CARE Tanzania’s Brief History
CARE began working in Tanzania in April 1994, in response to the crisis in Rwanda and the subsequent influx of refugees into the Kagera Region of North-western Tanzania. Over the ensuing years, CARE Tanzania developed innovative education, health, microfinance, and environmental programs across most regions of the country.
CARE Tanzania focused to address the needs of three impact groups:
- poor and vulnerable people, especially women and girls, dependent on natural resources in areas with severe environmental restrictions
- women and adolescent girls of reproductive age in rural underserved areas
- school-aged girls in rural underserved areas
October 1995: CARE International signs a basic agreement with the Government of Tanzania.
October 1995: CARE Tanzania develops its first Long-Range Strategic Plan (LRSP) – 1998-2003, focusing on livelihood security.
April 2004: CARE International in Tanzania develops its second LRSP, 2004–2008, focusing on underlying causes of poverty and social injustice.
June 2009: CARE International in Tanzania develops its third LRSP, 2010–2020, focusing on rural women’s and girls’ empowerment.
December 2012: CARE Tanzania finalizes the development of Mwangaza Program to operationalize the LRSP.
October 2014: CARE Tanzania developed a WEZESHA Strategy, whereby towards 2020, CARE Tanzania and its allies will work to empower rural communities in the northern highlands, coastal areas, southern highlands, and Zanzibar as a means of empowering women to realize their social, political, and economic rights and manage natural resources sustainably in the context of a changing climate.
