Community microfinance plays a major role in building peace in the communities where we work. Each of our groups has established village microfinance projects – locally called boli cup (pronounced bol lee chup). These microfinance groups provide a vital ‘glue’ to group work, as members meet every week to save, plan their future activities and chat about village news. These also provide the means for individuals to transform themselves into entrepreneurs and to send their children to school.

We provide the group members with microfinance training and group materials such as lockable savings boxes, group, and individual record books. The groups learn how to lend, borrow, and repay the money and keep the accounts. These savings groups provide members with a safe and convenient place to save money in remote areas with no access to banks and allow for the access to capital to start or grow small-scale businesses or for payment of school fees. As savings grow in the boli cup, we’ve seen interest in learning more about entrepreneurship, improve math skills, and reading and writing increase. Microfinance is one of the critical areas to encourage and inspire our groups for further skill-building and creativity.