• Odette Ngendabanyikwa touched Rwf 50,000 (approximately $52) for the first time in 2021 when her Village Savings and Loan Association distributed their savings.

• Over three years in the Direct Family Empowerment & Community Empowerment for Family Empowerment (FS) program, she was able to purchase land and a sewing machine, renovate her family house, and build another house to increase her income.

Odette, a 51-year-old mother of five children and a grandchild, lives in Gahini Sector, Kayonza District in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. Her husband passed away in 2006. After his death, Odette’s family faced financial difficulties, struggling to provide food for her children, which led to school dropouts.

In 2019, she became a beneficiary of the FS program, a SOS Children’s Villages initiative. Being part of the program significantly changed her life and her children’s lives. As a result, all of her children were able to resume their studies.

The program supported her first and second-born children in completing their studies in sewing, while the rest of her children and grandchild were able to continue their education.

Odette was selected by local leaders and later visited by the SOS Children’s Villages staff to determine eligibility. She recalled a team of two men and two women visiting her home. Subsequently, she was invited to a three-day training at SOS Children’s Village in Kayonza, during which time she was introduced to the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA). Her second-born child accompanied her, marking the beginning of her success.

Odette began her savings journey by contributing Rwf 400 (approximately $0.33) per week. In the first year, her family received Rwf 50,000 (approximately $42) as their share.

With this initial sum, she obtained a small loan combined with the share-out, totalling Rwf 50,000, and purchased a sewing machine for her children who had completed their sewing studies with the support of the FS Program.

The family used the sewing machine to generate income and repay the loan. Subsequently, she requested a loan of Rwf 100,000 (approximately $92) to purchase agricultural land.

Recognizing the significance of saving, Odette expressed her satisfaction with her progress. She continued to save with her children, and over time, her savings multiplied. Utilizing her savings, she managed to build a better house for her family and began renovating her first house, which she intended to use as a source of income.