Savings Plans the Poor Can Bank On

By Debbie DeVoe

Millions of people in Africa live on one dollar a day or even less. These poor families struggle to afford life's basic necessities, including food, school fees, medical bills and agricultural supplies. Having little or no capital and often living in very remote areas, many are unable to access microfinance services that can help them increase their financial security and improve their lives.

Your support of Catholic Relief Services helps whole communities form Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) and gives poor people a way to securely save money and create their own source of capital. SILC groups typically bring together 10 to 20 members, primarily women.

CRS partners then train the groups about ways to save small amounts of money each week, provide members with small loans against the pooled savings, and keep transparent, accurate records. Once groups are started, they typically become completely self-reliant within a year.

By helping poor families to help themselves, you enable SILC members to leverage their limited resources to significantly improve their lives.

Debbie DeVoe is CRS' regional information officer for East Africa. She has visited with SILC groups across the region.