This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.
A member’s farm in Burundi.
COVID-19 is not new news but there are reports that countries across Africa are moving towards the “endemic” phase. Of course we remain concerned, however, and as the Omicron variant spread globally, earlier this year we updated and re-shared our guidance for all partners and trainers on safe working practices throughout the pandemic. We also re-shared the Anglican Alliance’s helpful resources on 'Addressing Reasonable Concerns' and 'Countering Fake News' about vaccines.
Previously we’ve had reports of vaccine hesitancy across many of the programmes we support. Now, partners are reporting that vaccine hesitancy is reducing in rural communities. We were pleased to hear that in some communities, those who had been sceptical before are now queuing up for vaccines.
Because our partners work through the Church in every community they are trusted by Savings Group members and their neighbours, so we are uniquely well-positioned to help people inform themselves responsibly.
Alongside the health impacts, COVID-19 has created even more economic disadvantage and has presented many challenges for Savings Groups.
A World Bank report from January 2021 reported: “Although rates of infection have not been as high as in other regions, the economic consequences of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic in Sub-Saharan Africa have been severe due to the combination of declining global demand and local efforts to contain the disease.”
Figure: Income losses in COVID-19 times
Source: World Bank’s COVID-19 High-Frequency Monitoring Dashboard
In the light of these statistics, it is no surprise that Five Talents has been experiencing increased demand for Savings Groups. Savings Groups enable resilience and many members of Savings Groups fared better than their neighbours during the last two years.
Anna, a Savings Group member, in South Sudan said, “...my only hope for living during these hard times is our Savings Group. I got loans from my Group, although meetings were temporarily suspended. I used this loan to do small business to feed my family. I am lucky that I joined this Savings Group. The few weeks we closed business and we stayed home, most of the people who were not in any Group spent all their capital and they can’t come back to business. I am lucky that my group has advanced money for me to continue with the business.”
Fortunately, Savings Groups are still operating across all eight countries where we work (though meetings in Myanmar are limited due to the ongoing unrest). Thanks to your generosity, more than 30,000 families benefitted from Savings Groups last year. We hope and pray that the places where our partners work will remain in the “endemic” phase of the COVID-19 pandemic so that more families can re-build their livelihoods.