Different Faces of Pif

Pay it Forward (PiF) is an international micro business development program that provides grants to persons of extreme poverty.  Recipients pay forward naturally to other members of their community.

There are different types of PiF as follows.

Enterprising Non-Profit Businesses

These are grants that are designed for a person who has demonstrated that they are able to start and operate a non-profit business. This person will adhere to proper business practices like registration of the business, having proper accounting in place, and having a dedicated bank account and proper filing.  The main aim is to be self sustainable and then pay forward to people living in extreme poverty in their communities. These funds range from $2000 to $5000 depending on the person’s ability to demonstrate proper business practices.

Below are pictures showing one of the successful ENPs in Arusha Tanzani.  Jackson Naiman received funds to purchase tour and travel car. His business offers East African tours to visitors from all over the world. He has been paying forward over the years to Willson Ngaiza from Bukoba, who, in turn, distributes the funds to people living in extreme poverty to start up small micro-businesses for self sustainability.

The above picture shows Bertha, one of the CNI staff members, standing next to the car during one of her visits.

The picture to the left shows Jackson Naiman on the right, his wife and Bertha on the left.

Collectives

These are grants that are designed to help a group of people or a community in an area of extreme poverty.  This is normally done in the form of a community project, whereby every member of the community benefits from the project. This has been well demonstrated in DR Congo. For instance, in Kahungu DRC, their collectives are grinding mills. The whole Kahungu village has benefited. No one has to walk long distances anymore to grind their grains, like maize, for food preparation. 

The picture above shows one of the grinding mills in DRC Kahungu.

Small Grants

In this category we have PiF One and PiF Two.  These are grants that are designed to help any person in any area of extreme poverty as long as they have a desire to work hard and be self-sufficient.  At a minimum, participants must match PiF grants with their own funds. For example, a $100 PiF grant must be matched by another $100 in cash or business start-up materials. PiF Two is the same except that the participants are given between $500 to $2000, depending on their ability to manage and control a business on that level. 

A good example is Geoffery, from a remote village of Ngorotwa in Kasanga. He received funds to expand his pharmacy kiosk and paid forward to the ladies who later started small businesses. Now he has build a laboratory as well. These pictures show the location of the village and the pharmacy kiosk itself.

Katogota Farm, DR Congo

Comunity Based Initiatives (CoBI), working in the region of Bukavu, DR Congo, began a pig rearing venture a few months ago at a farm in Katogota.

So far, the project has been quite successful. In the first phase, CoBI purchased eight pigs, among them was one which was pregnant . Currently  there are three more that are pregnant.

There was only on unfortunate situation with one of the pigs. The pig gave birth to 11 little piglets. Unfortunately 7 died three days after, this was because the mother pig was unable to produce milk to feed the piglets.  It was after staff gaver her an injection that she started producing milk as reported by Djesse, the CoBI PiF leader. 

The four remaining piglets are now healthy. This problem was not detected earlier by the guards, and the people who sold the pigs to CoBI did not tell of the problem in advance.  The staff worked quickly to find a solution.

CoBI is learning from this and is looking forward for a great pig project. 

Kipwa Sumbawanga TANZANIA

Sumbawanga is a city located in western Tanzania. It is the capital of the Rukwa Region. The regional population is approximately 150,000 based on a 2002 census. The name of the town translates as "throw away your witchcraft", thought to be a warning from local spiritual "healers" to any bringing in superstitions and practices relating to spiritual healers from other areas; there are still some healers who practice both in town and in the surrounding smaller villages.

Kipwa village is one of the villages in our Kasanga target area. It has a total population of over 2500 people. Its benchmark rating is 2.8 out of 5, and with this rating, the village has neither private nor government dispensary. The only medical service in the village is the CNI supported kiosk pharmacy.

This village is at the Tanzania-Zambia boarder, and there is no road to the village. Communication with the outside world is almost dead. The only means of transport to and from the village is by water. Kipwa village can receive medical services in two ways: by visiting the nearby Kapele dispensary (ill equipped with medicines and personnel) which is over 8 kilometers away or by going to the neighboring country of Zambia at Mpulungu town, a distance of 20 kilometers away.

