Empower Women through the Self Help Group Approach

When we started Self Help Groups in 2012, people saved R2 per week. Now most groups are saving R5 per person per week. They are still amazed by what they are able to do with this weekly saving. Most members have improved their life-style in some way. Many have built rooms onto their houses, put up water tanks, tiled floors, put burglar guards onto their houses, and bought furniture such as fridges and cupboards. This has made life easier or more pleasant for the entire family and the more important result is that the woman has gained some status in her family and/or community.

It is really important for each member to start a small business by herself, or with a friend or two in order to generate income. Experience has taught us that very few group businesses are successful or sustainable. The exception to this seems to be group vegetable gardens where members either supply a school feeding scheme with vegetables or sell vegetables in the community. Another group business which has been successful, is when the group buys chairs and hires them out for funerals or parties and community events. Each member keeps a few chairs at home and takes them to the place where they are needed each time.  A lot of our small businesses involve people making and selling food, household items such as floor polish and fabric softener, sewing or beadwork. Others buy items such as second-hand clothes and sell them, while some also buy "tuckshop" food and sell it at local schools at break time. Usually people need to be in a group for 6 months to a year before they start thinking about a business. In reality, unless the group member has been able to start a small business of some kind, she is only shuffling her money around. She borrows from the group, and repays when she gets her grant. To be able to make real improvements to life-style, and not just pay for groceries and airtime, she needs to generate income.

At the last count, we had 61 individual businesses and 3 group businesses in our SHG programme. I include some photos of individual businesses below. Thusanang's Community Facilitators are really important in motivating and helping indivdual members of the Self Help Groups and your donations pay some of their stipends. Thank you very much.

Links:

• Help Rural Women Help Themselves