I'm a journalist from Charleston, South Carolina, who has traveled several times to Tanzania for a book about Dilan Ellegala, an American neurosurgeon who's trying to teach brain surgery in the African bush. While doing this project, I learned about a group of village "mamas" in the town of Haydom who formed a catering group to celebrate weddings and other events. To get off the ground, they need some start-up capital, and a group of us are trying to help.
Busara means "wisdom" in Swahili, and these women are smart, creative and ambitious. With a few thousand dollars to buy tents, cookware and other supplies, they will be able to create a new business in their town of about 20,000.
The women decided to create this business after Dilan and Carin Hoek, a Dutch pediatrician who worked at Haydom's missionary hospital, were married on the village airstrip. More than 4,000 people attended, and the women were in charge of cooking. It was a huge success, and it gave them the confidence to start their own business.
Busara is run, in part by Mama Naman, who is the wife of Dr. Nafteli Naman, a radiologist at Haydom Lutheran Hospital and a respected town elder. Mama Naman also runs a restaurant in Haydom.
Your donations will have a ripple effect. Haydom is growing but it is still dependent largely on Haydom Lutheran Hospital and small-scale agriculture. People in the region make an average of $2 to $5 a day. The town has no bank to help budding entrepreneurs start businesses. Your help will enable many families to live better lives, as well as help diversify Haydom's economy.
Though very remote, Haydom's hospital has hosted many expats from Norway, Germany and the United States, and many of these volunteers know the Namans. This campaign also comes at a pivotal time in Haydom, as Haydom Lutheran Hospital is at risk of losing a major source of its funding next year.
Here is Mama Naman's budget for supplies -- and what your money will buy for them!
Cooking pots |
20 |
$475.00 |
Thermoses |
10 |
$200.00 |
Large tent and stakes |
1 |
$500.00 |
Tables small |
6 |
$200.00 |
Tables big |
2 |
$300.00 |
Food warmers |
7 |
$656.25 |
Serving dishes |
5 |
$140.63 |
Water drums |
2 |
$62.50 |
Chairs |
400 |
$187.50 |
Plates |
500 |
$312.50 |
Spoons |
500 |
$78.75 |
Cups |
204 |
$191.25 |
Buckets |
15 |
$37.50 |
Handwashing vessels |
4 |
$37.50 |
Serving spoons |
15 |
$31.25 |
Storage area |
1 |
$1,400.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
$4,810.63 |
If you can't help, please let others know about the Busara Group, and if you have any questions, feel free to contact me at tonybartelme (at) yahoo.com or Carin at tabbyisland (at) gmail.com
Transparency is the key to making this campaign successful, and we will list donors and amounts on this platform, unless the donor specifically asks to remain anonymous. We also will post documents showing how donations are disbursed to the Busara Group.
In addition, when fundraising is complete and all the supplies are purchased, we'll post photos of everything, along with what we hope will be a very happy bunch of people celebrating the Mama's succesful new business!
Thanks from the Busara Group!