Catching Up

Hello Everyone!

My apologies for not posting blogs for a while... We have been incredibly busy. So much is happening and Cheetah Development is no longer a newborn kitten.

Here’s a quick update catching you up until the current trip to Tanzania. In one page we will cover three months…

First of all our agricultural strategies are developing sophistication. This is the heart of our work in Tanzania and it needs to be: over 70% of people are subsistence farmers. Perhaps close to 80% of the country is involved in agriculture in one way or another. President Kikwete has introduced a development plan called “Kilimo Kwanza” or Agriculture First. This approach has been well supported by the Prime Minister Pinda, as well. Cheetah’s work is aligned with the national development approach and therefore we are not swimming upstream. Better, it appears we will have some local help, including: red tape reduction, supportive policies, incentives, and some financing.

In previous blogs we have written at some length about farming and food management. That writing was continued and is posted in a single document on our website at the following link: (will post soon!) Please take a look at it. We would appreciate any comments you have.

There is a much shorter read that in two pages describes the essence or our strategy. That is at this link: www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/docs/agricultural_investment_strategy.pdf You won’t get any of the local Tanzanian color but it summarizes our approach.

Second, we selected the projects we will support first and they are really exciting. (Check them out here: www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/docs/projects/project_cutsheets.pdf ) Our estimate of their impact is that a $25 FEEDS A CHILD FOR LIFE! Want to know how? Read our description here: www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/docs/white_paper_the_orphanage_dilemma.pdf In the coming weeks we will provide more information about each of these projects through our newsletter. Don’t subscribe? Sign up here: http://www.cheetahdevelopment.org/

Third, we have been in the USA for a few months. We have been focused on raising support, finding technical help, and getting our investment papers developed. It’s amazing: you can diversify your investments or saving to put part of it into helping the poorest of the poor! Some of your money can work for you and some can work to help others. This is a great opportunity; don’t miss it. Please go to our investor section here: www.cheetahdevelopment.org/cheetah/pages/invest.shtml

Now we are back in Tanzania working. Already many lives have been changed. We are teaching symposiums on business to hundreds of students, consulting with dozens of small businesses and helping them to find ways forward, and meeting with villages and showing them the opportunity in their midst. Much of poverty begins in the mind. As one local pastor said, “You are unlocking minds.” We will write of our time here in coming blogs.

Our deep gratitude to the many people who are faithfully supporting this work!

Peace,

Ray