COVID-19

When we write this, the end of April, luckily there are not many people infected by the COVID-19 virus. In the beginning of April, with the first corona victim, the government took severe regulations to prevent from spreading the virus. So, all schools, children homes, hotels and restaurants were closed, the big market in Arusha was closed and events were forbidden. This also affected the women from Pamoja Nguvu; the ones who worked as a tailor did not have any revenues, because of the ban on events people did not buy new clothes. On the market the women had less clients. Our team is supporting these women in looking for alternatives to get some income. Also, the work of our team was affected by COVID-19: they did not visit the women at their work (mostly the market) but at their homes. They used gloves and masks to protect themselves. Lately the amount of people infected has increased, so the team decided to contact the women only by phone. It is also not possible to start a new training module so we cannot start a new loan group. We realize this all has a big impact on the women of Pamoja Nguvu. When in some time they can start their activities again, the women will be in need of our support.