Esperance, Gashari Village
Starting point Poverty, limited climate information, soil erosion, no employment opportunities
Project support Awareness-raising that encouraged her to join a VSLA
Her savings RWF 300 per week (regular savings) + RWF 50 per week (solidarity/emergency fund)
Results Mutuelle de Santé paid for four family members; school fees paid; livestock purchased; contributing to Ejo Heza
Life before the project
Before the project reached her community, Esperance lived with a combination of pressures that kept her household on the edge. Poverty was constant. She had little information about climate change and its effects on the land, soil erosion was a persistent problem, and there were few opportunities to earn a regular income. Health insurance for her family, which she knew was important, was out of reach.
What the project provided
The project carried out awareness-raising activities in the community and encouraged people to join Village Savings and Loan Associations. Esperance joined a group and began saving RWF 300 every week, with an additional RWF 50 each week going into a solidarity fund for emergencies.
The change she has experienced
Regular saving opened the door to loans, and the loans began to change what was possible at home. Esperance used the money to pay Community-Based Health Insurance (Mutuelle de Santé) contributions for four members of her family, something she had previously been unable to afford. She also paid school fees for her children, bought livestock, and began contributing to the Ejo Heza long-term savings programme.
In practical terms, her family now has health coverage, her children’s schooling is supported, and the household has both an asset in its livestock and a long-term savings plan for the future.
Keeping the gains
Esperance is determined not to slip back into the hardship she knew before. She has decided to keep investing in livestock, which she regards as an important household asset that can support her family through future difficult periods. She also plans to continue saving and to take part in several savings groups, a way of strengthening her financial resilience further.