Income insecurity is one of the major causes of poor livelihoods in most rural communities because guardians and community members lack access to credit for enterprise development. In an effort to combat this, Children’s HopeChest has worked with communities like Obwobwo to build a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) model. VSLAs address cultural gaps and ensure access to savings and credit facilities. The strength behind the VSLA methodology is that it engenders a culture of saving among members who are required to save weekly by buying shares. HopeChest has found this model to be successful at alleviating poverty on the community and household levels.

A VSLA is a self-managed, self-selected group of people who pool their money into a fund from which members can borrow. Groups are governed by a set of rules developed by the members on how much to save, the loan interest rates, and when and where to meet. All group leaders are elected by the members. Any money borrowed from the group is paid back with interest, which helps the collective fund grow. VSLAs have proven to be very effective in accelerating growth and building local capacity for savings and investments. Benefits accrued out of VSLA group savings have helped many people with financial safety, health for their household, and education for their children. VSLAs have also helped people acquire business skills and improve their social lives.

Please use this page to give a gift to help the Obwobwo CarePoint community continue to build their VSLA.