Category Archives: Community

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Ecological Restoration Project (ERP)

Category : Climate , Community , Ongoing

Southern Highland Participatory Organization (SHIPO) is the initiator of a tree planting project at Ilembula ward based on Moringa species for ecological restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation.  In collaboration with Sustainable Environment and Habitats Resilience Group farmers (SEHR), and local communities in Wanging’ombe district organized and carried out an event geared on December 9th and 29th, 2023 whereby education and tree-planting was core activities for furnishing the event. More than 3,440 Moringa plants were successfully planted in the community farms. A special thanks to Igula village government who generously provided 6 acres of land for the plantation and being instrumental in making this project possible. Additionally, SHIPO’s involvement in the whole process of organizing, training facilitation, providing Moringa seedlings and labor force showcased their sincere commitment to environmental sustainability.

 


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Regenerative Garden

Category : Climate , Community , Ongoing

Multi-stakeholders Partnership Project in Climate Action, Njombe started in September 2023 by carrying out stakeholder engagement activities, raising awareness and participating in different climate, and environmental related programs. To enhance uptake of regenerative technologies to participant communities, pilots’ programs was to be co-designed, and managed as commons. Regenerative garden is among the pilots which was co-designed and now managed as commons by participant communities, other people come to work, learn, and replicate the same to the areas. The plot contain four segments; animals segment (rabbits & chickens), agro-forestry, kitchen garden, and composting segment (for production of compost manure). Congratulation to participant communities who work, get some token in exchange of effort and time they spend (to be refunded during harvest time), and all who have considered to replicate the technology.
We always say “karibu sana ujifunze namna ya kutekeleza kilimo rejelevu katika eneo dogo 20m*30m ili kujiwekea uhakika wa chakula salama, kutunza mazingira and kujiongezea kipato”.

 

 


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16.09.2023 World Cleanup Day

Category : Climate , Community

The event was initiated by SHIPO, and jointly facilitated by climate action Njombe stakeholders, and Njombe town council (NTC). Cleanup activities were carried out at National Housing Street, specifically at one of the illegal dumping places located near the stream. About 300 people participated in the event and successful collected about 3000Kgs of wastes.

Community members together with SHIPO staff holding together a cleanliness exercise.


Audit Accountability Initiative project launches brilliantly

Category : Community , Education

SHIPO in collaboration with WAJIBU Institute of Public Accountability launched a special project on accountability. The project was officially introduced in both Makambako Town Council and Njombe District Commissioner’s office on the 21st and 23rd March 2023 respectively. The project is an initiative designed to address accountability challenges pertaining local government system failure that hinders implementation of audit recommendations issued by the Controller and Auditor General. The project is a learning initiative on knowing what kind of communication is effective to trigger stakeholder’s action, how do different stakeholders act and behave during engagement sessions, why non state actors engage or dis-engage in demanding for accountability, how does different actors play their roles in pushing for implementation of CAG’s recommendations and on what it take for the government stakeholders to act on audit recommendations.

The project will be implemented in Makambako Town Council involving 2 primary schools namely Azimio and Idofi. Specifically this 6 month project aims to:

  • Improve government allocation, disbursement, and effective spending on basic education infrastructure.
  • Improve school infrastructure as measured by Basic Education Statistics in Tanzania (BEST).
  • Improve processes and mechanisms to improve the condition of the education infrastructure (E.g. Needs assessment, articulated plan, timely inspections, and follow up of inspection report / recommendations and quality assurance).
  • Obtain action from governments on the implementation of the CAG’s recommendations
  • Improve communication on implementation of CAG’s recommendations among various oversight actors, including civil society groups, media, and legislators
  • Prepare an advocacy paper that clearly defines the proper line of responsibilities and accountability of who and who are in the implementation of the CAG recommendations as far as primary school infrastructure is concerned.
  • Document lessons on effective communication that triggers stakeholders’ action towards implementation of CAGs recommendation. The introduction sessions were attended by government officials including 11 from Makambako Town Council and 3 from Njombe District Commissioner’s office. In both levels, the respective authorities accepted the project and promised superb cooperation.

