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Maasai Women Development Organization (MWEDO) has three main programs 1. Education Program 2. Economic Empowerment Program 3. Health Program 1. Education Program
The overall objective of the Program is to empower Maasai women and young girls who live in the underserved communities in rural Tanzania through availing education opportunities in order to improve their socio-economic condition. The intervention areas are;
- Education Access for the Underserved Pastoralist Girls Project
- Adult Literacy education project
Strategies:
* Local Funds mobilization at the community level
* Capacity building, Lobbying, advocacy on policy issues, gender and property rights
* Information gathering on the current situation for women and girls in terms of education
* Resource diversification to support girls beyond secondary schools (university, College, Vocational training Centre )
* Mentoring
* Use of MUKEJA/Reflect approach for adult literacy education.
* Promoting use of local facilitators
* Networking
- Education Access for the Underserved Maasai Girls project
In the year 2005, MWEDO launched the Pastoralist Girls Education Support Fund in the districts of Kiteto, Simanjiro and Monduli. The main objective of the Fund is to enable Pastoralist Girls from disadvantaged families to access education through availing scholarship to attend secondary and college schools in the country.
By November of 2005 MWEDO had started receiving girls from the community. Up to the beginning of July 2007 MWEDO has rewarded education scholarship to 200 Pastoralist Girls to attend secondary and college education. The students are supported for tuition fees and boarding, medical allowance, books, stationeries, transport and incidentals costs.
MWEDO continues to work towards creating more space for girls to obtain education and also to tackle some of the society’s problems, which prevents girls for further education opportunities. MWEDO aims to increase the retention rates of girls in school beyond grade 5 to achieve higher numbers of girls in secondary levels and beyond.
Most of the underserved girls come from poor families with large sizes and low incomes. In these families various priorities competes and girls’ education is not a top priority. Because of poverty the families cannot afford the costs of education such as school fees, school uniforms, medical costs, transport costs, boarding and lodging etc.
Our aim is to serve the education needs of the hardest to reach Pastoralist girls who will otherwise not access education. We believe that, when these girls miss out their chances to get education the results will be too negative for the society and nation to bear.
- Adult Literacy Education (ELEAP)
MWEDO with the support from USAID/Women in Development and Economic Growth and Trade Bureaus, introduced a one year reading and writing program to initially 150 Maasai women learners (many of whom are over forty years of age). The Empowerment through Literacy Education Access Project was started in November 2006 with the aim of providing education to mature Maasai women in Arusha and Manyara regions, in two Districts of Kiteto and Longido in the northern part of Tanzania who missed that opportunity. Now it has been extended in Monduli district.
WHY E-LEAP?
The main purpose of the project is to use literacy as an effective means of empowering Maasai women from poverty. Most importantly is to stimulate Maasai women to start demanding for increased number of enrolling girls to school. E-LEAP introduces the learners to read and write, while equipping them with better skills to improve health, agriculture, micro enterprise through income generating activities. To achieve this, E-LEAP uses interactive teaching methodologies known as REFLECT approach. SUMMARY OF PROGRESSES
Enrollment:
- At the first phase of the project the target was to reach 150, however up to the end of the year 2007 the project had enrolled 250 learners, (Due to great demand).
- In the year 2008, enrollment target was revised from reaching 800 women by the end of the project to 1600 by the end of the activity (2010).
- This is because of more support from the American people. The best practices learned with the previous groups shall be replicated to the new groups. Some of the practices are;
- Useful collaboration with traditional leaders, local authorities and male partners of women learners Number of Literacy Classes:
- For the year 2007, the project had only 6 literacy class centers, 3 in each district.
- Literacy classes have increased from 6 literacy classes in the year 2007 to 15 literacy classes.
