Friends of Lindi are committed to helping people help themselves – one of the ways we have done this is by providing financial and intellectual support, particularly to women who are often left single parents to bring up their children.
By supporting such women, they often become role models and mentors for others, who want to start their own business. Sustainability is a key component in any help we give.
Below are some examples of how we have helped women in Lindi. Our trusted partners on the ground in Lindi can identify any women needing help and financial assistance to make a sustainable living and support their families.
Aisha
Aisha was making cakes and chapatis to earn some money for her family. She used our donation to pay for the lease on a small tin premises near her house. Together with her sister they expanded the cooking and built up more customers and a bigger menu.
Following further advice, they agreed to change from cooking with charcoal to using gas stoves. We bought 2 stoves alongside cylinders which immediately cut down costs by 50%. The addition of a pressure cooker further reduced cooking times of maharage beans that need to be cooked for a long period to soften them.
We then financed a cement floor, repaired walls to keep dust out and added new tables and chairs and extra plates and utensils. With the help of a Tanzanian friend we went through a simple costs vs sales process and produced flyers and business cards to distribute to local offices.
Mama wa Nuru
These ladies had been assisted by a Japanese organisation to make small jewellery and items from local patterned cloth.
In 2019 we donated an extra sewing machine so that more women could learn how to sew. As the pandemic took hold in 2020 they turned their skills to making masks for local people, which in turn benefitted the wider community.
