MAY 31, 2006
Great Results in Ethiopia!
By Sanaz Memarsadeghi
May 31, 2006
During our trip to Ethiopia from May 24 to June 1, Dr. Tadesse and I visited THP-Ethiopia’s 3 epicenters, recently inaugurated Jaldu Epicenter and the newer Mesquan and Debre Libanos Epicenters. Both Mesquan and Debre Libanos are in the inception phase, and the epicenter buildings at both sites have yet to be constructed.
Mesquan
Epicenter, which has a population of approximately 16,000
people, is located 142 km south of Addis Ababa. It consists of 4
partner kebeles or villages: Degagogot, Dobi, Goyiban, and Meqichona
Limuch. On Friday, May 25, Dr. Tadesse, the THP-Ethiopia staff, and
I met with Mesquan’s recently elected 16-member epicenter
committee. Dr. Tadesse conducted a Vision, Commitment, and Action (VCA)
Workshop with the motivated committee and reviewed the 5 steps to
ending hunger. The president of the Epicenter Committee declared
that the community is ready to demonstrate their commitment to
ending hunger through action and to prove themselves as a model
epicenter. So far, the epicenter committee has designated a 4.5 ha
plot of land as the site for the epicenter and has begun mobilizing
materials for the building’s construction, set to begin in July.
The have also plowed the common farm land in preparation for
cultivation during the upcoming rainy season. A preliminary AWFFI
VCA Workshop has been held at Mesquan, and AWFFI loan committees
(village and epicenter level) will be selected by the end of this
quarter. Loan disbursement is planned to begin next quarter.
Debre Libanos Epicenter is located 90 km north of Addis Ababa
and serves a population of approximately 19,000 people. It consists
of 4 partner kebeles: Dire Jibo, Salle, Tumano, and Wakene. The
community has generously contributed 8.5 ha of land to the
epicenter, 6 ha of which will be cultivated. We visited the
epicenter on a designated community work day. While some partners
were tilling the community farmland with oxen, others were busy
clearing eucalyptus trees from the site of the future epicenter
building. Construction is set to begin in June. After Dr. Tadesse
conducted a VCA Workshop with epicenter leadership and district
officials, the AWFFI Project Officer, Credit Officer, and I held a
meeting with members of the 4 AWFFI village-level loan committees.
The women, who have no prior experience with microfinance, have a
sound understanding of the AWFFI program and are looking forward to
finally having access to capital which will enable them to expand
their income-generating activities. Loan disbursement is scheduled
to begin next quarter.
Dr. Tadesse leading a VCA workshop at Debre Libanos with the community preparing epicenter farm land in the background.
At Jaldu Epicenter, the AWFFI Project Officer, Credit Officer, and I held a meeting with over 200 AWFFI partners. We discussed partners’ progress and achievements with the program. This is an exciting time for Jaldu AWFFI partners, as the first 5 AWFFI loan groups (65 women) are completing the repayment of their loans. Although the one-year deadline for loan repayment has yet to arrive, 49 of the women have already finished their repayment, and the remaining 16 are expected to finish soon as well. Having proven their capacity to both repay on-time and to save, these women will now be eligible to take a second, larger-sized loan. During the meeting partners shared their personal experiences taking loans. Ms. Ababa Banti, treasurer of the AWFFI Epicenter Loan Committee, is one of the women who has already repaid her 300 birr loan with interest. She spent 240 birr to purchase 2 goats and used the remaining 60 birr to purchase 3 chickens. Her 2 goats became 4, and she sold 2 of them for a total of 230 birr. She also earned 120 birr from the sale of eggs from her chickens, in addition to using the eggs for household consumption. Prior to participation in AWFFI, Ms. Banti was not saving, but now she, like all other AWFFI partners, has developed a savings culture. During the first loan cycle, her group decided to implement a mandatory monthly savings of 2 birr per member. After successfully meeting this self-imposed requirement, she and her group members plan to increase their monthly savings during the next loan cycle.
The total number of AWFFI loan groups in Jaldu is now 25 (5 from each partner kebele). As of April, men have also begun to receive loans through the SPIA credit program. There are 5 groups of 58 men and 1 woman who received SPIA credit.
During my visit, the epicenter site was quite busy. While the epicenter committee was holding a strategy meeting in the library, other community members were at the health center consulting with the mid-wife. Cabbage, beets, carrots, and peppers are all growing in the epicenter garden, and the common farm land has been tilled in preparation for the rainy season. Some corn has already been planted and is knee-height.
On May 31, Dr. Tadesse and I
concluded our visit with a staff meeting. Overall, we were quite
impressed by the strong leadership of the THP-Ethiopia staff and
their ability to work effectively as a team. We are very satisfied
with their implementation of the epicenter strategy.
