A PSSN beneficiary from Nagulo Bahi village in Bahi district Ms Belitha Mgoozi (Centre) posing with her grand-children while observing some of their pigs

Beneficiaries of Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN) in Bahi district council, Dodoma region have hailed the Tanzania Social Action Fund (TASAF) for helping them in upgrading their economic conditions.

They said, by implementing PSSN, TASAF has made their lives easier in terms of affording some cost of living as well as enabling them to effectively engage in various economic activities as a result of escaping from the extreme poverty line.

PSSN beneficiaries from Nagulo Bahi village in Bahi, Belitha Mgoozi (53) and Damaris Mafanya (33) shared progress they have recorded from the program, noting that without TASAF their lives couldn’t be better as it is now.

Both have managed to build houses through business and agriculture activities where they grow rice for their families and sell the surplus.

They are also engaging in livestock keeping which are to be sold for generating income.

“When I was enrolled in the program, facilitators advised that I shouldn’t be spending all the money, but make some savings that will help me in the future,” explains Ms Belitha.

And she did the same. Belitha who is a person with disability, ensured she had savings that later on was used in buying a pig and two goats.

“I started keeping a pig and goats, after one year, a pig gave birth to piglets I sold and started slowly to make some few bricks ready to start construction of my new house,” she explained

PSSN beneficiary Ms Belitha Mgoozi, attending her cattle and goats that she owns in Nagulo Bahi village

As she was in the process of constructing a house, her daughters secured a Tsh 700,000 fund from the ‘Timiza Malengo’ program that was added to their project.

Apart from managing to build a house, Ms Belitha is now owning cows, goats and pigs. She is also making cooking pots for sale.

For her part, Ms Damaris, a mother to a standard five pupil at Nagulo Bahi primary school, says TASAF has lifted up her economic standard through subsidy and entrepreneurship education.

With the PSSN support she managed to start a business of selling fish as well as growing rice in a farm that she rents.

“It’s the business that made it possible for me to build my own house, also I have joined the savings group formed by PSSN beneficiaries around here,” she said, ensuring that she is keen to adhere to all the conditions in a bid to attain more success.

A PSSN beneficiary in Nagulo Bahi village in Bahi District Damaris Mafanya prepares fish to be sold as part of her economic activity she does at home for income generation

According to her, during rainy seasons she manages to make a profit of over Tsh 50,000 per day from her fish business, where she saves half of it on daily bases.

“I’m trying as much as I can to have good discipline in spending my money, I thank TASAF for its support, I  might  have lost focus a long time ago, when I lost my grandmother who was taking care of me” she asserted.