Enable 500 Tanzanian youth to feed their families

Mboni ya Vijana works to improve the lives of rural families in Kigoma, Tanzania, where extreme poverty is a daily reality. Since our founding, we’ve supported families in becoming self-sufficient with food, income, and water security. We provide knowledge, training, financial services, and resources so that young people and smallholder farmers can grow food, create businesses, and build livelihoods that benefit not just themselves but their families and wider communities.

Our greatest joy is celebrating impact. Since beginning our work in Kigoma, we have helped improve food access for more than 38,000 people through better farming practices, supported 3,200 youth and women to start small businesses through microfinance, provided clean water to over 90,000 schoolchildren and community members through 196 boreholes, and planted more than 800,000 trees for environmental conservation. Families are now able to pay for healthcare, education, electricity, transport, and better housing—things that once felt out of reach.

In this update, we want to share the voices of those whose lives have been transformed thanks to your support.

Joyce’s Story – A Schoolgirl Finds Hope in Water
“My name is Joyce, I am 13 years old and a student at Kasyenene Primary School. I never believed our dry, rocky land could give us water. When Mboni ya Vijana announced they would build a borehole, I thought it was a scam. But within two weeks, I was the first pupil to carry water from our new well. Before this, I walked over two hours every day to fetch dirty water from a stream. Now, with clean water at school, I have time to study and dream. I’ve learned that the impossible can become possible, and I want to become an innovator who makes that happen.”

Christina’s Story – From Lost Dreams to Farming Success
“After failing my national exams, I thought my life was over. In our village, many girls are married off when they leave school, and I believed that was my only option. Then I joined Mboni ya Vijana’s free entrepreneurship and farming training. I learned how to start a small business, manage money, and make organic fertilizers. I grew maize and beans, earning nearly 1.9 million TZS from my first harvest while also feeding my family. Now, instead of being forced into marriage, I am respected at home. My dream is to expand my farm and eventually start a food marketing business. I’ve found hope in knowledge and skills, and I want to share that with my community.”

Selemani’s Story – Feeding a Family, Building a Future
Selemani, 36, is a father of four in Kasulu. “Before joining Mboni ya Vijana’s training, my land could barely feed my family for five months of the year. After learning improved farming methods and receiving a small loan, I harvested 24 bags of maize, four bags of beans, and eight bags of sunflower. I sold crops worth 1.3 million TZS and started a small fertilizer business for my wife, which pays for school uniforms, medicine, and food. With cassava now growing, I can feed my family year-round, and I’m preparing to build a better house. I thank Mboni ya Vijana and the donors who made this possible.”

These are just a few of the many voices that inspire us daily. Your support allows families to move out of extreme poverty and into lives of dignity and prosperity. Together, we are bringing lasting change to western Tanzania—and with your continued support, we will reach even more communities in need.

We are continuing our work lifting rural community out of extreme poverty by adopting and praising accessible resources with a main focus on land and human resource play.

In most rural families, the big demand missing is food and money for families flourishing. In the struggles for food and money access, the efforts conflict with the environmental sustainability demands. Mboni ya Vijana is therefore positioned to integrate the livelihoods and environmental struggles to balance human and environmental needs for sustainable development.

This update explores the impacts which we are all achieving together and keep calling for further supports to lead the changes we want to feeding poor families while meeting the environmental requirements.

Food system: We have improved food production by over 200% to 406 small holder farmers in Kigoma Tanzania in the past two years by providing better faming training, improved seeds and the use of bio-fertilizers and biochar to improve soil health. We established 60 plots of seed farms for local smallholder farmers to source better seeds for farming especially cassava cuttings. Mboni ya Vijana produces nutritious vegetables and sells them to over 300 families to improve health of more than 1500 people. Production of palm oil has increased by 180% from our improved seedlings supply program which supported 216 families with over 2600 palm seedlings.

Selemani is one of the trainees who trained and supported in sustainable farming and supported with farming inputs especially improved seeds, bio-fertilizers in Kasulu. In January he planted 3 acres of improved cassava and here is his story; “I didn’t know that my land can enrich me with food and income at once. I lived here 34 years but I never had good crops like these. These cassavas are just five months but they are wonderful with better health and better cassava. I am sure after harvest and sell the harvest, I will build a better house and get my children to better schools. This knowledge will never last in me and my family, I want all the biomass to turn them into soil food as I am trained’ – he finishes.

Christina says; “Mboni ya Vijana has changed my attitude completely. I felt I was finished after the form four national examination poor results. I couldn’t think which was going to be an alternative to my future life as I had great dream of becoming the nurse or doctor but that dream passed away. Luckly, I found a relief when I found Mboni ya Vijana train and supporting youth in different skills. I joined and learned improved farming, small business development and other skills of making fertilizers. My first farm of maize with lactobacillus, fish hydrolysate and biochar are giving me a way to my new dream of success and self-reliance as I am harvesting unquestionable yields.”

Entrepreneurship and economic empowerment have been our program benefiting youth and women increasing income and food security to their families. We continued with training to youth and women in entrepreneurship skills and economic support to 86 youth and women in the past 4 months and provided loan to all.

“This farm is real my wealth. I planted it late 2019 which means it is 5.5 years old palm trees but I have harvested for almost 8 months. I make oil or sell palm fruits to youth and women Mboni ya Vijana supports. I earn money but the youth and women earn too. Palm plants are real changing my economy rapidly while benefiting from the biomass which are processed into biochar for soil health and carbon capture. All I have to say, is that Mboni ya Vijana has made it all” Shukuruimana (26 years old lady) said.

Environmental and Climate Action is our program supports rural community to build and adapt to what the nature is experiencing especially deforestation, drought, waste production (air and land pollution) and soil erosion. Mboni ya Vijana has facilitated 760,000 trees planting, drilled 182 water wells (13 wells in last 5 months only), Established flies (black soldiers) production site to turn food waste into business and trained 11 institutions for environmental conservations.

Samweli didn’t know how environmental wastes can help to improve households’ income, poultry layering, and environmental conservation. “Mboni ya Vijana have a good plan to ensure every resource available is an opportunity. From what I knew useless, rubbish and something boring, today is my source of income, chicken fodder and fertilizers for trees and other plant. I learned and adapted how to use food wastes into black soldiers’ production and turning the remaining composite into fertilizer for my fruit and indigenous trees. All these benefits are the results of unseen existence of Mboni ya Vijana which is leading us to prosperous lives” – Samwel finished.

Flora lives in a small village called Kazaroho in Kigoma and there was no water closer to the village. She walked more than 2km one way to access unclean water for the family. She needed to walk three times to get 75lts every day. Here is what she feels after the borehole at her home village; “I am happy I am relieved from time wastage and dirty water use and I spend just less than 15 minutes to access water compare to an hour and a half I used for just 25lts of water. I can now use more time to farm, prepare food, and do other businesses. Having water well at our village is a complete lift to our lives from the dark to brighter era – she briefly explained.”

We are dedicated to impact more youth and women with food, income and water access through our programs in which we are kindly requesting you to support.