In a field of work that can often be frustrating, small successes are a call for celebration. This past week was one of those weeks at RUDEC.
Three
months ago, we (Joshua and I) set our focus on expanding access to financial
opportunity to more women in Belo. Our main goal was to support the
income-generating activities of local women by providing small loans. In
addition to that, we wanted to provide an environment in which these women
could work together on their own accord to design the framework for their own
development. Our hope was that these efforts would work
to build the capacity of women—specifically single mothers—to become
more economically independent and in better positions to provide for their
children.
We
identified two groups of women in the village who were interested in
participating in the project. In the first month of the project, we met with
each group twice a week to evaluate each woman’s business or business idea,
determined their eligibility for the loan, and advised the group in creating their
own group rules/policies for the loan. The driving force behind each group was
the idea that their repayments of the loan would be used to help even more women
in the future.
Two
months ago we distributed a loan of equal amounts to each woman who agreed to
the terms their group had decided on. On the day on the loan distribution, we
all communed with one another, and the air was heavy with a sense of unity and hopefulness
for what was to come. Each woman made a pledge, not only to herself, but to her
fellow sisters who were there to support her in her own endeavors.
Appropriately, we decided to name this initiative “Belo Beautiful”. Several
group meetings, training workshops, and business consultations later, each
group proved its ability to sustain itself. Each group has an active executive
board, which manages and records all aspects vital to move the project forward.
This
past week marks two months since the distribution of the loans, as well as the
women’s first repayment! Each woman (13 in total) paid their first
interest-free installment of 6,000 francs. The best news is that enough money
was repaid in order to provide two new women with a loan as well.
I am
happy that the project has proven to be sustainable thus far. Although I am no
longer in Belo to celebrate this step forward with the women, I am celebrating
in spirit from afar and looking forward to more good reports. We are now at a
group of 15 women and hope to continue to see manageable growth.
Many
times, the hard work of Cameroonian women goes unnoticed. Women are arguably
the backbone of Cameroon’s agricultural economy, yet hit the glass ceiling of
gender-discrimination and societal expectations in many areas of their lives. Much of the reason for women’s struggle
to gain income in this agricultural economy has to do with their acute lack of
credit and inability to raise enough money to engage in lucrative business. Our
vision is make the rural town of Belo a safe-haven of economic opportunity and
empowerment for women by highlighting the vital role that women play in society
and providing women with access to economic opportunity. It is also our hope
that the Belo
Beautiful initiative elevates the voices of the hard-working women of Belo and
provides them with the tools to activate change in their own lives and
community.
