Who are you trying to help? What issue are you trying to address?

The conditions in most rural areas in Tanzania prevent development to happen. Economic hardship, lack of knowledge and other structural difficulties lead families to act inefficiently and unaware which in turn reinforces their poverty and environmental depletion.

Therefore, Ngeriv’s main goals are to engage communities toward a development plan involving education, environmental sustainability, and an alternative means of income.

The project believes that the improvement of livelihoods and the preservation of the natural surroundings are reciprocally interrelated:

Social work: Includes a teaching program to establish laboratories and dormitories for community secondary school. Also to establish education programs to enable and encourage children to go to school or join vocational training centers.

Environmental Work: First of all it trains the community in the values of wild animal protection and the importance of maintaining game corridors. It also introduced a sustainable technology of charcoal production which provides advantages for the environment and the community.

Alternative means of income – Eco Camp: This project supports both the community and the environment. A task that still needs to be done is the publicity and marketing for the camp.

What is your project and how will it help?

The project aims to engage communities towards a development plan involving education, alternative means of income and environmental sustainability.

It became a registered organization (no.189625) in 2009, under the name of Ngerengere River Eco Camp/Tour and environmental services, in order to expand its capacity for action.

Often those most disadvantaged, mainly the people living off the land in rural areas, do not hold the capacity to efficiently participate in the development process. This is related to specific local conditions but is also due to widespread difficulties such as poor education, illiteracy, and insufficient structural facilities.

For instance:
In the whole sub village of Lukwambe, with a total of population of 300 people, only three students are attending secondary school, which is 30km away and the primary school which is 17km away. Most of the primary schools have no teaching aids, no housing for teachers, no furniture, and not enough properly qualified teachers.

The majority of Tanzania is comprised of peasant farmers, with scarce knowledge on new techniques in agriculture preventing maximization of productivity and profit.

Our area of intervention can be divided into three reciprocally inter-related areas:

• Education;
• Alternative means of income;
• Environmental sustainability.
  - River pollution is now at a peak.
  - Poaching is escalating.
  - Fire burning seems to be an accepted practice.
  - Tree cutting is excessive and without control.

In order to cater for the community’s needs, all need to be involved, from individuals and families to institutions and organizations.

Ngeriv’s objective is to work with the community, for the community.

How can other people partner with you on your project?

Ngerengere River is a local non-profit organization located in Bwawani village, near Morogoro, Tanzania.

Partners can help by providing:

• Volunteers (for training, eco tourism, etc)
• Organization personnel,
• Tools (for tree nursery, beekeeping, handicrafts, eco-charcoal production, etc)
• Sports equipment

Please detail the resources that you need.

Ngerengere River is looking for support from different organizations and individuals for sustainable development Projects.

Currently our organization is managing a number of projects in collaboration with rural communities in the boundary of Morogoro and Pwani (Coast) regions in Tanzania.

Projects on progress are:

• Education
• Sports program in schools.
• Widows care
• Eco tourism
• Tree planting and tree nurseries
• River conservation
• Cultural and Arts
• Beekeeping
• Eco charcoal production

In addition to the above mentioned projects, a number of sustainable projects remain to be implemented, these include:

• Wildlife protection
• Fish farming
• Land surveying
• Improve local housing
• Cattle keeping.

Our concern as an organization:
To mobilize communities to join hands in pushing or establishing development projects for sustainable living.

In order to achieve goals the organization is seeking development partners, individuals etc. to support our initiatives in the projects we have identified.