Dreams of Zanzibar

This magical island off the coast of Tanzania has a unique and colorful history and conjurs up romantic images with its scent of spices, beautiful blue sky, white sand beaches and Arab architecture. A fare number of tourists find their way to this exotic island, mostly Italians, in search of great fish, fun and a sense of timeless beauty.

There is however another side of Zanzibar. That is the one that Mafouz Rahman, the highly competent and compassionate BRAC Area Manager has discovered over the last 14 months on the island. With a population of roughly 1.5 million, the people on the island struggle to make a living and pay for their basics as they must rely on imports for almost everything. After surveying some 48,000 households, Mahfouz and his locally recruited team of branch managers and credit officers organized 7,900 women as members of BRAC. They are women eager for a chance to improve their family incomes through loans without collateral for vegetable farming, raising poulty, selling various items and operating simple restaurants and shops. I met with several groups of BRAC's microfinance program and listened to a refresher training for women who become 'model farmers' for their neighbors and 'barefoot extension agents' who pass on the tips they learn to boost production. I hit the class when they were covering the ins and outs of growing okra. When I got the chance to chat with the women after their class, they requested that BRAC figure out how to provide them with wells or help them collect rain water since lack of water was a big problem for them. The BRAC Research Farm had just sunk a 30 foot bore well for its farm for about $1,800. As they discussed various ideas, I could see the wheels turning inside the staff and members' heads: creative problem-solving is what they do best.

Mahfouz has been with BRAC for 9 years, having worked his way from the entry level position that organizes poor women into BRAC Village Organizations. He is the only Bangladeshi living full-time on the island and so sometimes missing speaking his mother tongue. But his Swahili is good and his drive undaunted. I first met him in the Leadership Progam for BRAC's middle managers. When I asked him if he had any business ideas of his own after living in Zanzibar, he quickly replied: "I'd open a restaurant and hotel - 24 hours - for middle class people. There's nothing 24 hours for them here."

Entrepreneurial staff dedicated to working with entrepreneurial low-income women seems like the best recipe for fighting poverty I've seen.

Susan
Zanzibar