Women in the driving seat of development in Tanzania
To mark International Women’s Day, three participants in resilience projects reveal how WFP is changing lives
By Max Wohlgemuth
It’s by no means controversial to point out that women are disproportionately affected by many of the challenges facing vulnerable populations in reducing hunger — challenges such as climate change and malnutrition.
In Tanzania, where the World Food Programme (WFP) assisted 28,500 smallholder farmers last year, women account for more than half of the people WFP serves in its bid to develop a better future for people at risk of going hungry.
WFP focuses on tackling both the underlying causes and the symptoms of hunger, so that the people can reach their full potential. Below, three women reveal how WFP’s work is impacting their lives:
Hilda Madeje
A single mother of four from Dodoma in Central Tanzania, Hilda receives WFP support through our Climate Smart Agriculture Project.
“Being a sorghum farmer is in my blood. My parents farmed sorghum and so did my grandparents. The same techniques were passed generation to generation.
“While the way we farmed has stayed the same, slowly the rainy seasons have become shorter and more unpredictable. At first, we thought it was just a bad couple of seasons. We were waiting for a rebound year, but it never happened. I was at a loss. Farming sorghum was my livelihood.
“Two years ago, WFP came and started working with us. We learned how to better prepare and maintain our farms and how to manage our harvests to reduce losses. They also brought a new type of sorghum seed that works better with less rain.
“This last season, we did not get much rain again, but still I was surprised. My harvest did okay. I was not only able to harvest enough to feed my family, but I was able to sell some to make repairs on the house and send my oldest daughter to a short course on how to use a computer.”
Husna David
Husna is truck driver who works for a private transportation company which transports food for WFP into Tanzania’s neighbouring countries.
“In 2019, I attended a two-day training with WFP. We learned about managing cargo as well as essential documents and custom clearances. It was unlike other trainings.
“It was about more than driving. We learned how to eat more nutritiously and how better nutrition, health and rest can make me a better driver. We even covered how to protect ourselves from diseases like HIV and Ebola which are a real danger for us considering all the people we meet on the road.
“From when I was 19 years old, I wanted to be a driver. I was a single mum working at a big sugar company. While there, I saw a woman driving a huge tractor carrying 200 tons of sugar cane and I was inspired. I saw it myself.
No one can tell me women cannot be drivers. I knew right there that I wanted to be like her. I wanted to drive.
I left that job, practised and got my license. After eight months and visiting five companies, I convinced one to give me a chance, and I got my first job as a driver.
After almost 20 years of driving, my favourite is transporting cargo to different countries and meeting other drivers. We cook together and tell stories. They always ask me to cook rice because we cook it best in Tanzania.
Hawa Mahumbi
Hawa, is a member of Pambana Village Community Banking (VICOBA) under WFP’s Boresha Lishe Nutrition Project in Singida.
“I always wanted to go into business selling at the Njia Panda market, but my harvests were never enough to go more than once or twice a year. Sometimes the rain was not enough, and sometimes the harvest was good, but the price was too low to make any profit.
“I needed to get out of this cycle of barely getting by, so I joined the VICOBA. After paying my dues, I was able to take out a loan of US$ 40 which allows me to buy vegetables from our community garden and my neighbours and then travel 80 kilometres to Njia Panda once a week and set up shop. I make about US$ 15 on a good day. The extra income helps us at home to provide our nine children with more nutritious food and to buy school supplies.
The above WFP activities are possible through generous donor support from: UPS Foundation (Driver Training); Ireland (Climate Smart Agriculture Project); EU and Japan (Boresha Lishe nutrition).
