Parachichi Group

Christina Mwili is a widow with three daughters. They are 23, 21, and 16 years old. Christina has a small restaurant where she sells rice, meat, “mishkaki,” “chipsi mayai” and other Tanzanian dishes. She opened the business five years ago and works from 5 am until 6 pm every day. She manages to make a monthly profit of $183, which she saves in case of family emergencies.

This is Christina’s first loan from Tujijenge Tanzania. She says she looks up to other women in her area who have larger businesses and wants to use this loan to rejuvenate her restaurant. She will buy glasses, cooking utensils, and more food such as vegetables, rice, and soda.

Christina will share this loan with her loan group, Parachichi, which means “avocado” in Swahili. The group has 18 members. Many of the group have small restaurants like Christina, but some of them have salons, tailoring shops, fish stands, and produce shops. The members of the group will hold each other accountable for paying back their loans. In the picture, Christina is 2nd from the right in the first row.




About Group Loans
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Learn more

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