What’s The Deal With VSLAs & Why Should We Support Them?
They say “it takes a village to raise a child.” And, in developing women-led Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs), we see that the same can be said for growing successful small businesses in Uganda. Together, women are stronger and their VSLA membership ensures they never have to walk alone on the path to empowerment.
Your support of VSLAs will empower rural communities to take control of their personal finances – often for the first time. Because of you, members will learn how to save, borrow money, repay loans with interest and invest.
To date, COU has initiated, trained and monitored 13 VSLAs in the regions we serve. These groups equip both guardians of our sponsored students as well as community members with life-changing knowledge and skills. As a result, an impressive 1,300 people (including mothers, grandmothers, aunties and their dependents) are benefiting from their VSLA participation.
The adoption of a savings culture has widespread impact.
Guardians are encouraged to work harder, pool their resources, start-up their own Income Generating Activity (IGA) or boost their existing small business.
Many of the participants are now also able to save money for their children’s education, invest in livestock and/or build a home for their family from their savings. Moreover, there is a strong sense of community and camaraderie among these women. They act as a sounding board for one another – offering advice, wisdom and loving care.
We are proud to report that 4 of the VSLAs reached maturity in 2019 and are now capable of standing on their own without support from COU staff. This is a truly remarkable step towards independence and self-reliance!
The remaining groups that we continue to monitor have each achieved impressive growth in terms of members and savings this year. For example, Blessed VSLA in Kisaasi, which started with 12 members, now boasts a total of 40 community members.
2019 end-of-year profits are shown in the table below:
