In the local Lotuko language Ituba means ‘united we progress’. It is also the name chosen by a group of 30 women in Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan for their one-month old village savings and loans (VSLA) group. A statement of purpose and of hope.
The VSLAs are a new initiative for CARE in Eastern Equatoria – set up under the Beyond the Harvest programme; which is funded by the Swiss Government to support food security programmes in the State. It aims at making people more self-sufficient and empowering – especially the most vulnerable women - to make their own decisions on their livelihoods and their own lives.
Women display their savings books provided by CARE in mission, Torit, Eastern Equatoria, South Sudan. They are part of a village saving and loans (VSLA) group, comprised of 30 women, most of whom vulnerable, or widows. (Photo: Lucy Beck/CARE)
After one month of trainings and guided meetings the group have reached the all-important ‘first savings day’ that, as CARE’s Beyond the Harvest Project Officer Stephen Oduho says, marks the true beginning of the group. Among the funds is a mandatory contribution of 2 South Sudanese Pounds (SSP) for an emergency fund to help members in distress, as well as an option to buy as many shares as each individual can afford.
The ceremony of contributing and locking the savings box by the three separate key holders is heavy with significance and punctuated by claps and joyful cries of ‘ituba’. By the end of the hour, the women have managed to save an impressive 600 SSP (around US $8, which may seem little, but could buy around 10kg of rice in the market). As Oduho notes; “it is a beautiful concept; the money is constantly circulating – it doesn’t stay in the box for long!”
The VLSA couldn’t have come at a better time for these women, as South Sudan was plunged into hyperinflation in January of this year. Saving, being able to borrow and setting up alternative businesses to the traditional farming practices has never been more important. In an informal economy used to bartering and producing its own food, cold hard cash has suddenly become the main currency.
“If I stay at home then we will die of hunger”
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Lock keeper Victoria Ihisa holds one of 3 padlocks for her VSLA group's money box. It is locked with 3 different padlocks and the keys are held by 3 different women from the group, while the box is kept in a fourth member’s house. (Photo: Lucy Beck/CARE)
40-year-old Margaret Ihitai is a single mother of three. Her husband was killed – strangled to death – in December 2013 when fighting broke out across South Sudan. She has been supporting her family ever since by doing small bits of labour; working on other’s fields as well as on her own land. But the farming season is coming to an end and work is drying up, so increasingly she is being forced to go out into the bush in search of firewood to sell. This is extremely dangerous, as attacks are common in these remoter bushy areas; with rape and beatings a constant reality. As Margaret says; “I go there with fear, but my livelihood is more important. If I stay at home then we will die of hunger.”
She hopes that by joining this savings group she will be able to borrow money to buy sugar and set up her own business. If this takes off, then hopefully she will never have to go out collecting firewood again. So far she has only been able to afford to buy one share, but she is optimistic that she will able to invest more in the future.
For many of these women, this group provides them with the opportunity to turn their agricultural farming into a business – investing in post-harvest techniques such as grinding ground nuts into paste for sale, or sorghum into flour – and giving them the chance to start trading in cash. In others words: giving them the chance of survival, in a country where daily life is a constant struggle and little is certain.