Fatuma is a widow with four children. She was a temporary worker in a warehouse where corn and beans were sorted and packed for export. Previously, the beans and corn had been treated with preservative chemicals that so severely affected Fatuma's health that she often had to go to the hospital for treatment.
As a temporary worker, Fatuma received no protection whatsoever, such as gloves or masks, has no health insurance and receives no other social benefits.
Fatuma earned 3,000 TSh (1.5 USD) per day for the hazardous work and had to spend a large portion of it on her medical treatment. She couldn't change jobs because she had no alternative.
We supported Fatuma and her family by providing them with food, covering Fatuma's medical expenses, and paying her rent arrears from the past 12 months. We also paid off her daughter Hawa's and son Rashidi's school debts and gave her start-up capital for a food kiosk. However, the landlord quickly raised the rent, making the kiosk unprofitable. Fortunately, Fatuma has since found stable employment as a domestic worker. However, her salary of 100,000 Turkish Lira is quite low, and she sometimes struggles to pay her rent. If Hawa could become financially independent, it would provide her with much-needed relief.
Timeline & Updates
2019
Hawa has now completed her tour guiding course (she took her final exam in January 2019), but her English is not yet good enough to guide tourists. She is attending an English course with John Umbella, and we are currently trying to arrange an internship for her so she can gain practical experience.
2020
Fatuma was employed in the home of a wealthy Indian family. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, her employer returned to India and Fatuma lost her job.
Hawa worked for a small safari company. Glory, the owner, had no clients and couldn't pay Hawa, so she recommended we give her some start-up capital to help her become independent.
Rashidi is in the 10th grade (Form 3) at the state school. He already has a sponsor.
2021
Fatuma works at the bean market and usually earns only 1,500–3,000 TSh per day (approximately 6 hours of work). Because of her low income, she continues to struggle to pay her rent (40,000 TSh every three months in advance). She currently owes five months' rent again. Fatuma is researching what other women are doing successfully so she can start a smaller, more profitable business herself. Moving to a cheaper apartment is also being considered. We are continuing to advise her.
Her daughter Hawa got married in December, but her husband is unemployed. Hawa earns about 5,000 TSh a day selling food in the city and has covered two months' rent for her mother – that's all she can manage.
The family's diet is very simple (tea with mandazi in the morning, and usually just ugali with some vegetables or yogurt milk in the evening). Lunch is only provided for their son Rashidi on school days.
Rashidi will now attend Form 4 (11th grade). His education is secured through a regular sponsor. We will buy him much-needed shoes and a backpack for the start of the school year.
2022/2023
Fatuma is in good health. She continues to sort beans (approximately 3,000 TSh/day) and buys water buckets (5,000 TSh), which she sells in the countryside for 7,500 TSh. After her mother's death in September, she had to use her business capital for the funeral; now she lacks the funds for new buckets. Rashidi has completed 10th grade; his grades aren't good enough for a state school, but they are for college. He wants to do a three-year training program to become a tour operator in Moshi—the foundation is hesitant due to a lack of funds and his English skills. Hawa's daughter, Naira, was born healthy in June; the family is doing well.
2024
Fatuma has a leg that was damaged in childhood (after an accident with a bakery rack) and is sometimes paralyzed. Because her health insurance has expired, she cannot have it treated. She also develops skin problems from preservative chemicals when sorting beans – a cream covered by her insurance used to help, but now she can only touch the beans as little as possible and wash her hands after work. She needs 150,000 Tanzanian shillings in start-up capital for her old bucket business in the village – her snack fry shop wasn't profitable. Her son, Rashidi, is studying hotel management, but she couldn't afford his internships in Dar es Salaam, Nairobi, and Zanzibar.
2025
Fatuma has severe problems with her knee and hip – she can't walk properly, can't carry anything heavy, and can no longer straighten her leg. A doctor advised her not to walk so much, but she has no choice. She can't afford necessary examinations like X-rays without health insurance. She continues to sort beans, earning about 5,000 TSh per day on a monthly rent of 40,000 TSh. Her daughter Hawa had already paid off her debts, but now Fatuma has again accrued rent arrears totaling 170,000 TSh (50,000 TSh plus a 120,000 TSh deposit). Her greatest wish is health insurance – the cheapest government-run policy costs 240,000 TSh per year, but it doesn't cover X-rays.
Hawa is doing well with her little daughter Naira.
Fatuma's son Rashid has completed his hotel management studies and is undertaking an unpaid mandatory internship at the 5-star Gran Meliá hotel in Arusha. The internship ends at the end of February. He lacks the funds for the return trip (3,000–5,000 Turkish Lira per taxi) for the 12 late shifts per month. A donation will now cover his travel expenses until the end of his internship.