I want to tell you more about the change in the lives of extreme poor people on the Savings Program, maybe because keeping them motivated is quite a challenge to us. It can take up to six months before they see results, and then, it is only on survival level. Initially the savings helps them to buy more groceries, so their children might have two meals per day, or they can afford the transport cost to town to apply for a social grant from Government. The question we ask ourselves is: ‘how do we approach these precious children of God while they wait for results so that they don’t lose interest? But, miracles happen daily in Africa!

In the Zamakuhle Savings Group ten ladies approach a nearby high school and asked permission to start a vegetable garden next to the school. The main reason for this was to have access to the schools water. This project does need our support in many ways, and hopefully Zimele will soon be in the financial position to assist them.

Another lady of this group could afford to enlarge a small ‘spaza’ shop at her house to a ‘tuck’ shop. There are two levels of shops. The smallest possible shop is called a ‘spaza shop’ sometimes run from home, but most often they are situated next to the road, selling candy and chips. The second level is a ‘tuck’ shop. These shops are run from homes and offer a bigger variety of daily necessities.

This is a photo of a crafter, who used this opportunity to purchase larger amounts of beads and increased her production. She is currently selling in her community and at month end in Durban.

The objective of the Savings Program is not only to increase income in poor house holds; it is more about poor people taking action and makes their voice heard. The first social achievement on our program happened in Swayimani, where a child was ran over by a Taxi (local transport). The child was walking back from school when the taxi, traveling at a high speed, hit him. The ladies from the savings groups collectively challenged the local councilor to act on the matter. The councilor was planning on having more police in the area, but the ladies convinced him that speed humps in the road would solve his problem. The councilor expressed his thanks to the ladies for coming up with an affordable and workable solution to the problem.