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Exciting
News from GSC Tanzania! |
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The
USDA Jatropha and Agriculture and Nutrition
Initiative (JANI) Project
In
our June 2009 Newsletter Global Service Corps
(GSC) announced its participation in a new US
Department of Agriculture (USDA) funded rural
development project in food security, nutrition
and HIV/AIDS education in Tanzania. Over the
last few months in Tanzania, in collaboration
with Partners for Development, GSC’s work in
food security and nutrition has seen several
exciting new developments as a result of the
newly launched USDA project. The USDA Jatropha
and Agriculture and Nutrition Initiative (JANI)
Project seeks to increase Jatropha cultivation
while improving food security and nutrition for
Jatropha farmer households. As part of this
project, GSC is spearheading the development of
sustainable home gardens, rural poultry
vaccinations, nutrition and HIV trainings and
water catchment systems. These new developments
are providing additional rural development
training opportunities for GSC volunteers.
Updates on the catchment systems, poultry
vaccinations, and volunteer opportunities are
reported below. |
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Water
Catchment System Project
GSC
has pioneered the introduction of plastic-lined
trenches called hafirs, which are designed to
collect rain water run-off from roofs and nearby
catchment areas. These hafirs provide access to
water near houses, making it readily available
for home and garden use, even where water is
scarce. The first six hafirs were dug in
Lashaine village using materials donated by two
local hardware stores.The hafirs are easily
replicated due to their simplicity and low-cost,
making them an attractive option for these
communities. They will enable kitchen gardens
even in the driest of communities, especially
after the long 2009 drought ends and will save
local women and children the drudgery of going
some distance to collect water for the
household. Local communities provided
overwhelmingly positive feedback on this
project. |
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The
Rural Poultry Vaccination (or,
“Catch-A-Chicken”) Project
A
poultry vaccination initiative has also been met
with much enthusiasm, dramatically reducing the
number of chickens lost to disease. The highly
contagious Newcastle Disease plagues domestic
birds in areas all over the world, and many
Tanzanian families suffer from the severe loss
of income and potential nutrition. GSC has
provided training for 28 community vaccinators
in 6 villages, and is preparing for the 2nd
vaccination campaign in Olkereyan village where
healthy flocks are already seeing a steady
increase in numbers. Community Vaccinators
assisted by GSC volunteers will collect data
during the 2nd vaccination campaign for each
household to determine the total number of
chickens, the number consumed, the number sold,
and the number of deaths since the last
vaccination to confirm the vaccine’s continued
positive impact. |
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Expanded
Volunteer Opportunities
Two
new long-term volunteers have joined the GSC
Tanzania team through New Zealand’s Voluntary
Service Abroad: one community development
Masters degree-holder, and one experienced
agricultural volunteer. The specialized skills
they bring play a key role in engaging
shorter-term volunteers and assisting in project
fieldwork. GSC-TZ recently hosted 13
international agriculture volunteers, 4
international HIV/AIDS and nutrition volunteers,
and 6 local Tanzania college interns who worked
as apprentices alongside our staff. These
volunteer participants have taken on village
garden trainings, rural poultry vaccination
training, and HIV/AIDS prevention and nutrition
training. Community interest in international
volunteers has enhanced the local turnout at
rural trainings. Volunteers have also aided with
expanded public exposure by distributing over
2,000 handouts at the weekend-long TASO NaneNane
Fair in August. Liaisons under development with
US universities and land-grant colleges are
providing additional opportunities for long-term
volunteers and fellows to work with GSC and
local partners on the JANI project.
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