Week after week, women gathered under an acacia tree in her village. They saved, planned, and talked openly about their lives, sharing stories that were some times painful, sometimes hopeful. They learned how land laws actually work, knowledge that had never been available to them before. Slowly, confidence took root.
From Landlessness to Leadership: How Women Rise When Systems Change
Impact Magazine
In 2023, Sikujua joined a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) supported by CARE.
On the surface, the group was about saving money together. In practice, it became something far more powerful.
VSLA is strength, it is love.
Through the VSLA, Sikujua discovered that Tanzanian women have the legal right to own land. With support from local partners, village leaders, and land officials, she learned how to claim hers.
Reclaiming the land was not straightforward. When Sikujua went to survey her family’s fields, her uncle followed her and beat her, trying to frighten her into giving up. She still bears the scars. But she persisted.
After months of mediation and negotiation, Sikujua received an official Certificate of Customary Right of Occupancy to her family’s land. For the first time in decades, she felt hope.
The results were immediate and lasting. Sikujua farmed part of the land herself and rented other portions out, reinvesting the income in new businesses. Her family began eating three meals a day. Her children could regularly attend school. Her sisters, once displaced, were able to come home.
Today, Sikujua is a respected community leader. She mentors other women, shares agricultural knowledge, and helps new VSLA members move toward financial independence. Her local savings groups now count more than 160 members, many of whom joined because Sikujua showed them what was possible.
“Women in Luganga have woken up,” said Lilian Mkusa, CARE’s project manager in Iringa. “They now know their rights.”
Sikujua’s story reflects something CARE has seen again and again: when women have access to savings, information, and systems that work for them, change spreads. Families stabilize. Communities grow stronger. Poverty loosens its grip.
This is the heart of CARE’s Rise strategy: helping women build savings and income through access to credit, markets, and training. As they rise from crisis to opportunity, they lift others, too. VSLAs are just one of CARE’s proven tactics.
When paired with local partnerships and systems change, these approaches can unlock economic power that lasts.
My favorite time of year is harvest season. Fields are full. Food is plentiful. It’s when everyone is busy.
For a woman who once wondered if she’d ever feel at home again, that abundance is hard-won. Now, it belongs to her forever.