Tuesday 21st and Thursday 29th of September, YPM held VICOBA trainings in Mshangai and Kamngobole for leaders from twenty three different VICOBA-groups around the area.
Secretaries, discipline masters, treasures and chair persons met to report and share experiences from their VICOBA groups, and get professional input from head office. The aim of the meeting was to discuss several themes on VICOBA, to make sure our leaders feel supported and return to their communities even more confident and knowledgeable than before. Strong leaders are necessary build strong and durable VICOBA groups, and represent important figures in community development.
Participants get training on importance of good leadership
A leader should always be elected from members within the group. One of his or hers main responsibilities is to be a positive motivator and empower others to save more. A successful leaders is one that sees that others succeeds. But leadership is also about making sure that the rules are followed and the VICOBA members pay their shares and fines according to the law of the group. VICOBA does not permit losses. This is the communities money, and trust is needed for the system to work. Each VICOBA group should have a constitution which help govern their activities, and leaders may refer to this in case of disagreements on eg. payment of fines. It is important that leaders upheld a strict, but fair, line on deadlines for payments of VICOBA money, and go in front as good examples themselves.
Group assignment: participants are calculating how to divide profit from VICOBA according to a persons shares.
It is important that leaders upheld a strict, but fair, line on deadlines for payments of VICOBA money, and go in front as good examples themselves.
The training in Mshangai also gave to thirteen groups chance to present themselves, and their achievements this far. Some groups had started only recently, and only gathered some hundred thousands shillings, but most groups were between 25-40 members and had collected from 2 million to 4 million shillings. One group had even managed to collect more than 6 million. Most of the groups reported meeting the same challenges: members who used to long time to return loans, and lack of facilities to run group projects. Most of the groups had tree planting projects, or other small group businesses.
YMP are grateful for all the good work done around in the villages, especially by the group leaders, who volunteer of their time to run our projects. You are indispensable to our work, and real makers of changers in the lives of your neighbors, friends and families.
Between 14th – 16th of September, representatives from YPM head office visited activities in Handeni branch. Training and follow up were done on VICOBA and PETS, and wheelchairs donated to the local hospital. We are also in the process of setting up a computer center for youths.
VICOBA IN BRIEF
VICOBA is a Village Community Banking. It is a group that is formed by 20 – 30 people who are willing and accept the responsibility of forming, attending, respecting and abiding to the rules to be set. These groups are formed for the sake of empowering economic freedom at local and grass roots level. They are platforms for grass roots informal education and efforts to inculcate the spirit of saving from the little that they have. The amount, the regulations to guide the group and the leadership is chosen among the group members. The facilitation does not require them to pay fees, but rather support the early stages and allow them to grow.
Secure box for keeping of cash in the VICOBA group. All three keyholders must be present to open the box.
There are many benefits from participation in VICOBA groups. It fosters cooperation on economic development by providing fast access to loans for investment in businesses. It gives chance to build a strong relationship in the given community and members of the group. It provide chances for unified voice in matters related to development in the specified community; it challenges and encourages the spirit of saving and thus loan to businesses. It encourages members to be industrious and courageous to take steps in starting small businesses as a way to stop/fight poverty. In a unified manner it equips members to raise together while holding hands of one another through insisted weekly savings. And there is profit.
Visit to VICOBA group
At the moment there are three VICOBA groups in Handeni, and we were lucky to meet with one of them. The group was 8 months old and consisted of 30 members, which together have contributed with 2,977,000 Tanzanian shillings in the bank. This has made it possible to lend out 6,370,000 million shillings, which has been used to start small businesses like small hotels and shops.
In this visit in Handeni- Kwakonje community, the group reported that since start-up, there are people who has taken loans and returned already. Altogether 2,884,000 shillings have been returned to the group. But time to return loans is however also mentioned as one of the challenges facing the group, and some were concerned about what to do about people traveling away without paying back. YPM advised the groups to have a clear charter of rules on how to handle delayed payments, not to lend out money to unreliable persons, and to report any form of theft to the police. Travel is not an excuse for delayed payment as modern technology, like money sent through mobile account, makes transactions possible across distance.
Another issue stressed by the YPM delegation was whether the group would keep the circle into the next year or not. VICOBA groups are mainly organized in two different ways: some are distributing back all the shares and profit once a year, and start over again (breaking the circle), while others keep the shares and distribute profits only (keeping the circle/closing the year). YPM advised all their groups to keep the circle/close the year, as this is the only way to build a strong bank which can let people lend higher amounts of money. Access to more financial resources gives greater investment opportunities to the individual, but will also benefit everyone in the VICOBA group by bringing in more profit. If a group want loans on a million shillings or more they should close the circle. The VICOBA group in Handeni has a maximum loan of 500 000 shillings today, but decided they would attempt to close the circle to increase their capacity.
YPM Director, Mr. Godfrey Walalaze, speaks to the Handeni VICOBA group about the benefits of closing the circle.
Follow up training on PETS
On Thursday 15th of September YPM held a training on Public Expenditure Tracking System (PETS) for young people from villages around Handeni. The participants presented what they had done in their local communities as follow up projects since last training. The last training held August 2015 set the group of Trainer of Trainers (ToTs) who were to go into their communities and awaken the spirit of follow up for inspiring accountability. One example of a project was done on a local health center, tracking the income from fees put on users. Every visitor to the center had to contribute with 300 shillings to pay the security guard, in addition to 1000 shillings to see a doctor, and 200 for child clinic. This fees were justified as necessary to run the center, but an account on how the money was spent, and what happened to the surplus, could not be shown.
