By Mabinty M. Kamara in Port Loko
“But with this initiative brought by Concern, and the training provided through the living in peace initiative, my husband now has tremendous respect for me and even assists me do some chores in the home because I have a business that I do and support my children in school after I took the loan from the box,” says Ramatu Bangura.
The 35 year -old mother in Port Loko narrates how the introduction of the village Loan and Savings Activities introduced in her community by Concern worldwide through the funding support from Irish Aid has restored her dignity and ensured her financial independence.
The scheme is part of an initiative supported by the government of Ireland, a member of the European Union to promote nutrition, hygiene and financial resilience, and uplift the livelihood of community women in Sierra Leone.
The VSLA model which is now common in many communities introduced by development partners empowers individuals, particularly women to pool their resources together in the form of thrift to foster a culture of savings and access micro loans to invest in income generating activities. This initiative serves as a glimmer of hope for many community women in Sierra Leone like Ramatu.
Speaking in an interview with Politico in her Magbokworr community in Kamasondo Chiefdom Portloko district, Ramatu said before the introduction of the scheme life was difficult and she had very little say in her home as it was her husband who made all the decisions since he was the only bread winner.
Yusuf Mansaray explained how the scheme has contributed to the promotion of the wellbeing of their community members, noting how it used to be difficult for their Bundulai community, just four miles away, to access medical facilities due to lack of transportation. “With the introduction of the scheme, I was the first to take a loan to buy the first motor bike in the village. Today there are five of us that have motorbikes all from the loan obtained. Now we can attend to the emergency medical needs of our people at any time of the day,” he said.
He added that it is also now easy for the people to access the market with their agricultural produce after harvest.
Speaking on peaceful coexistence, he mentioned another component of the Linking Agriculture, Nutrition and Natural Resource Management in Sierra Leone (LANN-NSC) project funded by the same donors. He said they now understand how to treat their wives as development partners and not as objects or ‘slaves’, as “they can contribute meaningfully to the home in terms of resources. My wife has more shares in the VSLA than me. I can even help her with the laundry and cook anytime I am at home and she is away”.
Hassanatu Dumbuya who is in charge at the maternal health post expressed satisfaction with the community in terms of their wellbeing especially of children under five years. She noted how she used to record high malnutrition cases in the community from moderate to severe due to lack of proper care for the children, pregnant and lactating mothers.
Ms. Dumbuya she said with the introduction of the nutrition camp held once a year over a three week period, the health of the children has improved greatly and that even the mothers now know how to take good care of their children.
The community chief Pa Komra Bai Kanu said the intervention has not only helped improve the wellbeing of the children, pregnant women and lactating mothers of his village, it has also restored peace of mind and reduced conflict in his community as they no longer have external creditors coming into the village to collect debts which mostly resulted in confrontation and police intervention forcing especially women to leave their families to relocate to other communities because they could not pay their debts.
To mark Europe Day, May 9 the EU team is on a nationwide bus tour to monitor the impact of the development projects supported by the EU and its member countries such as Ireland, Germany and France.
The EU-Team hopes to identify gaps in their interventions for better outcomes and foster the EU– Sierra Leone development Cooperation through key intervention areas with the government of Sierra Leone.
Copyright © 2024 Politico (15/05/24)
