Survive and Thrive
The Survive and Thrive Group project for young single mothers was established in Bariadi District, Tanzania in mid-2012. The overall goal of the project is to improve the health of young mothers and their families through promotion of health education and economic opportunities. WellShare’s model concentrates on two key approaches:
Formation of a village-based group with a high level of cohesiveness and trust, and
Implementation of village community banking (VICOBA).
The Survive and Thrive Groups are led by trained traditional birth attendants or community health workers who provide high quality health education.
Survive and Thrive Groups reach young single mothers with peer support, health education and small business skills. A total of 6 Survive and Thrive Groups were formed and 163 individuals were trained in village community banking. All of the Survive and Thrive Groups started group or individual-level income generation such as gardening, selling vegetables and fruits, selling peanuts, keeping chickens, and weaving hair. In addition, WellShare trained 13 traditional birth attendants and 12 Survive and Thrive Group participants to provide leadership and health education to the groups.