Communities Driving Development in DR Congo

This blog post was written by Gordon Seabright, a member of our Board of Trustees and supporter of Five Talents.

Savings Group meeting in Aru, DR Congo.

In late October I travelled with Rachel, the CEO of Five Talents, to visit Literacy & Savings Groups in Aru, a town in the far northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Five Talents began supporting programmes there in 2018, in partnership with our friends The Mothers’ Union and the Diocese of Aru, and now over 177 local groups have helped 2,400 people (the vast majority of Group members are women) to build their businesses and support their families and communities.

Rachel and I were keen to see how the programme was going, and what support might be helpful to increase their numbers and the impact they’re having.

Getting to Aru is an adventure in itself. To reach eastern DRC you travel through Uganda, and the border marks a set of dramatic changes; no tarmac roads, no electricity, sporadic water, and trickiest for me, no English speakers! My first impressions of DRC were the lushness of the green vegetation and the bumpiness of the red clay roads, and also the lack of wisdom of any visitor taking a photo of the border post (that would be me, using my schoolboy French to talk my way out of being arrested within ten minutes of entering the country).

The problems faced by DRC are well known yet largely unreported in the UK. Militia warfare, lack of infrastructure, theft of natural resources, Ebola outbreaks and climate change all make life profoundly challenging, and as visitors we could only admire the resilience of those who are building businesses in Aru. We were overwhelmed with the generosity of the welcomes we received, first from the Archbishop and his team at the cathedral in the town, and then from villagers who included us in their Literacy and Savings Groups.  

DR Congo only features in the British media, if at all, as a place of conflict. There’s a lot more to it, though. It was clear that enthusiastic visitors from far away were extremely welcome, and if ever there was a place where the community is driving its own development, this is it.  We provided entertainment in our own ways, Rachel through graceful speeches of thanks in fluent French and Kiswahili, and me through the comic value of my attempts to speak French, much to the joy/horror of my new friend Canon Nzua. Rachel’s reward was to be presented with the gift of a rather confused chicken, which then accompanied us on an extraordinarily bumpy but very beautiful drive back to the town and our hotel, which bore the highly appropriate name “God Alone Knows”.

Five Talents in DR Congo is working with a remarkable group of people, from Archbishop Titre Ande, Maneka Grace, Canon Nzua and Irene Nyambura organising programmes at the centre in Aru to the trainers, leaders, savers and entrepreneurs in villages around the province. It was a great privilege to spend time with them, and although travel to and around DR Congo wasn’t always easy, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend a visit to anyone keen to see just how much of an impact money raised in the UK can have on the lives of people living in a region that deserves a fair chance to thrive.

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If you would like to learn more about visiting a programme please click here or contact us. We’ll be taking trips to Kenya in February 2023 and Tanzania in May 2023 and would love for you to join us.

A Year On: Big Transformations in Burundi

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Communications & Events Manager.

Floretta speaks in front of her Group.

This year is the 12th year that Five Talents will participate in the Big Give Christmas Challenge, and thanks to you, last year was the biggest total raised for Five Talents ever! The Challenge is a match funding campaign where every donation to participating charities is doubled. It is a huge boost to our end of year fundraising, and means we can start the new year with a new project ready to go in January. We’re incredibly grateful for the generosity of all our supporters in the campaign. Last year through the Big Give Christmas Appeal your giving raised a staggering £108,616 to expand the programme in Burundi!

Currently, there are 9,936 Savings Group members in Burundi, over 2,000 more members than there were last year. This growth is thanks to your generosity. We’d like to introduce you to a member of the programme in Burundi, Floretta.

“I’m a widow. When my husband died, it felt like the world had ended for me. When I got any money from the family, I would drink because I was so depressed. I became a drunkard. That's when I was asked to join the Group - I was surprised to be asked.

At first I didn’t want to join because I was worried that I only had enough money to drink, but wouldn’t have any money to save. But more of my neighbours came to me and suggested that I join the Group. They really encouraged me. So, I did.  

We started the Group, and started saving together. I decided it was better to save, and I gave up drinking so that I could save more.