- The purpose for increased literacy class centers is to bring literacy education closer to the beneficiaries. Now older women can easily walk to the classes. Previously women had to walk long distances to attend classes Number of Adult Literacy Facilitators:
- For the year 2008 the number of literacy facilitators has increased from 3 to 15 so as to cope with increased number of learners
- This is expected to curb problems related to learners walking long distances to attend classes Improving Livelihood Security Through Adult Literacy
- The progress made varies from one group to another; depending much on the level of understanding and correctly utilizing the knowledge acquired on business entrepreneurship, group leadership, and the type of project to be pursued by each group.
- Groups in Kiteto district have managed to utilize the grant given wisely. 2 groups in Kiteto have cultivated acres of maize, beans and sunflower. 1 group is engaged in buying-fattening-selling of bulls, currently the group has purchased 7 bulls at expected profit of ½ of the buying price. The Process of Provision of Village Land Offers:
The process of land acquisition and land certificates for Maasai women learners is still continuing. The acceleration trend by the local government authorities and devotion among women learners varies from one district, village and groups. The process has much success in Ngoswak village, Longido district. 43 women learners applied for land offers and all of them have been issued with letters from the village government approving the applications. Correspondingly in the same village 10 acres land/shamba have been approved for a group land/shamba All together 103 women have acquired land. It is expected that this achievement shall stimulate effective agricultural production, improved food security and start building better houses - The E-LEAP project have sensitized women learners to see the importance of education and eagerly wishes to support education for their girl children demand for improved services in health and education Challenges:
- Notwithstanding the efforts done by women groups several factors have been observed preclude groups’ productivity. These factors among others include inability and or limited capacity to transform business literally knowledge into practice, poor financial management and poor group leadership.
- Executing effective project monitoring is a very challenging exercise especially for a rain season. Reaching out every group and project needs time and devotion.
- Poor infrastructure continues to be a setback to access the communities in time hence delays in project implementation.
- During drought season poverty is more severe, hence impacts women capacity to get fully involved in projects’ initiatives. Future Focus:
- MWEDO needs to continue building up on what has already been achieved: continue training women groups on Marketing techniques, Accounting and record keeping, Product quality improvement, Realistic Product Costing, Group management, Customer relations and Profit re-investment skills. - Market opportunities has been underscored has the major challenge when it comes to economic empowerment. Women come from very diverse environment with little economic opportunities. Market linkages for women groups’ products therefore should remain a central focus to enable women benefit positively to what they are producing. - Establishing the Maasai Women Fair Trade Centre based in Arusha. The Center serve as a primary distribution market for women beaded products, promote the collaborations necessary to add value to the products and serve as a tourist destination in Arusha that fosters awareness of advocacy and human rights issues.
2. Economic Empowerment Program
The main objective of the program is to ensure improved household livelihood security of Maasai women and through them to the community at large. It is our hope that the benefit obtained shall continue to complement the efforts to send more girls to school and have access to health and other basic needs. Some of the program’s strategic aims are;
Enterprises development Capacity building and development Market linkages Strategies Small enterprises development Capacity building facilitation in Business Development Networking women products to reliable markets Market culture as a sustainable tourism product
The Maasai Women Fair Trade Centre
MWEDO has established a Maasai Women Fair Trade Center based in Arusha. The Center would be:
* A primary distribution market for MWEDO’s products
* Promote the collaborations necessary to add value to the products
* Serve as a tourist destination in Arusha that fosters awareness of advocacy and human rights issues.
The centre is central to the women producers associations but also buyers at local and international levels. It ensures quality of products, branding and marking on equal standards across production lines but also at the market place. MWEDO has established a marketing and advertising edge using internet, local magazines and catalogues for the centre women producers and also for buyers.
MWEDO promotes horizontal collaborations among stakeholders in order to add value to the products and also through the supply chain management by linking groups to fair trade organizations in order to expand and promote the horizontal collaboration among producers and consumers and add value to the products. This way the women group producers are assured of better prices and business continuation of their products.
