Functional Adult Literacy: Meet Moses

Everyday, Moses wakes up, gathers his notebook and training materials, and packs them neatly in his backpack.  He hops on his bicycle and travels to one of the five communities that he works with in Bobi sub-county as a community facilitator for Invisible Children.

Originally from Bobi, as a student Moses saw people from his community living in IDP camps as a result of the LRA insurgency in northern Uganda.  It was then that he decided, if given the opportunity, that he would find a way to bring change to his community. (more…)

Functional Adult Literacy: Chalkboards and exercise books

Yesterday I traveled to Bobi, about 30 kilometers outside of Gulu town, with Invisible Children staff devoted to our Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) initiative. With a truck full of chalkboards, exercise books, pens, and other materials, we delivered supplies to the 15 groups of people in Bobi who will soon begin learning how to read and write through participating in FAL.

Taking into account years of interrupted studies for many in northern Uganda due to the LRA insurgency and lack of access to higher education, Invisible Children began its Functional Adult Literacy (FAL) initiative. FAL provides adult literacy training for participating VSLA group members, focusing on numeracy, reading, and writing in their local language. (more…)

“Ket Itic” – put it to work

As you travel outside the center of Gulu, you quickly notice the change in your surroundings.  Businesses are replaced with small trading centers and the bustle of everyday life quickly fades into fields ripe with crops like maize and cassava.  Along the road, you will see small communities of people who live together, work together, and support one another.

Last week, we made our way to one of these communities, located in Bobi, about 40 kilometers outside of Gulu town.  While there, we visited a group participating in Invisible Children’s Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) program.  The group, Ket Itic, was in its 35th week of saving and loaning together.  At the meeting we attended, they managed to save 105,000 shillings (about $42), adding it to the 3,218,000 shillings (about $1,287) they had saved together since the start of the 35 weeks.  Once the group is finished saving and everyone has repaid their loans, the members will be able to continue and grow their own small business initiatives. (more…)

Uganda: Photo Friday

At the formation of every Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) group, the members elect their leaders.  Positions include a Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary, Key Holders, and Money Counters.  Responsible for counting the money during VSLA meetings, the Money Counters make sure that every shilling is accounted for and help to ensure the accuracy of the group’s records.

Invisible Children currently supports 50 VSLA groups, of 25-30 members each.  The groups meet every week to save and loan money together.  For something that takes just one hour a week to manage, VSLA provides members with three immensely valuable benefits:  a way to save money, a way to earn interest, and a way to access previously unavailable capital.

Resilience and hard work!

Lily is a member of one our Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) groups. The group she belongs to is called “Ket itic” (Put it to work), and they recently submitted a proposal for a goat rearing and selling business to our VSLA office. (more…)

Learning to save

We met with Jennifer recently in a local village in Atanga, northern Uganda.  Jennifer is a member of IC’s Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLA) program.  VSLA empowers people like Jennifer by helping community groups start loaning and saving their money together.  She first joined VSLA because she didn’t have any savings for emergencies and her family was in desperate financial need.

Prior to joining VSLA, Jennifer told us that she would use her garden to feed her family and that she couldn’t afford medicine when she or her family members fell sick.  “I had no way of saving money,” she stated.  Jennifer explained that initially, she didn’t have any interest in trying to build a savings.  She said, “I didn’t understand the importance of saving my money then, but I saw other people benefiting from the program.”  Because of this, she decided to join VSLA in December of 2010. (more…)

Seeding income generating activities

As a part of the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) program, Invisible Children is empowering communities in northern Uganda to start sustainable businesses.  Last week, our VSLA staff provided start-up capital to 15 VSLA groups in Bobi (Gulu) and 15 groups in Atanga (Pader) that will allow them to start their own businesses.  These businesses will help group members meet basic needs, like paying the education of their children, maintaining good health, and buying food.

Earlier, members of these VSLA groups drafted viable business proposals that they presented to Invisible Children.  Our VSLA team evaluated the proposals and advised the different groups on managing each business. (more…)

Meet Martina and Chai Tea Women’s Group

Martina is a silver fish market vendor from Bobi, just outside of Gulu in northern Uganda.  Her job is very important because she uses the proceeds from her sales to support her children and grandchildren –twelve in total!

She’s a member of Invisible Children Uganda’s (ICU) Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) program, which helps community members save and loan money together.  Being involved in VSLA enables Martina to purchase the silver fish she sells in a larger quantity.  In turn, she is able to open up her business to a new pool of clients, which allows her to bring in a greater profit.

Martina leads her own VSLA group called Chai Tea Women’s Group.  Members of her group gather and share tea together before starting their weekly meetings.  Martina told us that one of the unexpected effects that VSLA has had on her village is its ability to bring people together in a way that wouldn’t happen normally.

To date, she’s saved about 75 dollars.  Martina reflected back upon when she first began saving.  “At first I was scared to join because I didn’t know if I could keep up with the new time commitment in addition to my busy life of taking care of kids and maintaining the business.  I thought it would be impossible to save the money every week.” She paused. Then, with a confident smile, she stated, “It was a risk, but I now know it’s completely possible.”

She also has a special message she wanted to send all the IC supporters:

“I am very grateful to all the supporters.  You are greatly helping village women at both the individual and domestic levels.  Women are being empowered economically because now they can pool their money together.  Actually, at the household level, domestic violence is decreasing because the men have seen the good impact VSLA has been having on the family’s living situations.”

We, here at Invisible Children, are so excited to see how the VSLA program is changing lives for people like Martina and her family!

–Nikki

The power of saving

Betty is a quiet woman with eyes that hold a wealth of experience.  She has no family of her own, but acts as the mother to her sister’s three children.  Her Acholi name is “Alanyo,” which means, “I have won something.” But, when you sit down and talk with her, you quickly realize that Betty has worked hard for everything she’s accomplished.

In 2007, Betty was offered the opportunity to become an Invisible Children bracelet maker.  At the time, she was a vulnerable woman living in an Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, and readily accepted the job.  She began receiving a regular salary, and if you ask her now about the long-term impact, she’ll be the first to tell you that her life was changed. (more…)

On the Ground: VSLA Group Profile

Members of Oberabic’s VSLA group wait for their weekly meeting to start

The village, Oberabic, meaning Five Mosquitos in Luo, is not unlike the hundreds of other small villages carpeting the countryside of northern Ugandan.  Subsistence farmers separated from one another by vast swaths of farmland are its residents.  Its roads are mottled paths tunneled by head high grasses.  Its nights—electricity and light bulb-free—are cloaked in deep, penetrating shadows when clouds float thick.  There’s no bustling town center.  No large restaurants or modern internet cafes.  Because they pull their livelihoods from the earth beneath their feet, season by season, many people in Oberabic exist on the fringes of a money-based economy, relying on bartering and infrequent money-based purchases to survive.  Which is why, on this day, the meeting taking place is more remarkable:  farmers who have never done so before are pooling their cash, balancing financial ledgers, and taking loans.

(more…)