By Philip Tengzu
Sagadugu, (NE/R), May 2, GNA – Members of the Tikpamsi Taaba Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) at Sagadugu, a community in the North East Region, have recounted the positive impact of the VSLA intervention on their economic, social and family lives.
In a song composed to eulogise the VSLA, the women described the VSLA box as a “saviour” since they could rely on it for a financial bailout during emergencies at all times.
Madam Munira Naaton, a Tikpamsi Taaba VSLA group member, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview at the community that it had provided easy access to loans at a low interest rate (10%) to meet her emergency financial needs.
That was during a visit to the Sagadugu, Mimima and Guabuliga communities in that region to experience the impact of interventions of Plan International Ghana, a development and humanitarian Non-governmental Organisation (NGO), in those communities.
The visit was to climax a three-day capacity-building workshop for some journalists and media practitioners in northern Ghana organised by the NGO.
Plan International Ghana facilitated the formation of the Tikpamsi Taaba VSLA as part of initiatives under the Integrated Package for Sustainable Development (IPADEV) project in some communities in northern Ghana to contribute to ensuring sustainable development in the area, especially rural communities.
Madam Naaton said before she joined the VSLA about two years ago, she found it difficult to meet her financial needs, including catering for the needs of her children in school.
“It is a saviour to me, when I am in need anytime, whether day or night, I can get money from it (the VSLA) to solve my problems and pay it back later.
I pick money from the group to buy books and other things for my children in school. Things are better now for me because of this VSLA”, she explained.
Madam Naaton said she accessed a loan from the VSLA to construct a toilet facility for her household and buy farm inputs for farming.
The women thanked Plan International Ghana, its partners and funders for the intervention, which was transforming their economic and social lives.
At the Guabuliga community, Naa Salifu Mahama Tampuri, the chief of that community, narrated the impact of Plan International Ghana’s She Leads project on the development of Girls and Young Women (GYW) in his traditional jurisdiction.
He said school dropout and early marriage among GYW in that community were rampant, coupled with their lack of interest in leadership, but the project had helped address that, though not completely.
Some of the interventions included a She Leads Girls Club, which served as a source of inspiration and capacity-building for GYW.
Naa Tampuri, however, appealed for financial support for GYW in the community, who strived to acquire tertiary education but faced financial challenges, to enable them live their dreams.
Ms. Rukaya, 24, a participant of the She Leads Project in that region, told the GNA that the project had encouraged her to learn a trade after pregnancy forced her out of school.
She is currently the secretary of the dressmakers’ association in her community, a motivation she derived from the project to lead.
GNA
CAE/CA