I had a business selling avocados, bananas and peanuts. After a year, I took out a loan and bought a goat and chickens. The goats multiplied and my income grew. After a year we shared-out [our savings and interest]. At that time, my house was broken, and the roof was leaking. So from my share-out I was able to repair my home. I also sold goats, so that I could buy iron sheets for a proper roof and shelter. Now my home is very good. I thank God for that. I also thank God that I gave up drinking.  

I would like to give support to help others going through what I did. I also have a dream to have a bigger shop to improve my income.”

With support from her Savings Group, Floretta was empowered to transform her life and her home. Thank you for being so generous to our Big Give Christmas Appeal, your support means our partners can reach even more women & men like Floretta. If you’d like to learn more about this year’s Big Give Christmas Challenge please click here.

Listening to unheard voices

Listening to unheard voices

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Communications & Events Manager.

Last year we hosted our first-ever virtual book club with Rowan Williams. We enjoyed it so much we planned our second book club event with three different readings & guest speakers! Over the summer we read Phoebe, Afterlives, and an essay from, Tomorrow Is Too Late. Our guest speakers Paula Gooder, Dr. Ida Hadjivayanis and Emmanuel Niyoyabikoze joined us to discuss the writings which centre on climate, colonialism, refugees, feminism and Christianity. Watch the event below!

How the cost of living crisis affects Savings Groups

This blog post was written by Rachel Lindley, our CEO, and Megan Henderson, our Communications & Events Manager.

Beans being sold in a market in Aru, DR Congo.

Across the UK there is a cost of living crisis - many people are worried about paying for their heating and groceries over the coming winter. The cost of living crisis here has been both caused and exacerbated by COVID, Brexit, rising fuel and energy costs and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But these issues aren’t exclusive to the UK and have had impacts the world over.

Last week many in the UK watched in horror as the ‘mini budget’ saw the pound plummet to record lows. While we respect that this is a difficult reality for many people in the UK, this too has impacts the world over. Five Talents was doubly gripped by what this meant for our partners and Savings Group members.

Our partners and members have already faced a challenging year - they have endured droughts and floods which have been some of the worst on record. Their petrol and food prices have skyrocketed, some doubling in a matter of months. 

Drought often creates food scarcity and shortages as cattle and crops suffer, which drives food prices up. But the invasion of Ukraine has also driven costs up even higher as it created further shortages. Fortunately, Savings Group members have their savings to fall back on. But we have to wonder: what happens for communities where there is no Savings Group and there is no safety net of savings? That’s why we’re determined to reach more communities in the coming months, so that more families will be able to build their resilience to the ongoing crises.

But the falling pound has made our work harder. Of course our partners produce their budgets in their own currencies, but when Five Talents signs grant agreements with them, we always agree on the amounts of funding we will be sending in pounds. We do this to better manage our fundraising efforts, and typically the conversion does work in our partners’ favour. However, the grants we’re sending this month buy far fewer Kenyan shillings or Burundian francs than they did a few weeks ago. Our partners are facing a double challenge - their grants are worth less but their costs have gone up.  

We had budgeted to send around £200,000 to our partners around the world in this final Quarter of the year. We are now seeking to raise 10% more, an extra £20,000, so that we can ‘top up’ the grants to our partners and offset, to some extent, the double impact of rising costs and falling (real terms) income. 

Having a safety net of savings, a safe place to access financial resources and training, and a community support network are absolutely essential in communities enduring this crisis and the next. We know Savings Groups are part of the solution. With your support, our partners will continue reaching more families throughout this global crisis.

If you feel able to help us with our ‘top up’ goal please visit fivetalents.org.uk/donate.

Ukraine six months on: a followup event with Tim Cross

Ukraine six months on: a followup event with Tim Cross

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Communications & Events Manager.

Earlier this year, Retired Major General Tim Cross CBE joined us for lunch to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the knock on effects it would have globally. Many of you found it fascinating and helpful; the only negative feedback we had was that a half-hour with Tim wasn't enough. Fortunately, Tim agreed to a followup event!

Six months since the first event, impacts of the war on Five Talents' partners and Savings Groups members are severe. For example, our partners in DR Congo tell us 1 litre of fuel now costs 6-7,000 UGX where before it was 3,500 UGX, and in western Kenya, the price of maize has gone from under 4,000 KES per 90kg in January to almost 7,000 KES in July.

We spent 45 minutes with Tim on 28 September 2022 discussing the situation in Ukraine and his view on what to expect next. You can view the event in the video below.

How literacy leads to civic engagement

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

Literacy lesson in Burundi.

Many of us take for granted all that reading, writing and counting enable us to do. For the communities our partners support, this is not the case. Paying school fees can be a significant challenge and many adult Savings Group members have been unable to complete formal education because their families had to prioritise using their incomes to meet family needs. For women too, cultures of early marriage excluded them from finishing their schooling.

Because of this, many of our partners start adult literacy & numeracy participatory training for Groups before saving and loaning begins. After participants complete the training and receive their certificates then Groups move on to save, loan, and invest together.

But what are the impacts of becoming literate and numerate?

Some are very practical: being able to read your child’s school report card; ensuring you give (and are given) correct change in the market; being able to administer the right amount of medication for yourself or a family member… the list goes on and on!

But more recently we heard from our partners in Kenya a huge benefit of the literacy training: being able to vote in the presidential election last month without assistance.

Our Programme Coordinator in Marsabit, Kenya, said, “We thank God for relatively peaceful day of election so far. Had just cast my votes and do hope our basic literacy graduates who were learning civic education will be able to exercise this very important right confidentially and successfully because of the literacy we offered.”

Before participating in the literacy & numeracy trainings, members could only cast their votes with assistance from someone else. Now that they are able to read and write for themselves they can cast their own ballot with confidence, and without informing anyone else of their choice.

The ability to write a simple tick mark in the appropriate place equips communities to be listened to in a way they were not heard before. We are incredibly grateful that, with your support, women and men in excluded communities can now use their voices and exercise their rights. .

“Those who knew me in the past came and asked me to tell them who I will vote for so that they could do it on my behalf. But because it was confidential, I kept quiet and walked straight to the vote place. They were amazed to see that I am now literate and can do it myself. I felt so proud of me! I am so grateful for this programme which enabled me to fulfil my civil rights.” - Group member in Burundi

Meet a Microfinance Member: Marcia from Tanzania

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

Marcia in front of her new home.

Marcia lives in Morogoro, Tanzania, with her husband and two young sons. For years, Marcia and her husband had difficulty providing enough for their boys, but then Marcia’s mother told her about the Savings Group she was a member of. Her mother explained more about the Group and shared that it was a safe place to save, access loans, and learn new skills. Marcia had dreamed of starting a business, but until then she didn’t know how.

“Being part of a Savings Group gave me hope that I could fulfil my dream.” Marcia says.

Marcia started small. She took a loan from her Group for £13 to buy maize. She sold it during the harvest season a few months later for £23. Marcia continued saving her profits, repaid her loan with interest and continued small-scale trading.

“At first it was difficult to make repayments, but through training and experience I learnt to manage my finances.”

As her savings and business know-how grew, she allowed herself to dream bigger. With a loan of £190 (from her Savings Group) and some of her accumulated savings Marcia decided to start a mobile money business.

“Being in a Savings Group is like taking four to five paces at a time. Your ability is to take one pace at a time, but your Group members support you with the other four paces; hence you reach where you want to go within unexpected time.”

Marcia’s business thrived and her profits grew - but that wasn’t all. As Marcia’s profits grew, so did her savings and her ability to apply for larger loans from her Savings Group. Marcia dared to dream even bigger!

Last year, as well as investing in her business, Marcia was able to buy a plot of land and begin construction of a new family home. Together with her husband and support from her Savings Group, Marcia is better able to provide for her children and is building a stronger, more resilient future for them all - just as she has always dreamed.

Beautiful Burundi

This blog post was written by May Mak, our Senior Grants & Programmes Officer.