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280 Mivengi planted by the Neighbours at SHIPO catchment area where the spring leads to Nyakamtwe River

Category : Climate , Community , Ongoing

Tanzania Forest Services Agency (TFS) in Njombe is providing seedlings of different tree species for
free so we could not miss the opportunity of taking some and gathering the neighbours to protect a
water catchment that for the last years is under pressure: maize plantations within the area,
construction of houses, a new fuel station built upstream, pines…

Equipped with hoes and boots, street neighbours, Lumena group members (Environmental group
from Melinze street) and staff working at SHIPO office headed early morning to the catchment area.
The area is quite broad: we started in the swamp and then continued planting along the households
of SHIPO street. 2.5 hours of getting muddy hands, some sweat and connecting with colleagues and
neighbours while doing something meaningful.

It might sound too typical: we need trees to act against climate change. But in fact, that is it: we need
trees. We need them to capture carbon, to protect the water sources, to maintain biodiversity, to
provide food for so many species, to maintain the local (micro) climate, to provide shadow…in fact, to
regenerate the Earth.

But we are aware that exercises like today´s are not enough. We need cooperation and agreements
among community members to manage commons like this water source. This catchment belongs to
two different wards: one of the sides is part of Mjimwema ward, while the other belongs to Njombe
Mjini. Today´s exercise only involved neighbours on one side. Apparently, talking to the other side
about protecting the area brings some tensions: they are different leaders, the land owners do not
live in the area…”changamoto” (challenge). That is why we need Multi-stakeholder Partnerships.
Tuendelee! #ClimateActionNjombe


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PROGRESS ACTIVITY FOR LATRINE CONSTRACTION MWEMBETOGWA B PRIMARY SCHOOL IN MAKAMBAKO TOWN COUNCIL

Category : Community , Education , Ongoing

1.0. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background information

Mwembetogwa B primary school is one of the schools built by SHIPO in cooperation with the community members of Makambako town ship around 2006 and handed over to the community. In 2007 the school was officially opened starting with pupils who were split from Mwembetogwa making this one to be Mwembetogwa B. Following the good infrastructures built, pupils have been performing better to make so many pupils be selected to join with secondary schools around Njombe Region and through out the country. However since SHIPO handed over the school to the community it has still been maintaining friendship through visitation.

In one of the visits SHIPO managed to learn that there is rapid increase of the number of pupils in the school, but the drop holes are not enough for the increasing number of pupils and even those available are of no good quality, there fore this made SHIPO find a need to support these pupils with building drop holes in cooperation with the community members.

During visits we realized some other things that are going well and some that might need to be considered for rehabilitation and the general school information as shown here bellow;

  • Head teachers name: Frowin o. Haule
  • School registration number: EM. 15709
  • Examination number: PS
  • Total number of pupils 589 (Male 270 and 319 Female)
  • The school has 11 teachers (2 Males and 9 Females)

 2.0 Good things observed;

  • All standard IV,V,VI and VII master 3R.
  • The school have 9 classes to accommodate the available number of pupils.
  • Pupils get lunch while at school contributed by parents as follows;
  • 40 liters of maize to every pupil per year.
  • 14 liters of beans for every pupil per year.
  • 10 liters of rice for every pupil per year and
  • 20,000/= every parent. This helps to buy salt, cooking oil, paying the cooker and the school watchman.
  • They have a borehole as a source of water for uses at school
  • The school have 2 blocks of drop holes, 1 for boys pupils and 1 for girls pupils, each block has 8 drop holes good for pupils use, and more over each block have 1 drop hole for the disabled pupils.
  • Lunch is provided at school through parents contributions (parents contribute maize, beans, rice, salt and cooking oil.

3.0. Challenges observed;

  • The school have 2 blocks of drop holes, 1 for boys pupils and 1 for girls pupils, each block has 16 drop holes to make a total of 32 drop holes in the school but they are not good for pupils use, and do not consider disabled pupils though they are not there in the school.
  • They do not have school library for reference books.
  • They do not have kitchen with dining hall where they can cook and eat.
  • No special room for girls pupils.
  • Books are also a challenge to meet pupils ratio.

4.0. Way forward

 SHIPO as one of the stakeholders in education and child protection, in cooperation with the community members of Makambako have so far started the processes of contraction of toilet at Mwembetogwa B. primary school as one of its contribution to the community in valuing education and child protection.

5.0 Some photos taken at the site

Figure 1&2:  Contraction materials bricks and sand collected

Figure 3: The level of pit latrine dug up

6.0. Conclusion

Activities  for collection of sand, bricks, gravels, stones and building  the pit are still going on by SHIPO masons and  the community members of Makambako town ship as beneficiaries of the project.


