1. WORTH Pact’s Empowerment Program USDOL Grantee Workshop, June 2011

2. Pact  International NGO, working in 30 countries, in Madagascar since 1991  Our Vision: a world where those who are poor and marginalized discover and build their own solutions and take ownership over their future

3. What is WORTH? A self help process that empowers people and enables them to discover the inner strengths and resources they need to change their lives An innovative microsavings program developed and tested by Pact since 1998 Has improved the income and living conditions of hundreds thousands of people in Nepal, Cambodia, Tanzania, DRC, Uganda, Kenya and Zambia Initially a women empowerment program WORTH’s philosophy: – SELF-HELP – DISCIPLINE and RULES – APPRECIATIVE APPROACH

4. WORTH’s Purpose Economic development at the household level Income smoothing Increased literacy and numeracy skills Women’s empowerment Strong advocacy vehicle

5. A CYCLE LASTS BETWEEN 1 AND 2 YEARS WORTH Empowerment Cycle

6. Success in Nepal Increased number of literate women from 39,000 to 122,000 Increased savings by over $1million Increased the number of women in business from 19,000 to 86,000 Carried out over 40,000 grassroots campaigns on various social issues (girls’ education, domestic violence etc.) 800 new groups formed by the Pact’s groups without any additional support and after the project ended

7. How WORTH differs from other microfinance models? WORTH is based on the premise that dependency is not empowering WORTH addresses, through group member discussions, other development issues: – HIV/AIDS in Tanzania, also child labor and domestic violence WORTH works through local NGOs and women's groups Savings-led microfinance links to, but does not depend on, outside credit No seed funds Networking facilitates sharing knowledge and building bonds Women focus on success WORTH is replicated by women themselves

8. KILONGA KILONGA is Pact’s and SIVE’s project Funded by the USDOL To fight against child labor through Education 4.5 M, 2008-2012 Currently supporting 9059 children (whole project life target: 9,000 children) 7 regions 6 WFCL sectors: CSEC, mining, quarrying, agriculture, fishery, load carrying

9. WORTH and KILONGA The situation in Madagascar: Children work to raise money for their family because… Why do you work ?% of responses To help family 80.30% To raise money for school 3.68% To help family for food 8.56% Have fun at work 7.47% KILONGA’s sustainability strategy fosters among others on lasting improvement of household’s income so that they afford maintaining their children at school.

10. Adaptation of WORTH Not gender focused – household focused WORTH members are ALL parents of the 4,000 beneficiaries, less than 15 years old Translation of all tools and materials in the local language Integration of anti-child labor message in the WORTH materials WORTH groups act as sensitization vehicle against child labor, on children's rights and the benefit of education

11. WORTH Implementation Process 1.Establishing WORTH groups 2.Election of the Management committees 3.Training of the Management committees 4.Literacy session/training 5.Saving process 6.Loan process 7.Capacity development on business skills, village bankings Ongoing: capacity development on child labor, importance of education, gender equity, child rights LIST OF MATERIALS AND TOOLS Book 1 : Our group Book 2 : Road to Wealth Book 3 : Successful Sellings Literacy assessment tool Management committee training curricula Worth Manual for implementers Worth toolkits (saving journal, saving passbook, cashbook, financial statement, loan journal, loan passbook, personal collateral, loan request)

12. Achievements to date… Starting phase: January 2010 139 WORTH groups with 3,010 KILONGA households from 7 regions are operational 278 Literacy volunteers are currently trained on literacy program 556 Management Committees members were trained and have received WORTH toolkits 80 WORTH groups have completed the first cycle and members have shared the interest collected in the form of dividend

13. Achievements Cont’d…

14. Challenges Uncertainty in the political situation Worth participation is a condition to benefit from Kilonga project Time consuming approach due to members literacy level Following / respecting rules and by laws Self help and saving are new concepts for beneficiaries. Most of time, they expect external funding Lack of trust between members Fear of taking loans initially Determination of types of income-generating activities: economically viable, socially acceptable and ecologically sustainable Start-up phase can be slow

15. Lessons Learned Take time to share success stories of WORTH at the beginning and along the implementation to create emulation Training the village bank management committee helps build trust Build group ownership at the beginning to promote sustainability Communities, families and husbands play critical roles to support Worth Group members Ensure comprehension of the added values of Worth Promote investigative research of types of income generating activities among members

16. Thank You! www.pactworld.org