How do you spell savings? V-I-S-I-T

Our savings group is up and running, sorta. It took several months to explain the concept of working together to save individually and collectively. The members of the group seemed to understand how it works but when it came to carrying out the actual savings we had difficulty. Some people never came to meetings, other people did not bring their money, and others talked about fines more expensive than they can afford!

So, we arranged to visit several savings groups in the Gorongosa District, where our friend's organization oversees a number groups. People are always up for a trip and free food, so the combination of a ride in our truck with breakfast, snacks and lunch provided was enough to convince the members of the savings group to go.

Everyone gathered at our house at 5:30 AM to eat breakfast and pray before setting off on our road trip from Gondola to Gorongosa. We left at 6:45ish (amazingly on-time!) and arrived promptly at 8:30. We drove through town, turned on a gravel road and before long turned onto a foot path rarely frequented by motor vehicles with four wheels. Through the grass, pot holes and steep ravines we drove and arrived at our first group.

This group began meeting in January 2007 with 25 members. They were a good group to observe because they follow the prescribed procedures of how to run a savings group. It was eye opening for our group from the minute the meeting started. The president called the meeting to order and asked the fiscais (fiscal agents) to open the box and begin counting the money in the box to check if it corresponded to the secretary's accounting. Out came the money--13,000 meticais in all and it took several minutes for the fiscais to count. In the meantime, our group's eyes widened to see how much money this group of peasants had saved in 8 months. The meeting continued, our group continued to be in awe.

At the end of the meeting we had a bit of time for questions. One of the question that the hosting group answered was how being a part of the savings group had changed their lives. Several answered that it allowed for them to save money, whereas before they had tried to save by putting some money in the thatch of their houses or elsewhere but always they had not been able to accumulate any funds. The savings group allowed them to put their money in a place unaccessible to them or anyone else who might arrive at their doorstep asking for money (here the custom is borrow money and whoever's need is more immediate has claim on the money). It also provides a way for individuals to take out small loans with minimal interest for business ventures and in case of emergencies.

After lunch, we visited another group. This group had just begun their third cycle. During their first cycle, they put in small amounts (10-20 meticais) but after they distributed the money, they realized how valuable saving collectively and offering small loans. So their next cycle, they put in more money and at the end of 8 months their group of 12-13 people had accumulated 57,000 meticais (approx. $2300 USD).

This opened the eyes of our group and the questions flew out of their mouths. They talked about how to administer a savings group. One of the interesting things that happened in this group was that women spoke. Ordinarily women do not speak in front of men and in this group, as our group asked questions, the women answered them freely with approving nods from the men. I asked how the women's husbands had responded. One replied that initially he had forbidden her to attend but she continued going and at the end of the cycle, when she brought home her savings, he changed his tune to "My wife is a good woman!"

One of the best quotes of the day was from our secretary. He said, "I can see now that we are no longer poor, we just do not know how to use our money well." Joel and I are quite excited to see how our group develops after this trip. They returned to Gondola very encouraged and ready to begin saving together. We see possibilities with them to begin thinking about how to plan for money (budgeting). Furthermore, this group is comprised of the leaders of the church and they can influence the rest of the congregation. If we do talk about and begin helping them to budget their own household expenses, we can potentially think about how to increase giving to the church through budgeting their tithe.

At the end of the day, the group was excited about participating in the savings group. Several said that they are no longer going to save in their pockets but put their money in the box. The president of the group told me that he understood the theory but now he has seen how savings groups work and is committed to participating with confidence.