The lives of these people are put at great risk, especially during the rainy seasons when there are great out-breaks of malaria and diarrhoea. The only available marine transport is not reliable as the boat owners routine is not consistent, otherwise for a quick transport one has to hire the boat which is too costly for the poor to afford.

Compelled by those circumstances, the Kipwa villagers decided to mobilize themselves using their hard-served resources to build the dispensary. They managed to construct a 14-room building, which is now 3 years old waiting to be finished, as their strength to carry on came to a stand still. So the villagers started seeking support from some donors and other people to finish the dispensary building.

This is a picture of the construction that the villagers had just started .  Cantwell (Community Builders PiF Coordinator), David (Community Builders intern) and  CNI staff had gone to pay a visit to the villagers.

After a tragic deaths event in September last year, which claimed the lives of the lives of 2 pregnant women and 13 children en route to Kapele dispensary, CNI immediately passed on this information to Community Builders. With utmost concern and importance, Community Builders responded by providing the financial support with the roofing of the building. CNI received $2500 from Community Builders which was  used to purchase the roofing.

The construction is still on underway as seen in the above picture.

The is still a lot of work in order to complete this dispensary,  the below picture show some of the mothers of Kipwa vilalge at the local Authority offices in Kipwa receiving medical treatment for their children.  The office rooms are being used temporarily as the dispensing rooms as seen in the picture below.

Bukoba Kagera Tanzania

Bukoba Kagera region is situated on the shore of Lake Victoria in the northwestern corner of Tanzania.  The main economic activities in Kagera are agriculture (coffee is the main cash crop and banana plants are the main food product),  fishery and trading, especially in urban centers.

In the past, Kagera has been affected immensely with HIV/AID since the first case that was reported in Tanzania in 1983.   Kagera was badly affected; most of the emerging generation of the middle age died.  

Willson is one of the PiF leaders who lives in Bukoba Kagera. He is working on helping start self sustainable projects for the people of Kagera.  Community Builders and Anhart foundation are looking for ways to help him reach this goal. In addition to a small PiF grant sent to him by Community Builders, Jackson Naiman, another PiF recipient, has also been paying forward to Willson. As a result, Willson has started a small poultry project. Willson is an entrepreneur, he operates a bodaboda (motorcycle as a taxi). He also plants pine trees that will be ready in 15 years.  He is also a coffee farmer.

The pictures show Willson's poultry project and his boda boda taxi.

Very soon Willson will start the process of having a CBO registered in Kagera.  With the CBO, he will be able to help eradicated extreme poverty in the area.

Below are pictures showing one of the person Willson has given forward to by the names of Fradnus Myasha who has started a small eatery.

Kitale and Majengo KENYA

In 1983 Community builders visited Kenya for the first time and began to learn about the talents and skills of people living extreme poverty. These early lessons led to the creation of the Pay it Forward plan.  Bowers Lihanda, a pastor living in the remote village of Majengo, Kenya, received one of the first PiF grants to start a dairy and poultry farm. Over the years, Bowers and his wife Gladys have maintained this project which has brought sustainability to their family. It has also allowed them to Pay Forward to new participants and creating employment opportunities to others.

These two pictures show the dairy and poultry farming in Majengo village.

Last year,  a second generation of Pay Forward efforts in the Lihanda family was planted. Iris Lihanda received funds to start a home based bakery in Kitale, enabling her to continue the work of supporting people in extreme poverty.

Iris showing off some of her baked cakes and scones.

Despite some initial difficulties with her business, Iris is currently working on building a structure for the bakery in Biribiriet village. Pictured below are men beginning the construction of the bakery.

Currently, Iris has registered Biribiriet Community Builders Organisation which aims at eradication extreme poverty conditions in the area. Iris is now looking forward to having the bakery work in Biribiriet village, in order to get close to the community she is supporting.  Apart from the bakery, Iris is a farmer, she plants maize/corn and beans. The farming also creates employment to the local community.  Pictured below are two women who work for Iris on her farm. These ladies, are also looking forward to starting small scale businesses with the Pay It Forward model. 