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PROGRESS ACTIVITY ON ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECT AT ILEMBULA IN WANGING’OMBE DISTRICT

Category : Climate , Community , Ongoing

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background information

Southern Highland Participatory Organization (SHIPO) is a non-governmental organization based in Njombe Region. The organization works in three Districts which are Njombe, Wanging’ombe and Ludewa, SHIPO also works in partnership with other organizations in and outside Njombe Region in providing services to the community. SHIPO involves it self 100% to help the government in solving different challenges as part of its responsibility to the community, however SHIPO supports local communities in rural and urban in their efforts to improve their standards and alleviate poverty.

Some projects that SHIPO implements include building infrastructures like; class rooms, teachers houses, kitchen with dining halls, blocks of drop holes for pupils and teachers, building health centers, contraction of gravity water systems and bore holes and other simple technologies, provision of education on health, hygiene and sanitation, getting safe water, rain water harvest and retaining water into the ground.

SHIPO also has a long track of records implementing projects in the education and health sectors. HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, gender and good governance are cross cutting issues taken up in all projects.

More than that SHIPO works to struggle against global environmental issues-climate change where as on 16th December 2022, SHIPO with the community of Ilembula, started the process of establishing Moringa tree nursery at Ilembula village in Ilembula ward -Wanging’ombe District. The activity started with the initiation meeting where by a team of organized farmers who were ready and willing to cooperate with SHIPO in implementing the project were identified. Immediately    after the identification of organized farmers, training on nursery preparation was done, this was accompanied by planting of seeds in nursery. On 20th January 2023, the project was introduced to the government authority where by the District representative sent on behalf of the district Executive Director, ward officers, village leaders and members of the group identified during the initiation meeting attended the project introductory meeting at Ilembula ward hall. On 31st January 2023, there was a conduction of training on planting and management of the moringa tree, but also good governance training was done for the purpose of making proper supervision of the project implementation. On 13th Feb. 2023 a surprise visit was done just to see the progress of the project.

        1.2. Objectives of the visit

  • To see how people are motivated with the project by observing their participation in planting seedlings in farms.
  • To validate the supervision processes during distribution of seedlings to group members and leaders.
  • To validate the number of seedlings planted and geographically to know the fields planted with seedlings so as to simplify monitoring activities.

2.0. Achievements

  • People were found planting seedlings at their farms with a very high motivation.
  • People are collecting seedlings from the nursery to their farms ready for planting, is also a sign of motivation of people to the project.
  • 4144 seedlings were already distributed to community members by 14 Jan 2023.

2.1.   Challenges

  • Moringa tree is very much interested by animals like cows and goats some thing that was seen threatening its existence in farms.

2.2. Way forward

  • They went back referring to what was agreed in the training meeting, that if somebody’s cattle will be found eating moringa the owner will be responsible according to set out rules during the training and the owners of farms have fence their farms so as to maintain the safety of moringa trees.

Picture 1: Moringa tree seedlings are packed ready to be taken to the farm for planting, the packing goes hand in hand with registration of the name and number of seedlings taken.

Picture 2&3: Group member at their group farm planting moringa tree collectively & Monitoring of the planted seedlings by SHIPO staffs and community members representatives is going on.

4.0. Conclusion

The planting of moringa tree is still going on at Ilembula ward. The Ilembula village authority and  Ilembula village environmental committee having realized the necessity of moringa tree and the initiatives of the group members towards planting moringa tree, have decided to provide them with an area to plant moringa tree which will be owned by the group it self.


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ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION PROJECT

Category : Climate , Community

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background information

Southern Highland Participatory Organization (SHIPO) is a non-governmental organization based in Njombe Region. The organization works in three Districts which are Njombe, Wnging’ombe and Ludewa, SHIPO also works in partnership with other organizations in and outside Njombe Region in providing services to the community. SHIPO involves it self 100% to help the government in solving different challenges as part of its responsibility to the community, however SHIPO supports local communities in rural and urban in their efforts to improve their standards and alleviate poverty.

 

Some projects that SHIPO implements include building infrastructures like; class rooms, teachers houses, kitchen with dining halls, blocks of drop holes for pupils and teachers, building health centers, contraction of gravity water systems and bore holes and other simple technologies, provision of education on health, hygiene and sanitation, getting safe water, rain water harvest and retaining water into the ground.

 

SHIPO also has a long track of records implementing projects in the education and health sectors. HIV/AIDS, COVID-19, gender and good governance are cross cutting issues taken up in all projects.

 

More than that SHIPO works to struggle against global environmental issues-climate change where as on 16th December 2022, SHIPO with the community of Ilembula, started the process of establishing Moringa tree nursery at Ilembula village in Ilembula ward -Wanging’ombe District. The activity started with the initiation meeting where by a team of organized farmers who were ready and willing to cooperate with SHIPO in implementing the project were identified. Immediately    after the identification of organized farmers, training on nursery preparation was done, this was accompanied by planting of seeds in nursery. On 20th January 2023, the project was introduced to the government authority where by the District representative sent on behalf of the district Executive Director, ward officers, village leaders and members of the group identified during the initiation meeting attended the project introductory meeting at Ilembula ward hall. On 31st January 2023, there was a conduction of training on planting and management of the moringa tree, but also good governance training was done for the purpose of making proper supervision of the project implementation. This summary report aims to explain what was done during training meeting.

        1.2. Objectives of the training

Following the current global environment issue-climate change which is leading to occurrence of different disasters and the importance of moringa tree, SHIPO with the community of Ilembula decided to cooperate in planting moringa trees as a way of combating climate and perhaps in future the product be a source of income to the community members of Ilembula ward and the neighbour s. basically the training aimed at the following;

  • To train people on how to prepare farms, planting moringa trees and how to take seedlings from the nursery to the farms.
  • Train people on how to maintain and conserve trees, but here it focused on moringa trees the target trees in the area.
  • Training on the supervision of the project (Good governance).

2.0 Achievements

  • The training was attended by all expected/targeted members and potential for the success of the project.
  • The training was facilitated by the right experts of forests and environment from the District and SHIPO.
  • The training was also attended by a forest  retired officer who had great and interesting contributions towards his experience on moringa tree ( he calls a tree of great wonders in the world)

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PROTECTED AND CONSTRUCTED WATER COLLECTION POINTS AT JOSHONI STREET IN MJIMWEMA WARD-NJOMBE TOWN

  • Background

AUARA (117B) project supports the Tanzania community to supply safe and clean water in rural and urban areas through providing materials to the people like tanks. Also ensure safety of different sources of water like Springs and rivers by fencing around sources.

Njombe Urban Water and Sanitation Authority (NJUWASA) is the responsible organ to supply water within Njombe town. However, the network is often not reliable, cutting down and breaking of water infrastructures are common. Although Joshoni street in Mjimwema ward is within the Njombe town council, often the neighborhoods do not get piped water supply, especially during dry period (June to December). This affects the households suffer from shortage of water service. 

Due to this situation, many neighbors’ fetch water using buckets from an open spring in the area. Several ponds have been dug to retain water and make it easier for the neighbors to fetch it. In the area, solid wastes are dumped and it is common to see livestock (cows, goats) grazing and some cultivation activities going on. These, significantly increase the risk of the water source to be polluted and hence not being safe for households’ consumption.

  • Objective
  • The main objective of the project was to hand over the protected and constructed three water points connected to the intake for Joshoni community members living near the area. 
  • Insisted the community to protecting the spring area through covering of the intake and ponds, making maintenance in fencing the area;
  • Tested the quality of water in three water points connected to the intake.



  • Beneficiaries, profile

The beneficiaries of the project are those who get water service from the spring area when the piped water is not available. 2,100 people now benefit from the project: 1,500 are neighbors of Joshoni street; 150 students from Mpechi Vocational College and more than 400 students from Mpechi Secondary school.

  •  Impact and sources of verification

The final impact of the project improved the living standards of the community of Joshoni street in Mjimwema ward. Thanks for improving access to clean and safe water in the spring area, the risk of health problems of the community members will be reduced. It will also be easier, safer and faster for the people (mainly children and old people)


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Mgala Beekeeping

Category : Community

Mgala village is among the villages in Njombe Region.Mgala village is under administration of Njombe Town Council.Though it is administered by Njombe Town Council but geographically the village is in a typical rural area about 75km from Njombe town. Villagers are mostly practicing subsistence farming.Poverty is still a challenge in this village,its even more challenge to vulnerable groups like widows,orphans etc.Apart of having poor community members but the village is blessed of having natural forests and arable land. The Total number of people living in Mgala village is 370 where there are 142 men and 228 women.

Other objectives of the project include; Adding value to natural forest, Provide knowledge to poor women and foster parents on entrepreneurship and bee keeping skills, and to create small income generating projects through beekeeping in the village.

Project components

The project consists of two components:

1.Training of the Mgala Women and fosters parents Group on Entrepreneurship and beekeeping

2.Improving income generation activities through beekeeping.