Ngara, a remote, rural District in northwestern Tanzania, first drew the attention of TCRS in 1994, when the genocide in Rwanda triggered an influx of Rwandan refugees into the region. In addition to providing humanitarian assistance to the refugees, TCRS also decided to establish a Ngara/Karagwe development project aimed at improving the livelihoods and circumstances of the local Tanzanian population. TCRS activities in the region continued under the umbrella of that development project until 2004, when it was supplanted by a TCRS-designed Community Empowerment Programme created specifically for Karagwe District. Thus, the Ngara Community Empowerment Programme (Ngara CEP) was born.

The Ngara CEP has worked in a total of 22 villages in the District, reaching thousands of direct and indirect beneficiaries in the area. Of the 22 villages, 12 have graduated from the CEP curriculum: Chivu, Kasange, Kirusha, Mubuhenge, Mugoma, Mukikomero, Murutabo, Muruvyagira, Mwivuza, Ntobeye, Ruzenze, and Shanga. The remaining 10 villages - Djuruligwa, Kanyinya, Kasharazi, Kumwendo, Mbuba, Munjebwe, Murukurazo, Nterungwe, Nyakiziba, and Rusumo - are currently enrolled in the programme and are expected to graduate by the end of 2010.

Activities in Ngara 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. To this end, specific projects that have seen substantial success in Ngara include the introduction of disease-resistant cassava, the cultivation of cash crops such as coffee, and the formation of the Ngara branch of the Movement of Men Against AIDS in Tanzania (MMAAT). Moreover, the Ngara 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.