Tesfa Self Help Groups
Hand of God Ministries and Tesfa Self Help Groups brings groups of 8-10 single mothers and widows together every week. When they meet, each woman in the group puts whatever she can afford into a group savings account. Sometimes it is 1 or 2 Birr and other times it may be 10 Birr or more. Birr is the Ethiopian currency. $1.00 equals 18 Birr. As the women save together, the group savings account builds up enough money so one of the women in the group may start her own business. The group looks at the proposal and approves the loan for the one woman to begin her business. She then pays back what has been loaned, as she can, and another mother asks for a loan from the group account... and the cycle continues until each woman is in her own business and is self sufficient. As of this posting, we have 23 groups of 8 to 10 women and about 200 women in all. Approximately 30 businesses have been successfully started and the money has been paid so others can start their businesses.
The above video shows Enanye selling potatoes and peppers in a street-side market. Enanye saved money for two years and then was able to take out a loan. She is able to buy from farmers and then resell the vegetables in the market. *The photo to the above left shows the women making their weekly deposits to one of the woman in the group, selected by the group, to keep the account records.
The above video shows the restaurant Rayda was able to open with the loan she took from the group. Rayda is a widow raising her grandchild Feruza, both of which have AIDS.