- Cyabingo, Rwanda
Sparking Self-Sufficiency in Africa Through Sustainable Income
Cyabingo is a lush and fertile, mountainous area in the northern part of Rwanda, but more than 50% of the population is classified as living in poverty or extreme poverty. It has a tragic past, but the promise of the present is palpable. Coffee, tea, maize and many other crops cascade down the mountainsides. Agriculture is the way of life here and often the key to sustainability.
Options and opportunity. Focus is on the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) methodology, because we believe that the VSLA are the best way for people living in poverty to achieve sustainability of income. Group members are trained in how to save together as a group, give each other loans intended to start or grow their businesses, hold each other accountable for payback with a 2% interest. That interest helps the savings pot grow larger, bigger loans become available, incomes grow and families are transformed. Currently, there are 22 VSLA groups, comprised of 740 women in total.
Support and Outcome. Once we see, through their ability to save, that a new VSLA group is committed, we provide Seed Money to boost the savings pot and make more capital available more quickly. Learning to use each loan as a stepping stone up to the next level of earning and then to the next loan and so on, families are able to eat well, send kids to school, afford healthcare, even buy land.
Building a community of economically empowered women means a better life for the whole family and, in fact, the whole community.
Options and Opportunity. Women are learning that they can own property, can run businesses, can earn significantly and be a major contributor to the family finances. They pass this knowledge down to their children. Hearts and minds are changed.
Community Stature/ Job. Skills-shared learning experiences not only empower individual prospects but improve gender equality as a whole.
Economic Empowerment. We know that this reduces domestic violence, improves relationships within the family, builds self esteem and the feeling of actually being empowered.
