Granny Witness

In 2005, Granny Witness became one of the founding members of our first pig co-operative in Idweli Village. At the time, she and her eldest daughter were taking care of nine most vulnerable children. Granny Witness is a small fiery woman who was making the most of what little she had. The pig co-op flourished, and the founding members increased their incomes dramatically. The co-op expanded to include new members. 

In 2012, Barry Childs visited Idweli. As he walked through the village, he was approached by a very excited Granny Witness. She rushed up to Barry, grabbed his hand and said, “Papa Barry,  you must come with me. I have something to show you.” We approached her house which was near the pig sty and now housed two breeding sows. She led us past her old house made of mud walls and thatched roof, and there in the clearing was a beautiful new house made of concrete bricks and a tin roof. She said, “Papa Barry, look what the pig did.”

They went inside, sat down in the living room on easy chairs, and waited as she made tea. When asked what she liked most about the new house, she answered, “Now all the pig co-op meetings are here in my house.”

In addition to running a piggery, she has built a small pub and two retail shops. She rents one of one of the shops out, and she and her daughter run the other. Barry went with Granny Witness to visit the pub. When they approached the pub, it was closed, and Barry asked Granny Witness why. She said, “During daylight, people should work. When the sun goes down, then they can drink.”

All her young charges were in school. The older children were at secondary school and Andrew the brightest was at a private boarding school in Arusha some 1,400 Km away.