Mbeya, Italalazia, TANZANIA

Mbeya is located in southwest Tanzania. Mbeya has weather with enough rainfall and fertile soil to enable it to be the largest producer of maize, rice, bananas, beans, potatoes, soya nuts and wheat in relation to other areas of Tanzania. There is also extensive animal husbandry.  Mbeya is also surrounded by a number of villages, Ilembo, Pashungu, Italazia, Masoko, Shola, Izuo and Igale. These villages are characterized by extreme poverty conditions.

Alfred Rogers, one of our PiF leaders in Tanzania, is based in Italazia village. This is a very remote village and the poverty conditions are extreme.  However, over the years, Community Builders Network has helped Alfred start various PiF projects that are helping eradicate extreme poverty within Italazia village .

Among these projects are piggery, dairy farming, fishery, pharmacy kiosk, small scale businesses such as selling of vegetables, and animal feeds. Recently, the women of the village have started small scale businesses by using the Pay It Forward model that Alfred Rogers introduced in Italazia. Here are some pictures showing the progress in Italazia.

Women selling vegetables at the market place.

Zero grazing by Alfred Rogers.

This is the manual way of preparing land in Italazia. No use of oxen or tractors due to the poverty situation.

Macdonald, Haiti

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti is no stranger to natural disasters, in January 2010, Haiti was struck by an earthquake. Three million people were affected.  The death toll was estimated from the range of 100,000  to approx. 160,000 people.  The damages were vast. Currently, health conditions are poor, there is a lack of clean water and the population is living in deplorable conditions of extreme poverty. Community Builders Group and Anhart Foundation have been doing their best to help these people that live in extreme poverty. 

Julie Roberts, one of the Community Builders director, together with Nixon Gabriel, founder of Comitè MacDonald, have spear-headed the humanitarian work of helping the poor people in Haiti. Most of these people cannot afford food. Gabriel’s kitchen was started by funds from an Indiegogo campaign and funds from CBG and Anhart Foundation. Gabriel’s kitchen now serves 250 meals/day at a very small cost.  Apart from Gabriel’s kitchen, medicine is distributed to the poor people, the homeless elderly are cared for, there is a piggery project, fishery project, latrines have been built and small scale businesses have been started.  Below is Haiti progress in pictures.

A group of people waiting to to be served a meal at Gabriel's kitchen.

Gabriel helping to serve the meals at the Gabriel's kitchen in Haiti.

One of the latrines that were built for the people.

Katanga Lumbumbashi DRC

Lubumbashi is the mining capital of DR Congo. It is a hub for many of the country’s biggest mining companies.  DRC produces more than 3 percent of the world’s copper and half its cobalt, most of which comes from Katanga.

The Second Congo War, that ended in April 2003, was responsible for the death of approximately 3 million people. Now, 11 years later, there is still instability, poverty and unemployment in Katanga.  Community Builders Network and Anhart Foundation are forging a way to help the people who are living in extreme poverty in Katanga .

Last week,  Grace  and Ibrahim, accompanied by their father Jean, distributed funds to a group of ladies living in extreme poverty to start up small scale businesses. These funds were sent to them by Community Builders and Anhart Foundation.

One of the ladies who received the funds is known as Gloire Ndaya, she has been raised by her grandmother because her parents divorced long ago.  Now that she has received PiF funds, she has decided to start buying and selling of charcoal in order to support herself.

Below are some of the pictures showing the ladies receiving the funds. A total of eight women received funds to start small scale businesses. 

Jean Ilunga distributing funds.

The ladies showing the funds they have just received.

Harvesting

It is harvesting time. 

 

The first week of July, CNI harvested their corn. 

This week, Morogoro PAG Community Development, which is a  registered CBO, harvested rice.

Now, CoBI is in the process of harvesting their corn.  CoBI has already constructed the pig enclosure and housing structures and is now looking for pigs and feeds.

 

This  picture shows  the maternity ward that CoBi is constructing at Kikongo village nearby Uvira.

They had to also rehabilitate a small bridge found half way to the construction site. 

 

This maternity ward will help improve maternal and newborn health care services in the villages of extreme poverty.

