EOTF Chairperson Mama Anna (C) and FAO assistant representative James Yonazi (L) sign a Telefood grant awards to four groups of small business enterprises as Telefood Committee. The ceremony held at the EOTF offices in Dar es Salaam yesterday.
Chairperson for Equal Opportunity Trust Fund, Anna Mkapa has called upon women groups to properly utilize grants provided to them by creating income generation projects, to improve lives of their families and communities at large.
Anna made the call yesterday in Dar es Salaam during a short ceremony to mark the signing of Telefood grant awards to four groups of women enterprises.
`Mid July this year we extended grants to six groups worth 61.5m/ for poultry, piggery and vegetable production projects.
We promised to award four more grants which were still under process later before the year end.
Today we have fulfilled our promise by awarding grants to four groups to a tune of USD 31,229 which is about 34.6m/,` said the former First Lady.
Anna Mkapa said her organization endeavored to help women establish projects which would employ additional labour especially women and youth to increase entrepreneurship skills and hence improve their income.`
The projects would also help you provide quality food to the community to reduce hunger and malnourishment,` said former First Lady.
She pledged her organization`s commitment to provide grants adding `FAO (Telefood) and its partner EOTF will work with you endlessly to ensure success and sustainability. Spend wisely the grant you have received according to the planned budget.`
On his part the assistant FAO representative James Yonazi said that the impact of Telefood projects has been well acknowledged as a major contributor to the overall development of the rural sector.
`The funds collected have made a difference in lives of many people. It has helped to finance small-scale projects in agriculture, fisheries and livestock, to assist the less privileged families produce their own food or generate income to buy the food they need,` he said.
He mentioned activities funded by Telefood as maize production, poultry keeping, pig production, vegetable gardening, animal feed, grain milling, fishery and forestry. He said that the projects are distributed across the country.
Giving a word of thanks on behalf of the four groups Joseph Sengaji said that the funds would improve lives of people especially women and young people.
`The grants will truly assist us to establish our projects. We promise to utilize it accordingly,`he said.
Beneficiaries to the grants were Kizinga Women and Youth Group, Chamwino Women Group, Kinzundi Poultry Group and Mgowero Women Group.
Telefood has funded a number of projects in Tanzania and has enabled over 78 small business enterprises/groups mostly women to create income generating projects.
Beneficiaries are mostly women who are unable to access the necessary capital to grow their enterprises to fight hunger, poverty in their communities and the nation at large.
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