From Microfinance to Social Microfinance

From the inception of its microfinance project, VEG has committed itself to guaranteeing the protection of its clients. Microfinance can be a dangerous tool if not handled properly. In many countries, examples of over-indebtedness proliferate as microfinance institutions are businesses prone to make profit and not necessarily interested in the well-being of their clients.

After almost two years of soul searching in our microfinance project, trying to reconcile financial activities with Reproductive Health rights activities, we opted resolutely for the more structured path of social microfinance based on the Onipa Nua (Friendship) methodology; namely microfinance programs with a social mission. This is a system that has been used successfully in Asia for over 20 years and that has been expanded to Africa: Ethiopia, Nigeria and Ghana. No need to say that social programs are costly. Nevertheless, at VEG we feel that an NGO like ours, whose purpose is to help vulnerable young women from rural communities lift themselves out of poverty, has the moral obligation to build a programme where microfinance is supported by a social mission.   

VEG provides loans to groups of young women in precarious situations for the creation and the expansion of micro businesses by providing loans based on the business needs. Clients are referred to as partners to reflect our concern to give more than just loans. We aim at securing the position of our partners by servicing them with a range of services comprising financial assistance, technical assistance as well as social assistance. Therefore, we offer not only small loans, but also flexible savings products and training on life skills and reproductive health, and are also encouraging our partners to register in the National Health Insurance Scheme in order to get the protection they and their families need in case of illness. The group structure of Onipa Nua also has the advantage of creating synergies between the members of a community allowing them to depend on each other which in turn makes the whole community stronger and more structured.

VEG Opens Nursery

A long time dream comes true. Since 2006, we have included the opening of a day nursery school in the proposals we submitted to various donors. But somehow, this project had always stayed on the back burner.  Until now, the young mothers we employ in our workshops (beads and batik) kept their babies with them while working; as a result, the infants became toddlers and started wandering around without serious supervision. At management level, we could not help thinking that we were not giving optimum conditions to our workers and that the safety of the children was not guaranteed. We were all aware that accidents could happen.  We decided to move forward with creating a nursery within the VEG office.

We reorganized our space in order to free a small room for the babies and we looked for a teacher with knowledge in early child development. Two weeks later, on  Monday,  March 1st, the nursery school opened its doors.  Now our babies are well supervised and stimulated.  The nursery also recently received a donation of toys from New York.

We are now working on a program for infant and toddlers.  We are looking for support or material in terms of methodology.   Volunteers are also welcome that could benefit our teacher in education and early childhood development.  You can help us by getting the word out.

Featured Volunteer Placement

Trainer in Reproductive & Sexual Health

The Resource Center seeks dedicated volunteers to support its Reproductive and Sexual Health (RSH) Program. Funded under the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the RSH program aims to prevent early pregnancy and promote healthy behavior through the provision of sexual health education and services.
Volunteers work with a team of local staff to design, plan, and implement various RSH program activities, both at the Resource Center and in the field. Depending on volunteers’ skills and preferences, this may include the following:

-Conduct trainings for Resource Center staff, Youth Leaders, and Peer Educators
-Conduct Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Research
-Serve as a Youth Group Leader
-Conduct outreach in Ho Central Marketplace
-Implement VEI’s Young Entrepreneurs Program
-Provide Marketing and Communications Support

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