Our programs serve to reduce poverty in rural and marginalized communities in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Through personalized training, we accompany community members to create a self-managed Community Savings Group (CSG) that offers them the opportunity to save and have access to loans (generated from their own fund), with the aim of improving the families' quality of life. We include dynamic financial education workshops that support participants to improve their family financial status.
According to a 2020 CONEVAL report* 66% of the population in Baja California Sur lives in of poverty or vulnerability. This means that families lack income, have low education rates, poor access to health services, inadequate living spaces, and/or are food insecure. The situation for BCS residents has only been magnified by the effects of the Covid19 pandemic and issues of climate change, such as drought and extreme weather events. *Informe de Pobreza y Evaluacion BCS
Our Community Savings Groups (CSGs) support in reducing poverty by opening the doors to people who have been excluded from the formal financial sector. Through our training methodology, 10-25 community members form and lead a group. In just three months, members begin to create an emergency savings fund, set personal financial goals, better understand their personal finances, have access to fair loans, create a social support fund, and improve the well-being of their family and community.
CSGs create a culture of savings, allowing people to improve their homes, children's education, health, economic opportunity, etc. CSGs provide a critical "safety net" for families. Once more, the experience of forming a group allows people to change the way they think, set goals, and work toward them. CSGs also strengthen the social fabric throughout an entire community. Members support one another in times of need, solve issues together to create more resilient and unified communities.