Tracking public money, asking questions and hold leading figures accountable is all of what PETS is about. If a health center receives 1300 shillings from twenty people every day, then that makes 26000 a day, 182 000 a week, and 780 000 a month! People have the right to ask how this money is spent. Unfortunately the ambassadors of PETS still meet a lot of challenges in their work. On the training, people reported problems with cooperation with leaders and local community, lack of education among people on their right to ask, and leaders who ignored them, did not turn up on appointments, or received them with a skeptical attitude (typically who are you, and why do you ask about this).
Challenges and how to solve them were discussed, and YPM came with some advice for the future. The participants should be conscious not to do PETS alone, but teach their villages and by that creating whole communities working together as catalysts for change. Alone we are weak, but together we are unbreakable. Priorities for follow up should be decided collectively in the community, and ambassadors of PETS should make sure they report back to the village to inform them on their progress, build trust and get community power. In that way we are doing advocacy with the community, not for them.
YPM is aware that PETS is demanding work and will take time, but are grateful for all achievements reach this far.
Participants are discussing challenges they meet with PETS in their communities, and how to solve them.
Wheelchairs to Handeni hospital
Friday morning on the 16th of September, YPM donated four wheelchairs to Handeni hospital to be used by sick and disabled people living/visiting the hospital.
Construction of computer center
YPM is planning to put up a computer center for youths in Handeni, and have donated four computers for this purpose. The center is expected to open next month. Further information will be posted.
On September 27th, Linda Martinsen from Y Global Norway visited YPM to inspect several projects
undertaken by our organization. Y Global is an organization lying under the Norwegian YMCA-YWCA (KFUK-KFUM). They are one of YPM’s partner organizations, and have supported us with funds. As a representaive for Y Global, Linda had the chance to visit the villages of Mshangai and Kwedeghe, to see VICOBA groups and their progress.
SUCCESS STORIES
Many young people have failed to make business due to the lack of capital, but VICOBA has shown how
it facilitates easy access to capital and possibility to establish successful business. Many members have
started a business from loans that were found in their groups, and many of them have invested in
agriculture, poultry as well as small businesses.
In the villages Mshaghai and Kwedeghe, we met with three groups: Tumaini, Upendo, and Songa Mbele.
Members of these groups had taken loans, and most of them had set up businesses. Through these
businesses they can now run their families, as well as restoring the credit which were taken.
Inspection of different VICOBA projects
One member, Mr. Isack Baraza, had invested heavily in a major project of tomato farming. He took a loan of six
hundred thousand shillings, which made it possible for him to both start the project and construct his
own house. The tomato project has been very successful. Every week Baraza harvests twenty buckets of
tomatoes, and each of them sells for ten thousand shillings. That gives an income of 200 000 each week,
and at least 800 000 a month! With the tomato season lasting for four months, this is sure to bring good
income.
Mr. Isack Baraza’s tomato fields
Linda learned a lot and saw how VICOBA can eliminate poverty. We hope she will take the new
experience with her when she travels home to Norway on the 29th of September.
CONTINUE TO VISIT OUR NETWORK FOR SOCIAL EVENTS AND ISSUES CONCERNING YOUNG PEOPLE
During our visit to Msongolo and Ngwele last week, YPM were able to see some of the achievements brought to life by VICOBA. We call these “success stories”.
Mrs. Evelyn Apeles from Ngwele is one of the persons who got her life changed through VICOBA. With a loan of 300 000 shillings, she managed to build a new house for herself and her family.
ONLY VICOBA CAN CHANGE THIS
INTO THIS
Mrs. Apeles’ new and old house is lying next to each other. The improvements are easy to see. Thanks to VICOBA, her new home has double size of the old one, and is build in bricks rather than mud.
Loans from VICOBA are usually invested in small, income generating projects or businesses, which assure that money will be brought in to refund the loan with interest. Mrs. Apeles does not have a business of her own, but work on a nearby tea plantation. By taking extra shifts and working hard 6 days a week, she has been able to make 450 000 shillings.
– VICOBA is my motivation. I know that for each share I save in VICOBA, I can get loan of three times as much.
Mrs. Apeles is always trying to buy five shares every week, for two thousand shillings each share. Now she is saving up to extend her house with two extra rooms, giving the house four rooms in total.
le who has taken loans and returned already. Altogether 2,884,000 shillings have been returned to the group. But time to return loans is however also mentioned as one of the challenges facing the group, and some were concerned about what to do about people traveling away without paying back. YPM advised the groups to have a clear charter of rules on how to handle delayed payments, not to lend out money to unreliable persons, and to report any form of theft to the police. Travel is not an excuse for delayed payment as modern technology, like money sent through mobile account, makes transactions possible across distance.
e we are weak, but together we are unbreakable. Priorities for follow up should be decided collectively in the community, and ambassadors of PETS should make sure they report back to the village to inform them on their progress, build trust and get community power. In that way we are doing advocacy with the community, not for them.
