Sh4 million rich! Game-changing Isiolo chamas

When village savings and loans associations (VSLA) were introduced in Ngaremara, Isiolo County, some years ago, the few women who took the bold step of joining groups risked being thrown out of their homes by their husbands.

Being pastoral women, their work was majorly to look after livestock, fetch water and firewood, and cook for their families. Traditions marginalised them, barring them from attending social gatherings and offered them limited access to and control of resources.

The few who joined the groups had difficulties convincing their husbands that their weekly meetings were just meant for financial and social empowerment. A number were battered.

Livelihood

Being illiterate, most women in the ward, predominantly occupied by the Turkana community, solely rely on charcoal burning and trade to support their families. The proceeds must, however, go through their husbands, who dictate how it is spent.

VSLA is a micro-finance model that allows people, especially from vulnerable households, to save, access loans and obtain emergency insurance, among other financial services that are so hard to come by in remote rural areas.

Conservationist Josephine Ekiru helped the women form the groups, trained them in basic financial skills and record keeping, and facilitated their benchmarking tours to other successful VSLA groups in the region.

The pioneers persevered in the face of male resistance and maintained that the VSLAs were beneficial. Today, 17 groups of more than 350 women exist, and are changing lives. The women save between Sh100 and Sh500 weekly, plus Sh30 for their social welfare.

During their 2021 year-end share-out sessions at Daaba shopping centre, the groups that were lucky to have survived the axe, met under Acacia trees. A locked metallic box rested in the middle of the circle they had formed.

The women, some of whom were breastfeeding, chatted while others counter-checked records as their children played a short distance away.

One group Nakuprat VSLA, has 18 members. Jenerica Echwa Lemosian, 23, is the group’s secretary and is responsible for, among other roles, taking minutes of their meetings. She is a high school graduate.

“We are cross-checking each member’s savings and profit share-outs before dishing out,” she says, revealing that she saved Sh21,000 in 2021.

The two-year-old group saved Sh400,000 during the same period, an improvement from the Sh372,050 in 2020.

Men soon mill around and proceed to sit under nearby trees.

Meeting family needs

Ms Lemosian intends to use her savings to construct a house for her mother and pay part of her sister’s school fees at Ngaremara Girls Secondary School.
Adjacent to her cluster is Sabina Namoe Lopeyo’s Ekisil group of 15 women. They saved Sh450,000 between January and December 2021. The 36-year-old says they came together for financial empowerment.

“Pastoralism has proved unreliable due to rustling and drought,” she says, adding that the VSLA loaning model is friendly as interest rate is low and one does not require any collateral to access loan as long as they are active members.

Besides bringing financial services closer to their villages, VSLA gives them some flexibility.

“I can save weekly or monthly as long as I give the money I am required to save monthly,” says the mother of nine.

Ms Lopeyo is among the loan beneficiaries and has been using the money to support her goat business. So helpful had the group been to her at the height of the Covid-19 crisis, her children never slept hungry.

“Through loans, I am able to buy enough food for the family and even pay part of their school fees,” she says as she waits for her Sh30,000 share-out.

Ms Lopeyo cuts on family expenses and occasionally borrows from her husband to save with VSLA. She admits that men were initially resistant to the idea but have over the time, allowed them to participate in the group activities.

“We (women) are required to be at home by 4pm to ensure the goats are in the sheds and food is ready on time,” she notes.

As the members’ names are read out, two stand out: Caroline Aemun and Esipital Amathe. The duo, aged over 65 years, saved more than several young women.

Supporting business

Ms Aemun saved Sh23,000, while Ms Amathe of Inuka group saved Sh17,000, money they say was enough to buy goats to sell.

“I buy goats and sell them on market days. If I don’t have money, I ask for a loan, which I pay after a month,” Ms Amathe says.

The men in attendance have been invited to pick the savings on behalf of their wives.

This, Ms Ekiru says, is to build trust and ensure the men embrace the idea. “Inviting them is a way to show them that they are respected and that their decisions count,” she says.

Antanas Ekwam of Egero Emuria Group has saved Sh33,000 up from Sh31,000 in 2020. Collectively, the group saved Sh450,000.

“We had started a table banking programme, but it was not sustainable. We formed our VSLA group in 2019 and life has never been the same,” Ms Ekwam says, noting that she bought her first dairy cow with money from the group.

Ms Ekwam says the model was part of their journey to self-reliance and financial independence.

“We no longer beg for money from our husbands,” she notes, adding that her savings would go towards expansion of the house she built using her 2020 savings.

Other VSLA groups are Upendo, Neema, Napetao, Ewala, Nauwa, Ingole, Ariengun, Epus, Natelengo, Ilaat, Ngapaoi, Nawoi Torong, Nambaute and Apuko.

The 17 groups, all two years old, saved Sh4 million in 2021 and Sh3.5 million the previous year. They have changed lives.

“Our resilience to drought and other climate shocks has improved; our interactions have built trust among us and enabled us to live as one family,” Ms Lopeyo says.

Ms Ekiru says the idea to form VSLAs was to bring women together, inculcate the saving culture and empower them financially. Previously, many women engaged in illicit brewing and charcoal burning to earn a living.

“If they (women) can save Sh4 million without external support, they can achieve more if assisted by the government and non-governmental organisations,” she says.

They intend to increase the groups to 25 this year.

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