3. Health Program
The main objective of the program is to empower Maasai women, youths and the community at large being able to curb HIV/AIDS infections and increased knowledge on maternal health and child care services. Like other social services, health care is similarly poor within Maasai communities. It is estimated that presently 1.8 million Tanzanians aged 15 and above are infected with HIV/AIDS, representing 11% of the adult population. Most alarming is that 62% of the infected people are females.
Maasai women and girls are more vulnerable to HIV/AIDS infections due to lack of information, knowledge, disempowerment, and poor capacities on prevention and taking care of the sick ones. They remain uninformed and take no action to safer sexual relations. Infected ones are unaware of their status, they take no action and therefore suffer more and faster as well as continue to transmit to more people. MWEDO therefore, seeks to reduce the rate of infections among Maasai women and youths through awareness creation on HIV/AIDS prevention, care, economic empowerment and nutrition.
- HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care and Nutrition
MWEDO has a good experience and achievements within pastoralist Maasai communities. It has successfully been implementing HIV/AIDS Awareness, Prevention, Care and Nutrition Projects. The projects have confirmed worthy-standing track records hooked on well-built collaboration with district authorities, traditional authorities; ward HIV/AIDS committees, local authorities, women and youth groups. Village HIV/AIDS Committees, Trainers of Trainers, Peer Health Educators, Traditional Healers, Elders, women and youths / Morani groups have been well trained, established and continuously supported as Community Based Volunteers. Traditional Based Attendants have also been properly trained and equipped for home based care giving.
Strategies: Community participation and involvement HIV/AIDS awareness and trainings facilitation. Pastoral cultural and traditional patterns promotion for HIV/AIDS prevention. Development of Information Educational and Communication materials and & condom distribution. Traditional healers, Traditional Birth Attendants, Trainers of Trainers, People Living with HIV / AIDS and community health trainer’s involvement.
Networking with like-minded organization. MWEDO is progressing to endeavour building economic capacities of its group members who are being trained in entrepreneurship and supported with business start-up grants and nutrition projects (cross breed goats). This has amplified low risk sexual behaviors and practices among group members.
- Maternal Health and Child Care Education
The objective is to provide maternal and reproductive health education in order to reduce mortality rates among Maasai women and children. Maternal and child mortality rates amongst Maasai women and children are quite high. For example, the number of women dying from pregnancy related complications at Kiteto district hospital is death of women during pregnancy and main purpose of this activity is to reduce maternal and child mortality deaths which often occur in pastoralists communities. MWEDO will provide knowledge and understanding in regard to Maternal and Child mortality health and organize mobile clinics that will be used to pass on knowledge to pastoralist men and women.
Strategies: - Trainings facilitation in respect to pastoral cultural and traditional patterns - Capacity building for Traditional Birth Attendants - Enhancement and establishment of traditional delivery bomas - Promoting nutritional projects to support enhanced nutrition standards among women and household members - Expertise facilitation to improve Hygiene, Homestead and Environment standards. - Networking Crossing cutting issues - Human Rights, Lobbying and advocacy
- Culture and traditions
The interventions on women access to and control over properties through Women Land Link Africa (WLLA) started in May, 2007 and by August 2007 it had reached 37 people for the mapping process interview and sensitized more than 400 Maasai men and women on issues of land and property rights. The main purpose of the project is to understand at what extent Maasai women and men know about the existing land rights, laws and regulations and to find possible ways of empowering women to have access to land and property rights.
To achieve the objective, the mapping process was organized in Longido district involving four villages: Engikareti, Longido, Kimokouwa and Eworendeke, a simple survey was conducted with traditional leaders, local authorities, elders and women groups to identify challenges and approaches possible to have solutions towards women access to land and control over properties
In the year 2008, the project has extended to Simanjiro district with the following key focus;
- Facilitate local-to-local dialogue and establishment of the watchdog groups in Longido district
- Scaling up the mapping process in Simanjiro district with the target in the following villages; Naberera, Namalulu, Lendanai and Orkesument.
