since June 1998. Margaret is an adoptive mother to 15 year old Marvin Njuguna. 

Email:  mnjuguna@crwrc.org