Saving for the Future
29-11-10 - Pauline Sawadougou lives with her husband and 5 children (4 girls and 1 boy) in the village of Guegere, Burkina Faso. Her eldest child is 13, while the youngest is three. Pauline is determined to send all her children to school, no matter what sacrifices she has to make to achieve that, and until recently these sacrifices were often extreme.
Pauline and her husband depend entirely on small scale farming to support their family. They grow crops of millet and maize; which they use to feed the family, selling whatever excess they produce to generate a small income. In the past, when extra cash was needed when a child fell ill, or when school fees were due, the family would cut down on the number of daily meals and sell the food to cover these basic expenses. The only other alternative was to borrow from neighbours, but with most of the community living with the same challenges, this was often not possible.
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Secondary School without hunger
When Pauline Sawadougou heard about Plan’s initiative to support Savings and Loans Groups in her village, she was hopeful that this project might provide a solution to the constant financial problems her family faced. She joined the Rel Wende group along with 32 other local women, and facilitated by the dynamic president Zambre Soplange, the group embarked on trainings to learn the basic operating mechanisms of Village Savings and Loans groups. Each member was given a pass book to record money saved and loans received, and the group was given a basic kit, with a savings box with three separate locks, a calculator, and stationery.
The group has now been in existence for 10 months and meet every two weeks to add to their savings, and apply for loans from the growing fund. So far Pauline has used the loans facility to pay for her children’s’ education, which was particularly necessary when in September her eldest daughter started secondary school, a source of immense pride for her mother. Pauline is delighted that the family could afford the extra costs of secondary education, without sacrificing other basic necessities, or going hungry.
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A tragedy without costs
Pauline is also appreciative of the solidarity that exists within the group, especially the existence of a social fund to which members contribute a small amount at every meeting. This fund is used to support members if there is an illness or death in the family, or if a member has a new baby.
Pauline realised the value of this fund when she suffered a personal tragedy of losing a baby recently. The trauma of this tragedy was tough on the family, but they were at least spared the added financial pressures from hospital fees through support received from the social fund.
The Rel Wende Village Savings and Loans group is one of almost 500 Village Saving and Loans groups set up by Plan under this project funded by Irish Aid; and Pauline is one of over 11,000 women whose lives are being changed by this project. As well as now having access to credit, groups are receiving training on health, education and HIV which will benefit their families. The groups will also receive training on income generating activities, so that credit gained through the VSLA groups can be invested in small scale commerce that will increase household income and will further reduce the vulnerability of these families.
Aine Magee, Programme Officer at Plan Ireland
