Ndeye Fari works in the Ouarkhokh cooperative garden to grow vegetables and earn money to support her husband and children.
Ndeye Fari Thaim, 38, supports her elderly husband and six children by selling vegetables that she grows in the Ouarkhokh cooperative garden.
“We live in this community that has neither factories nor jobs to employ the youth or generate money to support our families.” Ndeye Fari adds, “our children abandon the village and go into exile to other countries in search of better living conditions.” Because of this exodus, many women who remain in Ouarkhokh must both manage their households and earn an income to support their families.
Ndeye Fari appreciates the agricultural training she has received from CREATE! field technicians and invests her earnings in one of Ouarkhokh’s Voluntary Savings and Lending Associations (VSLAs). “The cooperative garden and VSLA training have helped us so much.” She adds, “I am thankful that I now have the opportunity to support my family.”
For rural villagers who may not be able to read or write and whose needs are rarely met by for-profit financial institutions, VSLA provide an accessible (and empowering) solution.