Category Archive

PUBLICATIONVIP 2022 IMPACT REPORT April 2023 2022 was a pivotal year for our community banking initiative, the Village Investors Programme (VIP). Against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis, climate change, and the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, over 13,000 parents and guardians joined or continued training with a savings and loans group set-up through the VIP. As a ... Read More

PUBLICATIONSpring Newsletter 2023 April 2023 Welcome to your latest update! In the countries where we work across Southern and Eastern Africa, the ongoing effects of the pandemic and climate crisis are being severely exacerbated by rocketing rates of inflation, and sharply rising food, energy and fertiliser prices. In this newsletter, our Africa Director, Oswald - who recently visited eight of ... Read More

BLOG & STORIES“I have learnt to be happy and not underestimate myself. Now I know I have the potential to do anything.” Meet George, who is 21-years-old, and lives in a rural village in the Salima District of central Malawi.  Growing up, George faced many difficult challenges and spent most of his teenage years living without a permanent place to ... Read More

BLOG & STORIES“Saving in the group has enabled me to buy land and start construction on a new home” Meet Rukia, who is 34 years old and lives in Kangaye, a suburban area of Mwanza, the second largest city in Tanzania.  Rukia is a single mother and lives with her 13-year-old daughter Nurfat and her two sons Nuhu and Abdalah, ... Read More

BLOG & STORIES100,000 Children Better Supported Through The VIP 19th October 2022 We are delighted to report that over 100,000 children have now been supported through our community banking initiative, the Village Investors Programme (VIP)!  We are so proud to reach this milestone and to have seen the growth of the programme over the past eight years. Our Africa Director, ... Read More

BLOG & STORIESEmpowering Young People to Drive Change In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an international commitment signed by 193 states to work together towards a better future. At the heart of the agenda are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which outline a series of targets, indicators and focus areas that lay ... Read More

BLOG & STORIES“With the skills I have gained, I am going to be an inspiration to my peers…” Meet 17-year-old Samson, an entrepreneur from Bunabuka Village, Sironko District, Uganda. Whilst he was at school, Samson often found himself swapping his studies for casual labour to support his mother financially. As a result, his education suffered and his struggles at school ... Read More

BLOG & STORIESBuilding Resilience in the Face of the Climate Crisis The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the UN body for assessing the science related to climate change – considers the climate crisis to be reaching a tipping point. Scientists warn that time is soon running out if we are to mitigate average temperatures ... Read More

BLOG & STORIES“I never imagined that one day I would run my own business” “My name is Josephine. I’m married and blessed with two children.” Josephine and her family live in Kimana, a community in the Loitokitok Sub-County of southern Kenya on the border with Tanzania. She is a member of our community banking initiative, the Village Investors Programme (VIP). “Before ... Read More

BLOG & STORIES“I want to become a social worker… I will help other children living on the streets” Meet 16-year-old Peter, from Mwanza, Tanzania. Growing up, Peter lived at home with his mother, father and his siblings. When he was younger, he didn’t want to go to school and had trouble at home as a result. This led him to ... Read More