When our Karatu loan hub began several years ago, local ladies unanimously elected Josephine Silo as the perfect powerhouse to head the program.
At nearly 70 years old and still running a small farm, keeping a beading business and until recently serving as GWOCO chairwoman, Josephine has more than earned her retirement.
So it was decided, once she was truly able to take a back seat, to hold a party when NCN President Judy would be in-country and fellows Kim and Jaime and WMI fellow Jess—all of whom worked closely with Josephine in the loan program—would be there as well.
Despite the many cultural differences that can often feel prominent between US and Tanzanian practices, a retirement party is still a retirement party. Only this one consisted solely of women, all of whom are working in one way or another to better the local Karatu community. Dozens of borrowers convened at the GWOCO office in Tloma and packed in to hear various speeches by Josephine’s co-leaders about her as well as one from the woman of the hour herself.
As someone with other sources of income, this bibi (older woman) didn’t need to pour her time into GWOCO for financial gain. She chose to, for years, because she wants to help fellow women realize their potential and in turn pay it forward into the community. So after rising quite early to take care of her homestead, Josephine would head to the office for long meetings, loan repayment days, planning and organization, sometimes five days a week. She also served as the only leader with any knowledge of English, a skill that proved useful time and time again. She came with a smile and she didn’t complain, traveling around Karatu and its surrounds to conduct trainings, collect loans and check in on borrowers’ businesses.
The greater group of women connected to the program recognized these qualities in her and wanted to celebrate them. Josephine has been with this loan program hub since its inception; in thanking her, the women were showing appreciation for the program as a whole as well. Her guidance and hard work successfully grew and solidly established the loan hub.
After the speeches, the ladies took to the outside for singing, dancing and zawadi, or gifts—and of course cake.
We finished the day with group dancing, and we left with Josephine swaddled in a hilariously absurd number of gifted, traditional cloths, or vitenges.