Approval from Mongu!

You may have been wondering why I have not written in a few weeks. No, it is not because I have been lazy, but because my main project, implementing Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) in Western Province was postponed until an important visit was made.

Last week I took the bus seven hours to Mongu in Western Province of Zambia. I would be catching a ride back with co-workers coming up through Sesheke & Shangombo. Our goal was to gain approval for the SILC project from the Director of Caritas of the Diocese of Mongu, CRS’s preferred partner of implementation in Western Province. The director also happens to be local royalty, meaning his thoughts carry more weight than the average Joe. If we did not receive approval, the project would not be going forward, no matter how beneficial it could be or how well it fit into our other programming.

We wanted to create SILC groups in conjunction with the nutritional groups and agricultural cooperatives that are already in place in five communities one-to-two hours outside of Mongu town. Not only would this have the normal benefits of SILC of increased savings, financial literacy and access to capital, but it would also bring cohesion to these existing groups, strengthening them: true program synergy.

We started off our first day visiting the Director of Caritas and he was extremely welcoming and readily gave his approval of our SILC project. A small miracle had happened. Bishop Duffy had seen SILC in Ethiopia and communicated to the Prince and others that he would love to see more SILC activity in Mongu.

Easy enough, right? Not quite. We next had to visit the agricultural cooperatives and nutritional groups and see whether SILC would be appropriate for those populations. To get to one of the communities, Lukulo, we had to drive two hours on a sand road. (read sanD, not sandy) Needless to say it was quite an experience!

The groups had the characteristics we were looking for; not too poor to participate, entrepreneurial opportunities available, and enough education to take advantage of the program.

The next day we visited current SILC groups present in the town of Mongu.  We were graciously welcomed with singing and dancing.

We were amazed to see how much these small groups of (mostly) women were able to save and build their small businesses. One group of eleven had been able to mobilize over seven million Kwacha (or roughly $1,400) over eight months, in addition to expanding their business operations!

In speaking with the SILC groups we learned that some did not initially want to participate because they were told the money box, used to keep the savings, was satanic and that their children would die if they participated. The satanic warning seemed to come more out of jealousy of those involved in the program, but this will be a key lesson to take into account as we implement in nearby communities.

This appears to be a fairly rosy picture; one that would suggest easy implementation of starting new SILC groups. That story remains to be told, however, so stay tuned and I will let you know how it goes.

Often on this blog I think about what the most effective means of serving the poor are. Are they market-based? Program-based? A blend? I feel confident saying that in this specific case, without program work, SILC would have never been implemented to give the market a chance to flourish. There is a high need for additional funding for implementing innovative programs such as SILC in cases like these, and I believe cases like these are very common. What is your experience?