Ambitious American Venture in Tanzania, Africa Could Reverse World Hunger

A multi-million dollar project in Africa started by communists during the Cold War waits for completion, and a young man from Wisconsin believes reaching that goal could eventually help millions.

Ryan Skaife at left, is a co-founder of The Hope in Tanzania Foundation

(MILWAUKEE, Wis.) - With the world in tatters in many respects, it is important to look for the positive. In spite of the constant reminders that the balance seems out of sync, there are projects underway that do much to reverse the negative impacts, at least on a world scale.

One example that is making national news right now involves the story of a young man in Milwaukee, Wisconsin who is trying to pull off something so big, that it seemed unreal at first, too good to be true. But perseverance is a quality that can buy a person a great deal and in this case, it could also lead to a reversal in world hunger trends.

The hostilities in the world might simmer by a few degrees if people and organizations were willing to put as much into the simple things, like agriculture, as they are into technology and defense. A comparatively small investment in bolstering farming skills among the vastly uneducated, could erase at least some of the reasons that we have wars in the first place.

I have had the pleasure of watching a project develop from the very beginning, albeit mostly from a distance, that could go a long way toward reducing hunger in Africa.

In the late 1990’s, I shot and reported TV news in one of the most glitzy and crime-ridden cities in America; Las Vegas, and one of my good friends was Ryan Skaife. We worked for the Las Vegas NBC station, KVBC News3, and as far as TV news goes, it was a fast paced and often dangerous environment.

Ryan and I quickly became friends and I remember long conversations about simple things like decency and family and the fact that too many people in the world were miserable. I had no idea where these ambitions would eventually take Ryan, and it is with great pleasure that I relate this story.

Ryan was born and raised in the Midwest, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to be specific, and he brought the best values of that part of the country forward. I’ve had the pleasure of knowing a few people like that, but Ryan always stood out as the best example.

Eventually we moved on from our jobs at the Vegas NBC, but we stayed in touch over the years and kept up on each other’s careers through phone calls, emails and even interstate visits.

Big plans and a cruise around the world

I remember Ryan calling a few years ago to tell me he was hired in a video role aboard a ship that travels the world each year as a project of the University of Pittsburgh’s “Semester at Sea” program. He had been hired as a video programmer for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, and he has also worked at sea as a Media Director.

Interestingly, my friend Jerry Pratt who I worked with at KATU Channel-2, the ABC station in Portland, Oregon at that time, also was hired for the world cruise that traditionally leads students to unusual places like Havana, Cuba, and Tanzania, on the African continent.

It was in Tanzania that Ryan’s life would change forever. This is where he met Eric Winson, owner of Tembo Safari Camp and creator of Kilombero Holdings Company, Inc. Throughout his stay in Tanzania, Ryan learned of the humanitarian project Winson had begun, a project actually started by communists.

The project is tremendous in size but elementary in need. During the cold war, efforts were launched on a large scale to begin teaching agriculture to Tanzanians and equip them with the tools to be successful.

A huge parcel of land was dedicated, buildings were constructed, and the project was moving toward completion when the Cold War ended. The fall of the Berlin Wall mean liberation for millions, but it also had a negative consequence in projects like the closure of the Mngeta Farm Project.

The farming town of Mngeta is located approximately 300 miles southwest of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The Mngeta Farm Complex sits at the base of the Udzungwa mountains in the Kilombero Valley. It contains 12,500 arable acres of land, complete with canals for flood irrigation.

Erik Winson in Tanzania

Eric Winson says he and the Foundation plan on giving 2 and ½ acres to 5,000 farmers for the purpose of growing rice and corn. Ryan says one main advantage of this project is a hydropower station already in place.

“Other advantages in this area include: more than 100 pieces of agricultural machinery, a TAZARA railway line that will connect Mngeta farmers to the local and international markets, a two-way long range communication system with Dar Es Salaam, and a carpentry workshop equipped with some of the necessary tools.” He says that also included in the present infrastructure is a land management team that will assist farmers in crop production and business consultation.

