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The Communications and Advocacy Officer of RAINS, Mr Andy Clement Mumuni, helping VSLA members at Nanton-Kurugu to share their contributions
The Communications and Advocacy Officer of RAINS, Mr Andy Clement Mumuni, helping VSLA members at Nanton-Kurugu to share their contributions

NGO introduces savings system to benefit women

The Regional Advisory Information Network Systems (RAINS), a Tamale-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), has introduced a savings system, christened Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA), to enable needy women to raise their own capital.

The project is being implemented under the Livelihood Empowerment Project of RAINS in four communities in two districts and one municipality in the Northern Region, as part of efforts to encourage women to become financially and economically empowered and take charge of the management of their homes.

The districts are West Mamprusi and Mion, and the Savelugu-Nanton municipality.

Some of the communities where the VSLA project is being implemented are Daboya, Nayorku, Nanton-Kurugu, Zokugu, Zosali, Sang and Bidima.

Purpose of VSLA

The VSLA is a system where a group of women numbering more than 15 but less than 30 come together to save and take small loans from those savings.

The activities of the group run in cycles of one year, after which the accumulated savings and the loan profits are distributed to members.

At Nanton-Kurugu for instance, the VSLA members contributed a total of GH¢33,539.80 in a year while those in Daboya, Noyorku, and Zokugu contributed GH¢35,780.70, GH¢21,792.80 and GH¢23,840.80 respectively.

The purpose of a VSLA is to provide simple savings and loan facilities in a community that does not have easy access to formal financial services.

Programme  

At a ceremony to share the accumulated contributions of the VSLA among members at Nanton-Kurugu in the Savelugu-Nanton municipality, the Communications and Advocacy Officer of RAINS, Mr Andy Clement Mumuni, said the project was introduced in the implementing communities to assist the poor women to raise their own capitals through ‘susu’ savings.

He said the VSLA project had enabled many poor rural women to raise their own capital to start their businesses without having to go to banks for loans.

He said RAINS would continue to support women in its operational areas in ensuring that their welfare was improved for the better.

Child labour

He said one of the reasons for the introduction of the project was to reduce child labour and child exploitation which usually occurred as a result of poverty in many households.

Amidu Abiba, a beneficiary of the VSLA project, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the project had brought unity among the women in the community.

For her part, Senatu Abdullai said the VSLA project had fostered trading activities in the community, saying, “Most of the women are now investing their monies in their businesses.”

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