In the last week of June I joined a Five Talents trip to Burundi. This was the first time the Five Talents team had been to visit a programme since the COVID pandemic stopped travel in 2020 and it was my first time visiting Burundi.

First Impressions

As we drove from the airport to the hotel, all pre-trip anxieties melted away and my heart began to sing. I have previously lived in neighbouring Rwanda and was greeted with a comforting familiarity: lush green hills, deep red earth, an expanse of blue skies; and wide-eyed curiosity accompanied by cries of ‘muzungu’ (a term referring to all foreigners - usually ‘white’ visitors). Despite the hustle and bustle and what I knew about the history of Burundi, an inexplicable peace filled me.

Country Context

Burundi is a land-locked country of over twelve million people covering an area of 27,839 square kilometres (that’s less than 12% of the size of the UK!). It is ranked 185/189 on the UN Human Development Index, making it one of the most socio-economically disadvantaged countries in the world. This is seen in high rates of food insecurity, malnutrition, vulnerability to climate-related shocks (eg. drought/floods), poor to limited access to basic services such as healthcare and education - and consequently, a high prevalence of infectious diseases, widespread illiteracy and unemployment.

But this is Burundi on paper - not the Burundi I came to know.

Meeting Members

When we arrived to visit the first Savings Group, we were met with a wash of colour, jubilation, singing and dancing. It felt like the entire village had come out to meet us.

Savings Group greeting us as visitors in Burundi.

We, the visitors, were invited to observe a Savings Group meeting take place. Completely led by the community themselves, it was awe-inspiring to see how they’d developed strategies to enable transparency and build trust. A book-keeping table had been drawn up on a chalkboard for all to see, each member identified by a number; the Group’s chairwoman recorded the same information into the Group’s ledger; while the treasurer collected the savings as each member was called to the front to declare and deposit the amount they were saving that week. For full disclosure, the treasurer held up the money collected before placing it in the ‘savings’ basket before him. At the end of proceedings, all three records (the chalkboard, Group’s ledger and actual money collected) were reconciled and compared to check that they aligned. This process of roll call and money handling was then repeated for each of the other financial activities of the Group: loan repayments, loan requests and making contributions towards the Group’s ‘social fund’.

Then, one-by-one, members stepped forward to share how being part of the Savings Group had changed their lives. My heart, once again, began to sing.

Images of a Savings Group meeting in Burundi.

“What I learnt [from Savings Group training], I did, but I didn’t just keep it to myself, I shared it with others. In this Savings Group, we all have talents and we have chosen not to bury them. We have used our talents and are living on the benefits as a result.”

“In my life, I’d never even touched 50,000 Burundian Francs at once before - then I received that and much more when I borrowed a loan from my Group. My husband now respects and values me.”  

“My family can live because of the bike I bought through my Savings Group. I use it as a taxi. From the money I earn from my bicycle taxi, I can provide for my family AND save to prepare for the future too. I have also been able to buy a goat from the share-out interest and money I have saved. If I can buy a goat, why not a cow? Now I can have bigger dreams!”

Thereafter, every Group we visited, we heard story-upon-story of transformation and empowerment. Each testimony was shared with joy and thanksgiving - first to God, then the community facilitator who trained the Group, followed by the Mothers’ Union (our in-country partners) for training the facilitator and finally to Five Talents for enabling the programme to take place. Rachel, Five Talents CEO, likened the programme to a table - each of the legs (the members, the facilitator, MU Burundi, Five Talents & supporters) holding up the table top (the programme) and glued together by God. 

Final Reflections

“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.” 

Proverbs 16:9

Throughout the trip, this verse came to me. Despite unexpected hurdles that took our plans off course (eg. punctured tyre, fuel shortages and sickness), grace and peace followed and the eventual path we were led along far exceeded any expectations we had. The members we met further echoed this as they spoke of God’s hand upon their hopes (or plans). Time and time again, members told us that through the programme - a blessing from God as they referred to it - their plans came into fruition in ways beyond their imagination. This trip reminded to expect the unexpected and rejoice in that unknown.

