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How we use your donations
Robert V. Lange
Greetings!

I’m writing you from the U.S. I’ll soon return to Tanzania.

As you know, our staff there is very strong. And the energy and commitment of the people we work with drives us forward.

When I am not in Tanzania, everything continues. But of course, I like to participate and join in.

Thank you to all who helped out with the Annual Appeal. Together with contributions from our ongoing donors, we're putting these funds to good use.

 In addition to all the outcomes in Project work, read below to learn more about the impact of the funds themselves and how these investments affect the local economy.

With appreciation,

Twende!

February, 2023
Keeping the funds near the people
Led by Kisioki Moitiko and Mesha Singolyo, the Tanzanian Project Supervisors are deeply committed to keeping the power of the funds near the people. Money does not drift away in excessive overhead, administration, or expensive conferences.

We employ a large group of people who do so many good things. They keep the factory productive and care for the cattle at the feedlot.  

We also employ staff who assist Mesha and Kisioki with the many small and large practical tasks that need to get done. 

Staff members serve as watchmen at our campus, drive the tractor and land rover, manufacture stoves and install solar power equipment, and work with the villagers to install the water sanitation systems.

We pay good salaries to these hard working people. Rather than expecting people to volunteer, we believe that working for the community should itself be the basis of a decent living.

We believe working for the community should be the basis of a decent living.
Manufacturing and the local economy
Each stove requires 120 bricks for installation. Two portable brick-making presses serve this need. These are operated by a team of employees who have become brick manufacturing experts.

They produce bricks at our factory and when it is best, travel to our new stove installation locations. They bring the portable machines with them to produce bricks right on site.

By making the bricks ourselves and paying the workers well, we guarantee quality. This also ensures that the money we spend for bricks enters the economy through the workers and not their employers.

We also manufacture our custom firebox at our own factory. It would be terribly expensive to have it manufactured by an outside metal-working company. And as with the bricks, little of the money would go directly to the workers.

By investing in the right hand-powered machines and electric welding equipment, we are able to make sure the funds from our donors and stove customers go directly to benefit the working people.
Circulating the funds in the community
In addition to the benefits your donations bring to Project results, the money itself has great value in the community.

People from programs like ours, including myself, often point to our technological and social products.  

Of course we are proud to speak of the clean water, the healthier indoor air, the electric light at night, the empowered women running their businesses, the cow fodder we make from industrial waste, the help with cattle in bad weather, and the educational opportunities we are providing.

It is important to remember that the funds themselves that we spend here in Tanzania are a powerful good. The funds circulate and multiply their value many times.  

We recognize this value. When we need raw materials we purchase locally. We make successful efforts to be sure the distribution of funds starts in the hands of the rural villagers--the working people,. We believe this is the best approach to ensure that funds--those that you generously provide--begin their long productive circulation in the society.
Meet Shabani Senge
We are very pleased to introduce you to Mr. Shabani Senge

He is one of five people in Monduli Town who work to produce the fireboxes for the ICSEE stove.

Since 2015, he's progressed from working as a helper in a steel shop in town to being a supervisor for stove production in the Stove Factory.

Working with just one other person, he is able to produce up to seven fireboxes a day, ready for installation to improve smoky, unhealthy homes.

Thank you, Shabani, and all the Project leaders and staff who make a difference.

Thanks to you for providing the funds that get all of this moving!