Jittu Birra Self help group goes beyond solving economic problems
Ayelech Kebede lives in Chancho town with her two children named, Tejitu Giza (female, 13 years-old) Shimeles Giza (male, 11 years-old). Both are receiving support from ISHDO’s CFTC project. Ayelech explains how she benefited from the project:
“For 11 years I was taking care of my husband who was suffering from lung disease (TB). As you can imagine, life was difficult for me as I had the responsibility of caring care of him as well as my young children. I was unable to cover my household and medical expenses by myself. When my husband died, I planned to start a small retail business, but I had no idea where I could get the capital from. To borrow some money from people or the bank was unthinkable for poor woman such as myself. So, I tried to receive some commodities from other retailers in the market to sell, but unfortunately that was not profitable at all.
That was time ISHDO came to our locality with new ideas. In fact, the organization brought an idea that changed the lives of many women like me in the locality. Parents with children in the CFTC Project were given training on business development and organized into a self-help group with 17 members. The self-help group is known as “Jittu Birra’ roughly meaning “a green spot in dry season” in Oromifa.
All members of the Jittu birra self-help group including myself started saving on a weekly basis. The amount we saved depended on our ability and willingness to save. We met and discussed interest, credit and the time limit to finish paying debts. The group was like a mutual aid association or small credit association (or “equb” in Amharic). Since our members lived together in the same locality, everyone knew one another. So together we made decisions on who deserved monetary credit and when. For example, if a member couldn’t save at one time for one reason or another, we would step in to help her to do so. She would therefore receive credit from the mutual aid group.
I started a small retail business using my first credit loan from the self-help group. After three rounds of borrowing and paying back, my capital grew to 3,500 birr. On top of that, I collected 3500 birr from my mutual aid association at one time and 1,200 another time.
I saved money from my vegetable and cereal trade and changed my life for the better. I used to buy food items for home consumption on a daily basis, but now I am able to buy food items to last a longer period. I now get water from pipeline installed for my own house and have fenced my compound with corrugated iron sheets. More, importantly, I have now developed confidence in myself more than ever before and can meet the basic needs of my family.
There are several things I have learnt from the project; one of it being the advantages of saving and being in self-help group. In fact, our Jittu Birra self-group has gone beyond solving our economic problems. It made us strong, contributing, members of the community. We help each other both during times of happiness and sorrow. We share experiences on how best to raise children while running a business. The group has become a forum to discuss health, environment, jobs and other social issues. I just want to thank all of those who helped us to come together and succeed. May God bless all who have been involved.”