Pooling resources cuts financial chains

Kenya: For thousands of women in rural Kenyan villages, the idea of being financially independent rings a hollow tune. The land for cultivation has shrunk and income flow is a mirage.

For such thousands, having a bank account is a dream.

Yet these women must somehow raise money to buy kerosene to light their homes and also put food on the table for their families.

These daily expenses leave them in a dilemma. Some wallow in hopelessness. Others do something about the situation.

Josephine Atieno Obingo, 33, from Ndhiwa, Homa Bay County, falls under the latter category. She has helped herself and women in the villages to push the yoke off their backs.

“Women, no matter their station in life, can do something about their situation. What is valuable is that women must have an impact in society. Women must stand for real financial change wherever they are.”

So when she was appointed Banking on Change ambassador by Barclays Bank early last year, the opportunity gave her a leg to stand on as she headed for a brighter future. Atieno has used the opportunity to mobilise women to pool their meagre incomes and push up their purchasing power.

Three months after her appointment, more than 300 women had signed up for the idea.

By setting aside just Sh100 at the end of the week, the women were able to ‘buy’ their freedom; the financial goals, which in the past were a mirage, were becoming a reality.

“Table banking is the easiest way to help our women reach their financial goals. Most of these women do not have a regular income and thus don’t see the value of having a bank account. If we encourage them to put something aside for themselves, financial freedom will be a reality,” says Atieno.

After growing her income to Sh30,000, the bank introduced her to another opportunity.

Lighting Up Kenya, pioneered by Care Kenya, is aimed at encouraging the use of solar lamps and promoting entrepreneurship through selling of subsidised lamps at Sh1,000.

Though it was aimed at freeing women from the health effects of using kerosene, the income generated from the venture has helped create a pool of financially-independent women. But more importantly, the eight-month-old enterprise has made village women capable of confidently planning for the future.

Last December, 300 women groups shared more than Sh45 million, a result of their hard work.

According to the Light Kenya Programme Manager, Bernard Mbithi, the value of the venture among the women in villages in Homa Bay and Migori counties, goes beyond the million shilling mark.

“Apart from training them on how to pool their resources, the use of solar lamps has also helped to free their incomes and at the end of the day make major savings.”

The solar lamp venture has enabled women to save Sh30 a day or Sh900 per month, which in total Sh10,800 per year.

This, multiplied by the number of the women groups hooked to the solar lamps enterprise, adds up to millions of shillings saved and ploughed back to the members at the end of the year. Additionally, the health benefits of not using kerosene are obvious.

This enterprise has created a generation of women property owners in the villages.

Atieno who is originally from Bondo has bought a piece of land in Ndhiwa and is currently constructing a permanent house.

Says Atieno: “In our culture, only men are allowed to own a house but now that we are becoming independent, we are helping our husbands to own a home and they are appreciating the change.”

There is another dimension to these women and their families. According to Millicent Adhiambo, a community mobiliser, families with such women are experiencing few cases of family conflicts.

“Chiefs are now reporting very few cases of domestic violence. Provision of family needs, which is in most cases considered a man’s affair, is now becoming complementary. The tension of who is failing to put something on the table is now absent.”

Regina Gichui, the Barclays Bank Community Investments programme manager, says that enterprises which bring more women into the banking net are aimed at finding solutions forcommunities.

“Such partnerships create a financial impact and help them to save their little incomes, cultivate financial sense and more crucially, promote a sense of financial literacy skills.”