THE militant Women of Zimbabwe Arise (Woza) has launched a savings club to boost its coffers through interest charges and wean it off donor support.
BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
Magodonga Mahlangu, a co-leader of Woza, said vulnerable people and the group’s members will be loaned money.
She said this would economically empower supporters and ensure the organisation’s self-sustenance.
Woza has had several brushes with the law for staging protests in Bulawayo and other cities, demanding that the government respect the rights of citizens.
“Firstly, it is about the issue of sustainability as an organisation, realising that we survive mainly on donor funding.
We are saying the organisation, its programmes and other activities to fight for and defend our rights should not stop with the withdrawal of our funders,” Mahlangu said.
“The organisation should be able to sustain itself, its programmes and activities. Secondly, it is also about economically empowering our members and communities through loans.”
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Mahlangu said the scheme involved the formation of community savings club structures, called the cluster level integrated clubs (CLIC), whose focus is to cater for members’ individual income generating projects funded from loans taken from weekly subscriptions and interest earned “Woza conducted a consultative process to develop a policy and procedures manual for CLICs,” she said.
“Thirty percent of the fund will be for grants, 15% to Woza members and 15% to needy cases identified within the community.
“The loan fund provides individual savings clubs with the opportunity to apply for a loan as a group for income generating endeavours at a prescribed interest rate.”
