Three women work together to pound maize in a project village in Kilwa District

A coastal District located to the south of Dar es Salaam, Kilwa is home to an estimated 171,000 Tanzanians. Although small-scale fishing is a relatively common livelihood, more than 90% of the District's population relies on subsistence agriculture to support their households. Throughout the villages surveyed by TCRS, an average of 63% of the people were found to be marginalized, with illiteracy levels around 43%. Moreover, more than 95% of the people surveyed were living in sub-standard housing and approximately 62% were experiencing food insecurity ... in short, the results of the survey confirmed TCRS's belief that a renewed focus on sustainable development would be welcomed by the individuals and families living in the District.

Since establishing the Kilwa Community Empowerment Programme (Kilwa CEP) in 2004, TCRS has developed a presence in a total of 25 villages: Hoteli Tatu, Kandawale, Kikole, Kipindimbi, Kisangi, Kisimamkia, Kiwawa, Likawage, Liwiti, Mavuji, Mchakama, Migererere, Miguruwe, Mitole, Mkondaji, Mtepera, Mtumbei, Nainokwe, Nakingombe, Namatewa, Ngarambi, Ngea, Njinjo, Ruhatwe, and Zinga Kibaoni. Among these 25 villages, the programme is working with 5,000 marginalized beneficiaries, 625 village government officials, and more than 3,000 additional indirect beneficiaries.

Beneficiaries of the Kilwa CEP survey the progress of crops in their fields

Activities in Kilwa District are varied. Village leaders enrolled in the leadership component of the CEP curriculum participate in study exchange visits and are trained on a number of topics, including leadership & management skills, public expenditure tracking, human rights & democracy, gender issues, HIV/AIDS awareness, and community based disaster preparedness (CBDP). At the same time, activities targeting marginalized beneficiaries include coordinating literacy courses, facilitating the formation of income generating activities (with a special emphasis on women's groups), creating awareness about gender equity, HIV/AIDS, CBDP, & environmental issues, and promoting improved agriculture and livestock production. Furthermore, the Kilwa CEP devotes a significant portion of its attention to raising the profile of vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced members of the community and to building civic awareness in order to encourage the active participation of community members in collective governance and policy development.