Kilimanjaro, TZ – Family making sacrifices to improve young siblings’ education – 24 Oct 2015

When a family’s resources are limited they must make difficult decisions about the opportunities each family member is afforded. In the case of the OBM family, the older siblings are sacrificing their own education so that their younger siblings have an opportunity to receive a good education.

The father of the OBM family died on 2 May 2013. This left the mother of five children with only one income source. Her oldest son left school and began tending livestock to make up for the economic loss. The second oldest son decided to study mechanics at a local vocational school so he could live at home and reduce the amount of time before he started making money. The other three children in the family are in grades 10, 7, and 5. The family is hoping their combined efforts will allow the youngest three children to go further in their educations.

In October 2014 the family started an organic vegetable garden with Lishe Bora. The garden has benefited the family’s educational goals by providing the children with a daily source of vegetables to keep them healthy. The garden has also boosted the family’s income. When they joined the organic gardening program their monthly income was 40,000 TZS (US $19.05). Now, Mama OBM estimates the family harvests and eats 30 kilograms of vegetables per month – 30 kilograms of vegetables costs 15,000 TZS (US $7.14). She also sells an average of 16,000 TZS (US $7.62) of vegetables each month.

When they first started their garden the family struggled with red ants. Red ants are a common pest in the area. Through research and trial and error the Lishe Bora Garden Shop has learned that ashes are a low-cost remedy to this problem. Immediately after planting – before the red ants have discovered the seedlings – a thin layer of ash is spread at the base of the plants. This prevents the ants from getting close enough to the young plants to discover them. Continuing this practice for a full month ensures the plants are old enough and strong enough to withstand the pest.

Since the family started their garden they have sold 170,000 TZS (US $80.95) of vegetables. They have invested this money in livestock and now own 11 chickens. They are breeding the chickens to continue growing the project. The family is optimistic that they can continue growing the project and increase their income from selling eggs. They hope to eventually purchase goats to further increase their income.

Improving education is the motivation for the family’s efforts. Selling vegetables and raising livestock are the tools Mama OBM and her family have to accomplish this goal.