Strategic plan 2027–2029.

Matendo's first plan: what it will do in its first three full years, in what order, and how the work will be paid for once it is running.

Draft for the board. It takes effect when the board adopts it, and is reviewed every year at the general assembly.

Why Matendo exists

Purpose.

Matendo means deeds. Its purpose is practical care for two peoples of northern Tanzania: the Hadzabe around Lake Eyasi, whose foraging land and game have been taken by others, and the Maasai families moved east of Lake Natron, where as many as four thousand people have no safe drinking water and mothers and infants die of causes that should be preventable.

Where we start

Matendo was registered on 4 September 2026 (No. 00NGO/R/10237). It has a board, a constitution and a website. It is funded, to begin with, by its founder. Its first tasks are to put its own house in order — tax number, bank account, books, policies and data registration — and to introduce itself to the districts where it will work.

What we will do

Five goals.

In order of priority. Each year's steps build on the last, and every quarterly report to the Registrar says how each goal is going.

Goal 1

Safe water east of Lake Natron

Families east of the lake can get safe drinking water within reach of their homes, from water points the community owns and looks after.

2027Walk the area with the elders; agree the first sites; test sources; build the first water point with a community water committee.
2028Add further water points where the first has worked; train committees in upkeep and simple repairs.
2029Every Matendo water point kept working by its committee, with a small maintenance fund the community agreed.

Measured by: water points working · people using them · days out of use each quarter.

Goal 2

Safer births at Natron

Mothers east of Lake Natron have antenatal care and a safe place to give birth, leading in time to a Matendo maternal and child health clinic.

2027With the district health office, find out where mothers now give birth and what is missing; begin outreach visits with a partner clinic.
2028Settle the clinic's site, design and staffing with the district and community; obtain the permits; raise the building funds.
2029Build the clinic, or start it in a temporary building, with qualified staff and a supply line for medicines.

Measured by: mothers seen before birth · births with a skilled attendant · clinic milestones met.

Goal 3

Health education in both areas

Families know how to keep water clean, prevent common diseases and look after mothers and babies — taught in their own language, with their elders.

2027Agree the topics with elders; train a small group of local health helpers; hold the first sessions.
2028Regular sessions in each settlement served, linked to the water points.
2029Local helpers leading the sessions, with Matendo in support.

Measured by: sessions held · people attending · helpers trained.

Goal 4

Support for the Hadzabe around Lake Eyasi

Hadzabe camps have safe water and access to health care, in ways their own leaders choose and that support their way of life rather than replacing it.

2027Meet Hadzabe leaders and the district; listen first; agree one or two practical first steps.
2028Carry out those steps; link camps to the nearest health services.
2029Review with the leaders what has helped, and decide the next steps together.

Measured by: steps agreed and completed · camps reached.

Goal 5

A sound, trusted organisation

Matendo meets every legal duty on time, keeps honest books, and can show any donor or community exactly where the money went.

2027TIN, bank account and data registration done; every quarterly report and the first annual report filed on time; first audit clean.
2028Two statements of money received and spent published each year; asset register checked; policies reviewed.
2029Apply for charitable status for tax purposes once the record supports it.

Measured by: filings on time · audit opinion · statements published.

How it will be sustained

Sustainability.

As the Registrar requires, and in line with the National Strategy for NGOs Sustainability 2022/23 – 2026/27, Matendo's plan for paying for its work beyond the founder's support is:

  1. Founder funding for the start. The founder meets the start-up and running costs while Matendo establishes a record.
  2. More than one funder. By the end of 2028 Matendo aims to have at least two further regular sources of funds — aligned churches and ministries, charitable trusts, or grants — so that no single donor carries the work.
  3. Communities own what is built. Each community contributes to its own project — labour, sand, stone, a site — and water committees keep a small maintenance fund the community itself agrees, so water points keep working without Matendo.
  4. Working with partners. Sharing costs and staff with district health services and aligned organisations already in the area, rather than duplicating them.
  5. Low running costs. No paid office until the work needs one; volunteers and local helpers wherever possible.
  6. A reserve. Building up to three months' running costs held in the bank, so that a late payment never stops the work.

Risks we will watch

  • Depending on one donor — addressed by point 2 above.
  • Drought and failing water sources — sites chosen with the community, and sources tested before building.
  • Missing a legal deadline — every deadline is tracked on the obligations page.
  • Loss or theft of cash — cash kept low, counted monthly, and payments acknowledged (Policy 1).
  • Losing the trust of a community — nothing begun without the elders' agreement (Policy 8).

Review

The board reviews progress against this plan each quarter, using the same figures as the quarterly report to the Registrar, and revises the plan each year at the general assembly.