Expected Results
The following results are expected in the selected villages and groups
1. Sensitized community on gender issues and fostered collaboration from men, traditional and local authorities in advancing Maasai women access to and control over properties. 2. Increased access to and control over properties including land among Maasai women group members-# of group members facilitated access to village land offers/certificates (village land Act No. 5 of 1999) Activities completed:- Local-to-local Dialogue in Longido district: Local-to-local dialogue is the continuation of the mapping process in Longido district. The aim of the dialogue to cultivate common understanding on issues of access to and control over properties including land among the Maasai women; This intervention brought together women groups participated in the 2007 mapping activity, local authorities and traditional leaders.
Mapping and peer outreach strategy were widely used during the process: the participants were given chance to discuss different issues separately i.e. women, men and leaders and later grouped together to align and find common understanding on issues discussed during group sessions. During the process; a brief analysis of the village land Act of 1999 was facilitated as reference to the legal processes towards access to and control over land. A thorough discussion focused on general principles roles and responsibilities, village land management, land allocation, certificates and settlement of disputes as stipulated in village land act, 1999. Formation of the Watchdog Groups: two watchdog groups were formed; however prior to the establishment of the watchdog groups, participants were introduced to the objectives, responsibilities and principles of the watchdog groups. The participants mutually agreed to form 2 watchdog groups to be called "NARAMATISHO" a Maasai name which means a safeguard/protect. Scaling up the mapping process in Simanjiro district: Four villages in Simanjiro district; Naberera, Lendanai, Namalulu and Orkesument; a total of 40 women, men, traditional leaders, elders and local government authorities were involved.
Immediate results and Impacts
- There is a continuous sensitization and support for Maasai women to access and control land. With the support from the village and traditional authorities, the process has much success in Longido village of Longido district. 103 women applied for land offers and all of them have been issued with letters from the village government approving the applications. Correspondingly in the same village 10 acres land/shamba have been approved as a group land/shamba
- There an increase willingness among women and men in the project area to legally own land. During the local to local dialogue the participants show interest to see changes in relation to land ownership. Most of them are afraid of being evacuated from their areas or their land being grabbed by external people. There is the recognition of the importance to own land legally.
- The change of attitude among Maasai men in relation to women ownership of land and properties. In Simanjiro district the process of land acquisition among men and women is progressing positively. Among the target group 24 own land; 13 women and 11 are men, among them 8 posses customary right of occupancy from the village council and 6 (4 men and 2 women) have title deeds.
Follow-up Plans and Recommendations
- MWEDO needs to continue building up on what has already been achieved: continue strengthening the capacity of the established watchdog groups, scale the process of the local-to-local dialogue and establish watchdog groups in Simanjiro district.- Facilitate exchange learning visits between the groups in Longido and Kiteto and where possible link with groups in Kenya.
- Increasing participation and leadership position among Maasai women group members within decision making bodies at the local and district levels
- Improving the capacity of the community towards protecting and advancing the rights of property ownership and control among the disadvantaged Maasai women, widows and elderly women
- Facilitate increased access to provision of offers, land ownership among the Maasai women
- Building women economic capacities through income generating activities to enable them meet the requirements of formalizing properties
Our Partners
- Traditional authorities-local
- Local government authorities-local
- Ward councilors-district
- District land departments-district
Challenges
There are several challenges that need special attention so as to have positive progresses and sustain project initiatives; - Limited knowledge on the processes of access to and control over land, land allocations and dispute settlements among the community members, leaders and even the representatives of the village land committees
- Limited capacity to utilize acquired land-this jeopardizes continual ownership of land among the Maasai community
- 95% of the beneficiaries own land traditionally-which is not legally recognized. This limits opportunities to profitably utilize land for accessing capital to improve household livelihood and poverty reduction. For example 50% of the beneficiaries especially men admitted to have more than 50 acres of land but still are not able to access capital.
