Friends of Usambara has selected a group of 5 women in Tanzania for whom such a basic income can make a difference in their life. The women are all involved in the tree planting projects of Friends of Usambara. The women are free to decide how they want to spend the extra income. The participants receive 1 dollar per day each. That is sent to directly to their phone using mobile money. We distribute the same amount to the project coordinator from Friends of Usambara, so she can monitor whether the technology is working properly. Friends of Usambara will assist the participants during the project and monitors the results.
Project results
The project has run for three months and now the results are in of this first round. In general, the project is going well. The women have become more confident and responsible in managing their small incomes. It helped some of them to improve their business. In general, they’ve been able to improve family welfare, especially in terms of food and education.
For instance, Biasina’s daughter is now attending secondary school, and she’s able to cover school expenses more easily. Belinda managed to buy school supplies and uniforms for her children, which has helped them attend school more regularly. Cecilia used part of her income to enroll in an adult education class to improve her literacy skills.
The process of converting the mobile money into local currency is sometimes a challenge. Several women reported problems because of limited phone capacity. The project coordinator helped to solve these problems by doing some of the conversion for them.
All together, it is a very positive result. So now we are working on a next group of women in Tanzania.
First group participants
I am Cesilia Stefano, 30 years old. I am a mother of two children and I run a fruit-selling business. With the money I can add it to my business capital so I can grow my business and be able to educate my children.
My name is Belinda Gervas, I am 26 years old and a mother of two children. I currently work as a casual laborer with Friends of Usambara. The extra income will help me start a small food vending business (mama lishe) and support my children’s education.
My name is Shamrati Issa, I am 29 years old and a mother of two children. I am engaged in vegetable farming and poultry keeping. The extra income will help me expand my poultry and garden farming, as well as support my children’s education.
My name is Anna Julius Mcharo. I am 30 years old, a mother of three children. I engage in small-scale business and also work as a casual laborer at Friends of Usambara. The income will help me grow my business and support my children’s education.
My name is Biasina Twaha, I am 38 years old and a mother of three children. I am involved in the business of selling tomatoes. The income will help me grow my business and support my children’s education.
