In April 2015, I travelled to Zambia for four weeks on my own. I spent a few days out in Mpongwe, then Serenje.
Mpongwe Group
In April 2015, I, Marianne Stamm, travelled to Zambia for four weeks on my own. I spent a few days out in Mpongwe, then Serenje.visiting with some of the farmers that are recipients of the microloans that the initial funds sent from Canada, some of them through Charis, funded. Fields in Mpongwe are looking quite poorly due to the poor rainfall pattern this rainy season. For the first time in many years, some families will be looking at a decisive short fall in food security. I noticed one especially poor field, and remembered that when we first toured the fields, most of them looked like that. Now they mostly look good, except that the yield is poor because of the rains. Some things have definitely changed for the better. Loan repayment has become more of an issue, especially in the last three years since new farmers were added. It looks like inadequate training, especially on the financial side, is part of the problem. When asked to list those who profited from the loans, leaders David Muwalya and Jessy Mpupulwa, to their own surprise, came up with about 20 names of people who have definitely moved forward. That would mean that half of the farmers helped have improved. In a discussion with one of the most successful small farmers, Jasinta, that was confirmed. That’s not a bad rate of success. (picture: field tour in Serenje)
Serenje Farm Program:
Jessy, his wife Loveness, and myself spent a day with the Serenje farmers, first meeting together at the church, where their leader July gave a report of the microloans program since its inception in the farming year of 2010/11. The leaders in Serenje also struggle with the repayment of loans. Interest is mostly paid but not principal. The Serenje fields though, looked really good, even this year. Touring a few of their farms, I could see a marked growth, especially with Ben, who started farming the year the microloans were first given out. He’s really moved ahead, even managing to send his oldest children to grade 12, his fields have grown too. But he too has only repaid the interest on the loan each year. So a lot of ‘why’ was asked among the leaders and myself. One thing we all had to see was that we grossly overestimate the ability of most farmers to understand money, to deal with it. We think we teach them how to budget, but one day is not going to change very many people’s lives, especially if they hardly read or write. It takes a long time. Also, many people are preselling their next harvest in January at far below cost, to get money to pay school fees in a period where money is scarce. When they harvest, the money is already gone. Few seem to understand that they would have been better off not to plant.
Things are rarely cut and dried and easy to understand. There are good reasons for all behaviour, if one takes the time to dig deeply enough. It’s up to the leaders at Mpongwe/Serenje to work out the problems. It’s been their program for some time now, not ours, but they still want our input and feel accountable to us. That is probably not a bad thing.
I certainly enjoyed my time in Zambia immensely. It was great to be with friends, and especially gratifying to visit those who have really moved forward since we first had input in their lives. It's those people we keep going back for.
Marianne Stamm