A New Home for Simonette
Training in business and financial management gives local SLA member new opportunities to save money
There is a broom in the corner of Simonette’s new house, right by the doorway where visitors remove their shoes before entering. She sweeps the concrete floors often, straightens the furniture, adjusts the toiletries hanging in an organizer on the wall. Every detail of her clean, compact home revels the pride she takes in her space.
Simonette knows how special this house is: young, single mothers in the poor coastal village of Marofarihy do not own their own homes. She also knows better than anyone how hard she had to work to get it.
“I feel proud, and I don’t feel ashamed at all about my situation,” she said.
“It’s true I’m alone taking care of my children, but I have the means and I managed to build this house by myself. I didn’t rely on my parents or a man.”
When she was forced to drop out of school at the age of 14 to help her struggling mother with living expenses, Simonette did not despair. She applied herself to sewing, the trade her mother taught her, and began to expand her customer base. Eventually, she borrowed money from the bank to buy her own land and to open her own sewing shop. Business was good, but it was hard to keep up with the loans.
When FIOVANA came to her community, she was drawn by the opportunity for holistic change in her life. More specifically, she was eager for the opportunity to develop her financial acumen through business trainings, money management workshops, and the local Village Savings and Loan Association. When she joined in 2021, she was the youngest member.
“Young people need to know about managing their finances, otherwise they aren’t able to invest their money or learn about a business,” she said.
“They just spend their money on trivial things without thinking about the future.”
Together with the other 22 members of Vehivavy Mihary Marofarihy, whose name means “The Female Entrepreneurs of Marofarihy, Simonette can leverage the power of group savings. Alone, she could not afford to invest in new economic opportunities without taking loans from the bank.
With the other women pooling resources and taking turns withdrawing funds, however, she has greater access to opportunity than ever before.
Recently, she borrowed 500,000 Ariary, the equivalent of 100 USD, and bought cloth to make school uniforms. Within weeks, the $100 loan had netted $100 profit. She paid back the loan to the SLA group, and used her profit to pay back the bank, complete her house, and plan for her next sewing project.
Her mother, Francois, is amazed by her daughter’s success, and proud of the woman she has become.
“I see a real improvement in our current situation compared to the past,” she said. “I could not afford the school fees and had to pull Simonette out of school. Now I see more success and I hope that my grandsons will be able to learn from this.”
With a mother as ambitious and strong-willed as Simonette, it is easy to imagine that her sons will follow in her successful footsteps.
“I dream to have my own workshop where I can supply the cloth, fabrics, and accessories,” she said. Thanks to the project my life is really different.
I’m not worried about the future thanks to everything I learned from the project.”
31,172 members belonging to 2,144 SLA groups have been trained in SLA processes and financial skills.
