Pension fund has a positive impact for older people in need in Tanzania

A focus group discussion revealed interesting aspects:

- All of the participants in the FGD have lost at least one of their own children, mostly due to HIV/AIDS. But – most striking – we learnt that the surviving children don’t seem to care very much about their own mothers. Daughters of the grandmothers typically married and move to live far away leaving their children with the grannies. Sons typically leave the village in search of job opportunities, live in the towns or at the Lake Victoria, and are not seen again. Disappointment in this middle generation is felt not only by the grandchildren. On the question if – being again 20 years old – the grannies would decide to have children again, all participants denied it strongly. Although the grannies feel the burden of the grandchildren intensely indeed, this is accompanied by a strong bonding and the grandchildren have supplanted their own children in terms of affection.

- Before being integrated in the KwaWazee program, the participants usually worked as day-laborers (if they got the chance) with a salary of about 20 Cents per day. One granny said: “We had to work for other people but what we got, was not enough. So we had to define our priorities: first the food, if some small money remained, we could buy some soap or matches”.

- What has changed since being part of the KwaWazee program? Still food is on the top: but they are able to buy some additional food in the form of maize flour, small dried fishes (which we call ‘dagaa’), then salt, some cooking oil and some sugar. Some are dividing the pension in two parts: one for additional food, the other part for soap, kerosene, or for clothes and shoes for the children.

- The relationship between the grannies and the grandchildren has improved. In the absence of the parents the grandchildren address their wishes for school material, clothes etc. to the grannies. In the past when the grannies couldn’t respond to these expectations, grandchildren might have disrespected them. This has changed: “My grandchildren tell each other: ’You see, the grandmother loves us and gives us shoes and food. If you don’t support her, you will in the future get nothing’. The children support me now much more and we have a much better relationship”.

- Isolation has decreased. Grandchildren and grannies themselves are more confident to go into the village because they are now clean and dressed with clean clothes.

- Planning became more possible and makes now more sense – there is a little bit more control over life. One of the grannies said: “Often you have dreams, that you can eat this or that, or that you can do something with the children. Formerly the dream remains to be a dream. But now I can plan in order to make real one or another dream”. To receive regularly – even small, lump sums of cash income increases substantially the locus of control.

Support grannies – and give their grandchildren a future
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