- Poverty within the pastoral communities: Many pastoral households have very low incomes and low expenditure levels. Limited alternative sources of income in the pastoral areas are another factor contributing to insecure livelihoods in the Maasai community. Animal deaths, as a result of prevalent animal diseases, have led to a decreasing trend in the number of animals. Being poor they cannot afford the costs for formalizing their properties including land and livestock. The procedures stipulated in the Land Act sections 4&5 of 1999 are too complicated, centralized, expensive and non-inclusive for the poor people.
Our Successes: - MWEDO has been able to avail secondary and college education opportunities to more than two hundred (200) Pastoralist Maasai girls. - Community members are now informed on the importance of education for a girl child and willing to comply with and support heartily programs’ initiatives - Pastoralist women are increasingly becoming active in advocacy and political platforms. Most have acquired council positions in different wards. MWEDO directly target at the politically empowered women and mobilize female politicians to lobby for better services. - MWEDO has managed to establish an effective mentoring system; through making use of supported girls as "Role Models" and ambassadors for their peers and parents. This has helped to trim down reluctance mood of parents and community members, in this way a big turn out has been witnessed whereby girls, parents, relatives and community leaders are escalating coming-in requesting for educational support. - For the adult literacy, the organization has been able to enroll more than 200 Maasai women learners into adult literacy classes - Maasai women are very enthusiastic to learn. They are ready to go to school, to attain the basic right that has been denied in the name of customs and traditions. - The program has been dearly accepted by men of who are also demanding to get involved in the adult literacy classes. - Maasai women are becoming more inspired to translate the knowledge acquired in the literacy classes into Income Generating Activities and struggle for legal land acquisition.
Gaps and Challenges - Increased demand for education support than the available resources. For instance by January 2007 the organization received more than 350 application but only 100 girls were supported as result of luck of funds to support all.
- Poor infrastructure continues to be a setback to access the communities in time hence delays in project implementation.
- The big challenge for HIV/AIDS project-it needs time and resources to realize the impact because it is based on behavioral aspects of individuals.
Lessons Learned
- In order to ensure community ownership and participation, MWEDO is challenged to ensure that its activities are aligned to respect and preserve positive traditional values and customs that do not undermine or increase gender inequalities in the society.
- Resources diversification needs premium attention as to ensure sustainability of our programs and activities and to accelerate spillover effects to the already achieved results to more women, girls and the community at large.
- Maasai women and girls are increasingly eager to learn and MWEDO would like to increase focus on raising awareness on relevant issues and build capacities so as to bring changes and make positive impact in society. MWEDO has been doing well in this area and see the great need to continue doing so, in order to achieve its long-term goals of liberating Maasai women.
- Income generating activities (Income Generating Activities) play a vital role in community transformation and change. MWEDO would like to continue strengthening women groups’ economic activities both individually and at group level. Our expectation is, when Maasai women are economically shall be able to access basic services like education and health at their own cost and at the right time.
Plans for the Future - MWEDO Strategic objective for 2006-2015, is to support 1,000 girls’ access to secondary and college education. An education campaign"1,000 girl’s education campaign" aims at increasing the number of Pastoralists girls who complete secondary school education and go to colleges. To achieve the goal, MWEDO needs support and close collaboration with government, donors and the society.
- MWEDO aims to increase the retention rates of girls in school beyond grade 5 as to achieve higher numbers of girls in secondary levels and beyond.
- MWEDO has been responding to the urgent need of strengthen the capacities of Maasai women in the fight of HIV/AIDS. Traditional Birth Attendants, women groups, traditional leaders and local authorities have been widely involved in the trainings and campaigns against the pandemic. We greatly value traditional knowledge, hierarchy and community participation; the best approach of involving Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), Traditional Circumcisers (Ngariba) and Traditional Healers for mobilization, awareness creation and care is proved to deliver positive results.
- Poverty alleviation strategies among Maasai women are among the possible solutions for combat and mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS. We believe that, it will be very effective to scale-up and impact HIV/AIDS Prevention knowledge and Care to more women and youth groups and through them to family members, children, grandchildren and the community at large. Our members have shown inspiration to have choices in leading the lives that they value.
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