AUGUST 2006

Hunger Project Women in Benin Display Financial Acumen

Sanaz Memarsadeghi, The Hunger Project's coordinator of the African Woman Food Farmer Initiative (AWFFI), recently visited our colleagues at two epicenters in Benin.  These photos and text are excerpted from her report.

The Avlamé Rural Bank began in September 2005 and was officially recognized in December of the same year.  Membership of the bank currently consists of 56 groups (414 women) and 8 individuals (7 men and 1 woman) and is expected to increase significantly before the end of this year.  As is the case in all of The Hunger Project’s 14 rural banks, men may be auxiliary members.  This means that they are eligible for membership, may deposit savings, and may access credit, but that they are not eligible to hold a post on the Board of Directors, Loan Committee, or Supervisory Committee.  All leadership positions are exclusively reserved for women.

I was especially impressed with the AWFFI partners in Zakpota epicenter and their amazing level of engagement and enthusiasm.  With 68 loan groups, the AWFFI program at Zakpota is the largest in Benin.  Approximately 500 women filled the hall where we met, and I was quite overwhelmed by the turnout and their exuberant energy.  They responded accurately to every question that I posed about AWFFI and gave advice about credit through their music. 

One woman sang, “You shouldn’t give credit to a person because she is your sister.  You shouldn’t give credit to person because he is your brother.  You should give credit to a person because he/she knows how to work.” 

Another woman expressed her satisfaction with AWFFI by singing, “If AWFFI was fabric, I would buy it and have a tailor sew it for me.  If AWFFI was a dress, I would buy it and wear it.  If AWFFI was a drink, I would buy it and drink it.” 

Needless to say, the AWFFI partners in Zakpota are well on their way to having a rural bank.   They are also the first epicenter to institute a “Club de Mamas” or Mother’s Club to promote girls’ education, a project which the AWFFI Project Officer hopes to replicate in other epicenters.