“You might think your mother is the best cook in the whole world, until you try eating from your neighbors house.” These were the words of Susan, one of the participants during Invisible Children Uganda’s (ICU) Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLA) exchange visit to in Pader district. Susan was explaining how important it is to learn from each other.
New VSLA groups formed this year were given an opportunity to learn from older groups by paying them a visit and hearing firsthand from the members. This year, 21 newly formed groups in Bobi sub-county, in Gulu district traveled over 60 miles to Pader, east of Gulu to learn and share ideas with more established groups.
Oloya is a facilitator trained by ICU to help run some of the established groups in Pader district. “The groups I train are doing great and that’s why they are playing host today,“ she said. “One of the groups, called Rwot Omio (‘God provides’), is actually planning to set up a microfinance soon.”
Exchange visits are organized to give the new groups a practical feel for how important adopting the savings culture is. When newly formed groups see the progress that the old ones have made thus far, they get motivated to do even better.
“Hearing first hand from other groups that started like us and have now achieved a lot makes me feel motivated,” said Ocaya Daniel, the chairperson for Pur Ber (‘farming is good’) Business Group, one of the new VSLA groups in Bobi. The members have been trained in group management and record-keeping and are ready to begin saving for the future.
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