By mohamedj.bah@awokonewspaper.sl
Freetown, SIERRA LEONE – SEND Sierra Leone has on Thursday 16th March 2023, organized a one-day Village Saving and Loans Association (VSLA) Conference for indigenes of Bonthe District.
The Conference which was a way to reflect on what these VSLAs have been doing over the last year aims to make them financially viable and independent.
Held at Mattru, under the theme “Building Resilient Communities Through Sustainable Resource Mobilisation: The Role of The VSLA and Entrepreneurship” the town Chief of Mattru, Edna Tucker appreciated the work of SEND- SL in her town, whose work she said has been very visible.”This day is a very colorful one for us”.
While giving the purpose of the Conference, the Project Officer of SEND-SL in Bonthe District, Charles Momoh said the Conference aims to showcase the impact of the VSLA, which is a tool to drive poverty.
The VSLA he said comprises between 25- 30 people within the same locality putting their monies together.
“The group is voluntary one, which is helping to strengthen unity among members within the VSLA and the community as a whole.”
About 50 VSLA groups were put together from Imperri, Sittia, Bendu Cha, and Bonthe Municipality Chiefdoms with a total of 1,500 beneficiaries, among which are 875 women and 625 men.
A total of NeLe 703, 286 was saved between November 2021 and February 2023 by the VSLA, with an income of NeLe 128,406 at the end.
According to the Country Director of SEND- SL Joseph Ayamga, ” I’m honored to join you at this event that seeks to showcase the impact of the VSLA in transforming the lives of thousands of households in Bonthe District”
He said the VSLA has transformed the lives of the people of Bonthe, district by improving their resource mobilisation through the VSLA, entrepreneurship through business management skills training, and financial literacy.
“This has had a tremendous impact on the district, which is predominately fishing dependent. We are excited to share with you the results of our efforts and the impact that we have made in the community “.
Chairing the Conference, Madam Augusta Ashum described the Conference as the first of its kind to have such a ceremony in the district. She says VSLA is something that development partners had spoken about that had helped in the development of other nations of which Sierra Leone will not be an exception.
She said the conference is also a learning process, from the groups that have done extremely well to those that stand in the middle.
The District officers both from the Council and the district as a whole thanked SEND -SL who they said are complementing the efforts of the government, by not only helping in the transformation of the country but also supporting women’s empowerment extensively.
They said if development is to take place in Sierra Leone, the women and men are to be working side by side, which is exactly what SEND- SL is doing.
Sharing her testimony Madam Fatima Lamboi said prior to the formation of the VSLA, she was finding it very difficult to raise money, but now she’s raising millions, part of which she had used to build a house.
Giving the keynote address, the Board Chairperson of SEND SL, Madam Lucy Gundor, maintained that the VSLA members are very special people in the community, by sacrificing the little they are having to do something great for their families.
She said VSLA is like a Bank, with similar structures in places but differing only in terms of membership.
Everything done in the VSLA is in documentary form, showing evidence of what they’re doing.
“We have the VSLA which is only targeting women, under the Modern a Women project”, while the BIFT, is a mixed group comprising both women and men contributing.
She underscored that SEND came with the VSLA in order for Sierra Leoneans to live a very happy life in a transparent manner and also to increase the business status of women in the communities.
She applauded the VSLA groups for such tremendous work and however called on those groups that did not perform so well, for them to study where they went wrong and try to make the necessary corrections.
Other stakeholders also made pertinent contributions, as certificates were presented to hardworking VSLA groups at the end. MJB/17/3/2023