People can help by speeding the progress

The Winsons’ needed help in completing this agriculture project with a $60 million infrastructure already in place.

The Hope in Tanzania Foundation was co-founded by Ryan Skaife along with the dedication of his wife, Laura Skaife, who has walked many of the same steps in the project’s continual forward motion.

Their goal now is dedicated to providing education, healthcare and agricultural assistance to Tanzanians, and much of that help will come through the revitalization of one area, the Mngeta Farm Project.

The Hope Foundation believes getting the farm up and running will feed more than 150,000 people. Skaife is far from the only voice saying the time is now for ending world hunger, especially when considering the fact that much African land is useful for farming.

It is also important to note that the country that feeds the most people worldwide, the United States, is slowly but surely losing more and more farmland to developers and lifelong agriculturists like Marge Ehry of Dundee, Oregon, say people are ignoring the implications; that a growing population and diminishing parcels of farmland, make a bad combination at best.

Ryan witnessed firsthand the richness of the land in Tanzania and the poverty of the people and saw a need for a project like Winson’s. He says he realized that the whole infrastructure for this effort already exists and that the Tanzanians just need a start to become self-sufficient.

“I believe that if we are able to work together on this project, it can become a model for the rest of Africa and, ultimately, the rest of the world”.

He says the pieces are in place, and with increasing numbers of people believing in the vast possibilities that the project represents, there is no stopping in sight.

“We can make a difference through this great opportunity to help an entire nation of people who are so less fortunate than we are in the United States.”

The United Republic of Tanzania, located in East Africa, is bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.

In 1979, Tanzania declared war on Uganda after Uganda invaded and attempted to annex the northern Tanzanian province of Kagera. Dar-Es-Salaam, the nation's former capitol and still Tanzania's main commercial city, was the scene of a 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing. Still, the country has seen far less war than some African nations. Today, Dodoma is the country's political capital.

Skaife says Hope in Tanzania, Inc. is proud to announce its efforts to initiate and develop a sister city relationship between Milwaukee, WI and Morogoro, Tanzania has become official. Yesterday, May 8th, the Milwaukee Common Council voted unanimously to approve this relationship-the first under the City’s recent adoption of Sister Cities International guidelines and a revision of requirements for application.

“This is a historic day for the City of Milwaukee, our community, and the country of Tanzania. This relationship will stimulate economic and trade activity between the cities and countries, but will also allow for governmental training and policy advice, cultural education and awareness, tourism-and most of all, a different perspective on the world”, Skaife said.

“To have been chosen as the first U.S. City to consummate a Sister Cities International Agreement with a Tanzanian city or region is truly a feather in our cap”, said Alderman and Chair of Milwaukee’s Sister Cities Committee, Joe Davis yesterday at a press conference.

Hope in Tanzania’s strategy of spearheading a sister city relationship with Morogoro was based on four years of dedication and determination to help complete a sustainable agriculture/hydro power plant project in south central Tanzania. The Mngeta Farm Project is approximately 150 miles from Morogoro. Ryan and Laura Skaife first traveled to Tanzania in early 2003.

”For almost four years we have worked to develop relationships with agriculture seed and machinery companies, environmental and sustainable development NGOs, healthcare institutions, universities, government officials, and individuals. We now have the network in place to begin implementing these relationships with those of the same nature we have developed and in place in Tanzania. Through people to people programs, cultural awareness and education, and travel, we are excited to have the opportunity to introduce our great city to a great nation and make an impact in many lives.”

For more information about Hope in Tanzania, or to get involved with the project with your support which is vital, please contact Ryan Skaife at (414)-763-1858, or you can write to him at:
Ryan Skaife
2547 S. Shore Dr
Milwaukee, WI 53207 Do the world a favor and visit The Hope in Tanzania Foundation, Inc. at hopeintanzania.org