Chawamo | Permact - Actitud Permanente
Channel: Permact - Actitud Permanente
Date: 2016-05-07

Description by Shadrack John: Dar Es Salaam. Capital big, dirty, noisy Tanzania. CHAWAMO a group of women with character and determination. They have a cooperative cleaning your neighborhood and form micro-credit group. An example of self-organization, of how to take the initiative without waiting for the arrival of no savior on a white horse. Mothers fighting for their children.
Chawamo has managed to grant local authorities to handle garbage collection (not selective recycling here has not arrived) in your area. Every day, six workers hired by the association, go through homes and businesses collecting waste, accompanied by two women of the association, they charge the neighbors for us would be a waste tax. Sometimes with gloves, sometimes not, workers put the garbage in bags in a car carrying two wheels to a container then take a truck.

In Tanzania widows receive no aid or pension, which increases their risk of poverty and social exclusion and their children. Most of the women in the group have their own mini-business that try to take up the family. Asha kitchen and sells about three kilos of rice each day. Asia makes and sells soap. In addition, women in this group participate in another activity, typical of small economies in this country: the Vicoba (village community bank). Each week make a small contribution to a common pot and can borrow only backed by the confidence of the partners. This system self-managed and self-funded microcredit, has a long tradition in Tanzania and in other African countries, and is, and has always been primarily a women's institution. They themselves tell us that these groups do not work with men, that they are drunk loans, which do not have the sense of responsibility required.
But revenues fall short even with the support of Vicoba. So women were looking for an activity larger and stable albeit unattainable for each of them individually, collectively could cover.
Before taking them over, garbage collection was in charge of a company that no longer fulfill their function, but with minimal sanitation. And a troubled neighborhood became an opportunity for them. Local authorities gave their vote of confidence, and so began a project of hope for these women and beneficial for the community.
Thus, women combine ease own needs and seek benefits to society more broadly. Furthermore, despite being part of a disadvantaged group, the association identifies other groups they spend some of their time and resources as AIDS and cancer patients and street children. When asked for their goals, we talk about creating jobs or improving the health situation in the neighborhood, to strengthen the project and improve the conditions ... and when you can, to have an income for themselves. When asked about the benefits they supposed Chawamo, we speak not only expect an income, but the support of the rest of the group and who are accompanied and identified with others.
Has anyone here been to empower these women, or train them or to design a more or less participatory project with funds from the European Union or the foundation Coke under his arm. They sit by themselves every Saturday meeting discussed what we have to discuss, contribute what that week can bring to the project and pointing in his notebook, hand, unsophisticated, no computer, no write objectives, budget, and strategies evaluation. Sometimes we get the feeling that everything is very complicated, you have to be prepared and all necessary studies. We live in titulitis complexed and hyper-specialization, trying to give much importance to our work (employee), making it seem as complicated and essential as possible. But there are examples indicating that self-will, humility, common sense and ability to cooperate, coupled with good values ​​and confidence may be enough to keep up with what the group wants.
It is always difficult to talk about sex, but this is presented as a project deeply feminine. Cooperative, supportive and sensitive to the environment. Horizontal and ambitious in the best sense of the word. For us, it is the image of women fighters, tireless, always take everything and everyone ahead despite suffering from a chronic lack of opportunities. And also, always make looking out, giving to others. It may be a skewed perception, but left there invaded by the certainty that we are women who change this world.

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