When a Dream Becomes a Reality
When a Dream Becomes a Reality
On a Tuesday, in the community of Loma de Cáfen, Nicaragua, 22 young women sit together chatting. They are all participants in the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) program funded through World Renew donors. When World Renew’s partner in Nicaragua began visiting homes and told the young mothers and pregnant women about the program, after some encouragement, they all excitedly joined. But today, the women share more than just the knowledge they gained through the VSLA program.
They share hope for bringing to reality dreams they once thought were unattainable. Damaris, president of the VSL group, likes meeting with the other women. She is proud that together they were able to save $23,758 Córdoba’s (US$686) in 12 short months.
Damaris explains, “We thought it would be impossible since we are housewives without any money. If that wasn’t enough, we have…husbands who wouldn’t let us leave our houses. We thought that saving was an unattainable dream.”
In fact, when partner staff told the group about the VSLA methodology—whereby a group of people save a little bit of money each week and then can loan the money to each other at low interest rates—Damaris says, “In our hearts, it was something that we sincerely wanted, but our heads said that it was impossible.”
The women all longed for more financial stability. Damaris says, “In our community no one saves even a Córdoba (10 cents). We go about trying to make ends meet to cover costs for health care, education, growing crops, and our small businesses. We often have to go to neighbors who are a little better off and ask to borrow. It’s embarrassing to have to beg for a loan and most of the time there is no one who can do it anyway.”
So, with the promise of guidance from World Renew and partner staff, the women decided to start a VSLA. Damaris admits that the first meetings were difficult, and it took the group four months before they were able to manage the accounting without support.
Today, the women are proud of their perseverance. They are also very grateful for the natural support network that their VSLA provides. The meetings give them a chance to de-stress and share the things they have in common—it gives them the opportunity to learn new things and to share their hopes and dreams with each other.
As Damaris says, “We overcame all those challenges, and we overcame the fact that our husbands had to give us the freedom to attend the meetings and give us a few coins to save at first. It was hard, but as time went on our husbands realized that it was a good thing—in fact, we could help make ends meet at home. Now they all know that Tuesdays we have our meetings, and no one has a problem attending.”
On a Tuesday, in the community of Loma de Cáfen, Nicaragua, 22 young women sit together chatting. They are all participants in the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) program funded through World Renew donors. When World Renew’s partner in Nicaragua began visiting homes and told the young mothers and pregnant women about the program, after some encouragement, they all excitedly joined. But today, the women share more than just the knowledge they gained through the VSLA program.
They share hope for bringing to reality dreams they once thought were unattainable. Damaris, president of the VSL group, likes meeting with the other women. She is proud that together they were able to save $23,758 Córdoba’s (US$686) in 12 short months.
Damaris explains, “We thought it would be impossible since we are housewives without any money. If that wasn’t enough, we have…husbands who wouldn’t let us leave our houses. We thought that saving was an unattainable dream.”
In fact, when partner staff told the group about the VSLA methodology—whereby a group of people save a little bit of money each week and then can loan the money to each other at low interest rates—Damaris says, “In our hearts, it was something that we sincerely wanted, but our heads said that it was impossible.”
The women all longed for more financial stability. Damaris says, “In our community no one saves even a Córdoba (10 cents). We go about trying to make ends meet to cover costs for health care, education, growing crops, and our small businesses. We often have to go to neighbors who are a little better off and ask to borrow. It’s embarrassing to have to beg for a loan and most of the time there is no one who can do it anyway.”
So, with the promise of guidance from World Renew and partner staff, the women decided to start a VSLA. Damaris admits that the first meetings were difficult, and it took the group four months before they were able to manage the accounting without support.
Today, the women are proud of their perseverance. They are also very grateful for the natural support network that their VSLA provides. The meetings give them a chance to de-stress and share the things they have in common—it gives them the opportunity to learn new things and to share their hopes and dreams with each other.
As Damaris says, “We overcame all those challenges, and we overcame the fact that our husbands had to give us the freedom to attend the meetings and give us a few coins to save at first. It was hard, but as time went on our husbands realized that it was a good thing—in fact, we could help make ends meet at home. Now they all know that Tuesdays we have our meetings, and no one has a problem attending.”
