EMBRASSING VSLA FOR PROJECTS SUSTAINABILITY
As one of the innovative methods to improving sustainable livelihoods of our OVC’s and caregivers, Alliance for Children and Youth Uganda has clustered its beneficiries into groups and trained them in the VSLA methodology. The major objective of establishing a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) is to support local economic development through financial intermediation. VSLA is a group of people who collectively support a structured process for saving money and offering loans at the local level. They provide a simple and accountable system for savings and loans for communities which do not have ready access to formal financial services or underserved by the formal financial institutions such as banks or microfinance companies.
Today, A4CY-U has formed and trained 10 (ten) VSLA groups in the four (4) target sub counties of Bugoye, Hima Town council, Kitswamba and Rukoki in Kasese District, with a membership of 223 members.
These groups have helped us to diversify livelihood activities of our beneficiaries who depend mostly on farming and the exploitation of natural resources. The VSLA’s bring together community members who save for mutually agreeable objectives and take out small loans from those savings to expand their businesses, pay for their children’s school fees and support household activities.
These groups have also helped to reduce on organisational mobilisation costs of our beneficiaries in that we use their weekly meeting days to pass on other vital project messages like drug adherence, good nutrition and balanced diet, good agronomic practices, health education, small scale business management and enterprenuership, saving for a purpose, child protection and positive parenting.
Government structures especially the Community Development Officers have also used these groups as avenues for passing on government development programs.
We are preparing these groups to register at their sub counties such that we are able to receive support from other governement programs like UWEP and Youth Livelihood Programs