Alheri Savings Group: Hope for internally displaced women in Borno State
Maiduguri, Jere and other more stable locations in Borno State, North East Nigeria, have become a resettlement ground for many internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the state. This is according to Bata Peter Bwala, who is ‘answering the call of humanity’, and ensuring that many displaced women, including widows and young persons have means of livelihoods.
Bata Peter Bwala, a 43-year-old IDP from Gwoza, resides in Mairi community in Jere Local Government. The mother of five children out of eight births endured hardship and poverty during most of her 20 years of married life, until fate helped her to meet a team from the USAID-funded Feed the Future Nigeria Rural Resilience Activity, profiling participants for the savings group intervention in 2019.
“Ten years back, my condition was very terrible to the extent I thought of ending it all. To stay in a poor condition is not an easy, but if you believe in God, one day one time, God will do it for you. And now he is doing it for me,” said Bata Peter Bwala.
Support received from the Rural Resilience Activity
In 2020, Bata Peter Bwala was introduced to the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) approach by the Rural Resilience Activity, giving rise to the Alheri Cooperative, with just 10 members initially. Today, the group has 203 members in four sub-groups with four group heads. Members pay N200 (less than $.50) or multiples of N200 per week as share prices. In addition to encouraging the women to form a group, Alheri Cooperative receives technical support from the Activity through training and mentoring. The group members were also linked with the Development Exchange Centre (DEC), which provides low-interest and long duration loans to members who have the capacity to pay.
“This RRA program and their staff have motivated us in so many ways. In business, we didn’t know how to do business. The way they have been coming to guide us, we are very happy about that. To be sincere, we have learned many things from RRA and their staff. Sometimes, when we want to fall, they raise us to the extent that there are some women here that take their products to Cameroon, and it’s because of this RRA.”
The group members also benefited from the Activity’s USAID supported COVID-19 mitigation response program, which distributed unconditional cash transfers to help rural households to recover from the secondary impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Bata Peter is also one of the recipients of the cowpea processing equipment under the COVID-19 mitigation response intervention.
“For some of them (at least 50 members) that benefited from the N78,000 they gave us, it changed their lifestyle. Because of the training, some of our members are sending products to Cameroon through some of the group members.
“I am one of the persons that benefited from the cowpea processing machine. I have processed my CAC registration and I am processing the NAFDAC number. I went for business training, and I learnt so many things that I came back to teach my people.“
Building empowered female entrepreneurs
30 members of the Alheri group have benefited from the DEC loans – with N400,000 being the highest amount received by an individual, while at least 55 members have benefitted from the VSLA savings which is given to members who have little or no capital to start a business. According to Bata Peter, the VSLA loans are more flexible based on the size of the businesses. The group has savings of up to N600,000 being shared among women as loans.
30 members of the Alheri group have benefited from the DEC loans – with N400,000 being the highest amount received by an individual, while at least 55 members have benefitted from the VSLA savings which is given to members who have little or no capital to start a business. According to Bata Peter, the VSLA loans are more flexible based on the size of the businesses. The group has savings of up to N600,000 being shared among women as loans.
“There are many NGOs, but what RRA did in Borno State, we cannot say their goodness, it’s only God that will reward them. Now see how women are doing business, from Nigeria to Cameroon, we pray that we will do business to America one day.
With the coming of Mercy Corps, my children can laugh, before they used to cry. Because what to eat was always a problem. With the coming of Mercy Corps my life has changed totally. If I think of the way I suffered, with the small I have now, I am now helping those that don’t have. Now instead of coming down, I am going high. Mercy Corps gave me a machine now, with this machine I know that my story will change bigger and bigger.”
According to Bata Peter, the cash transfers enabled her to expand her cassava flour production business and diversify into the poultry business. The profit from her business enabled her to pay for the medical surgery bill of her 19-year-old son, and pay rent and her children’s school fees. She is grateful to USAID for providing the fund that changed the lives of her children, her group members, her community and the people of Borno State.