CNI Maize Farm

CNI has just finished harvesting their maize. Early January this year, Bertha traveled to the CNI land in Rukwa district to prepare the land for planting. Bertha has done a phenomenal job. The pictures below shows the stages of the maize up until harvesting and storage.

 

The use of oxen in preparing of the CNI land.

 

Bertha overseeing the planting of the maize seedlings.

The maize growing just after weeding.

 

At this stage the maize is ready enough to be boiled and roasted as food.

 

This is the stage at which the maize is now dry enough to be cut down.

 

Maize ready to be grinned.

 

Transportation of the maize to a place where the grinding will be done.

 

Grinding of maize underway.

 

Parking of the maize into bags.

 

Bertha now overseeing the transportation of the sacks of maize to the stores.

 

Morogoro Pharmacy

Massanja Simon lives in the village of Mvuha, located in the district of Morogoro. He has  been operating a pharmacy kiosk in this village for 8 years.  Community Builders, having seen how he was able to get medical services close to the local villagers, gave him a grant of $700 to boost his pharmacy and later payback the profits to the people living in extreme poverty conditions in his network.

This picture shows Massanja in the middle. Cantwell and David paid him a visit last year.

So far Massanja has paid forward to two participants in his community who are living in extreme poverty to start up small businesses for self sustenance.

With his pharmacy kiosk he is operating, he has succeeded to reach a number of people who were sometimes helpless. For instance:
(i) Simple treatment their minor through 'spot diagnosis'
(ii) Referral of complicated detected patients.
(iii) Early detection of diseases which would result into complications.
(iv) To some extent, availability of drugs especially antibiotics and anti malarial as bacterial and malaria infections are the leading diseases
(v) Giving health education to patients living in poor areas.

However he has been facing a number of challenges in his services as follows:
(i) Most of people living in extreme poor condition do believe in witchcraft.
A child who is traditionally prevented from convulsive febrile illnesses. Black ropes/rings round the neck and hand can be seen. This is associated with witchcraft beliefs.
(ii) Lack of a laboratory to support my diagnoses.

An old weighing scale he is using which needs to be exchanged for a digital one.

(iii) Lack of transport to easily reach other areas.
(iv) Opening of a laboratory belonging to Roman Catholic church almost one kilometer from his pharmacy kiosk has led to more patients going to the clinic resulting in reduced sales. 

 

The establishment of simple check-ups will help Simon Massanja restore the patients going to the Roman Catholic dispensary. With the availability of antenatal clinic, and the Road to Health center, patients will visit the kiosk more often. This will in turn lead to  Massanja offering health education to the residents on various diseases. By so doing many will stop believing in witchcraft associated traditions and seek for medical attention.

 

Massanja further reports that, good flow of patients will increase the income in his pharmacy kiosk , this will enable him to pay forward accordingly.

Moshi, Tanzania

Cantwell Lihanda traveled to Moshi last year in August and met 3 ladies and one gentleman who are working hard to make ends meet even though they live in conditions of extreme poverty.

Cantwell met with Mama Amani, a widow who struggles to feed her entire family. Among the family members is her sister, who is mentally challenged and who has two daughters under her care. Mama Amani received a grant of $500 to help boost her business of buying cloth material from Dar es Salaam, sewing clothes and selling them in a local market in Moshi town.

Janet Bosco currently is their leader who also received $500 to boost her business of selling ready made clothes. She is a single mother of two. She says she is doing very well, her business has grown and she has been able to pay forward to one person already.

Mary Mogela is a lady who ails from a strange disease. Her stomach has been swollen for more than ten years. She cannot move or work. She depends on people for food and upkeep. She received a grant of $500 and her sister-in-law started a grocery business which is doing very well now. She is able to continue to feed Mary and has paid forward as a group with the rest of the participants to ten poor people.


Ashrifu Rajabu is a widower with two children. He was selling groundnuts from door to door. With a grant of $500, he started selling shoes from door to door. He currently still sells both ground nuts as well as the shoes.

Together they have paid forward to 10 poor people who have also started small business to sustain themselves.