An even bigger Tour de Talents

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

Last year, you joined us on an unforgettable virtual lockdown journey: the 2021 Tour de Talents. The virtual route of 2,848 miles visited all of our programmes in eastern Africa so that you could ‘meet’ Savings Group members whilst generous sponsors offered to donate for every mile covered over the challenge week. 

We were overwhelmed as together, you quickly passed each benchmark until just 3 days into our 7 day journey, we reached the finish line! After extending the challenge (twice!) we finally wrapped up the week having travelled 7,040 miles and raised over £11,000. We asked ourselves: but what will we do next?

Knowing our wonderful supporters would rise to the challenge,we dreamed up our 2022 challenge: 30 days, 30,000 miles, £30,000 raised – in support of the 30,000 members our partners supported last year. It was ambitious, exciting and maybe just a little bit daunting. But we knew absolutely every mile added up, and together, just like Savings Group members, our combined efforts would push us across the finish line.

“Being in a Savings Group is like taking four to five paces at a time. Your ability is to take one pace at a time, but your Group members support you with the other four paces; hence you reach where you want to go within unexpected time.” - Marcia, Savings Group member

Our generous sponsors (Volante, The Albert Van den Bergh Charitable Trust, The Anchor Match Fund, The Vardy Foundation, and two individual givers) came together to build our £30,000 pot and off the Tour de Talents team went!

We hosted a series of extra challenges to keep everyone motivated too! Tour de Talents participants logged miles from the UK and Scotland, Morocco, the USA, Burundi and more! The challenge’s youngest participant was 20 months old, while one of the oldest participants was 81. We loved seeing your sunrise and wildlife photos, and were overjoyed to receive messages from friends of Five Talents who were becoming more active after chemotherapy thanks to the challenge, or who now row daily thanks to the habits they built during the Tour de Talents.

Possibly one of our favourite moments during the challenge was when Barnardiston Hall Preparatory School had students and parents walk together on their school field – with 192 participants they logged 192 miles for the Tour de Talents during their morning break!

In the end, we travelled 33,714.9 miles and raised £33,715 together. The final total will enable our partners to reach 1,348 new Savings Group members. But there’s only one question; where do we go from here?

A special message from Rachel Lindley, our CEO.

Five mini updates from Five Talents

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

We often give updates in our e-newsletter or monthly snapshot videos. But we wanted to mention five things we were excited about recently that may not have been shared anywhere else.

Editha in Tanzania.

1. Meeting Editha
Editha is a Savings Group member in Tanzania. When she created her small business, she did so with her community in mind. Editha and other members of her village had to walk long distances to fetch water from marshes and carry the heavy load back on foot. So, she took a loan to have a waterpoint and tap installed at her house. Not only is access to safe, clean water a huge benefit for her family - it helps her community too. Editha’s tap is one of the only ones in her village. She charges a small amount for other members of the community to come fill buckets too. Now, Editha’s profits support her family, and her safe access to clean water supports her community too.

2. A whole bunch of new friends
The 2022 Tour de Talents isn’t over just yet. We still have 2 days to go - but we are incredibly proud of the immense strides everyone has made to bring us to the 30,000 mile mark. We’ve had 337 people sign up to take part in the 2022 Tour de Talents; more participants than we have ever had at a single event before. It is great reconnecting with members of the Five Talents family, and adding a whole bunch of new family members too! Team Tour de Talents can achieve so much together - just like Savings Group members.

3. A new Programme Coordinator
The new programme in Mombasa, Kenya, is still taking form. We are incredibly excited the Board in Mombasa have selected a Programme Coordinator: Lauzi! Lauzi is 27 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Statistics from Kenyatta University. We’re so excited to welcome her to the Five Talents family and see what wonderful things she will accomplish in Mombasa. 

Maneka, Programme Coordinator in Aru, with the new car.

4. A new car
Our team in DR Congo are now able to travel more safely to and from Savings Groups! We recently secured funding so the programme team there could purchase a car. Here is Maneka, the Programme Coordinator, with the new car! The terrain our partners travel is very difficult, and we are so grateful that Maneka will be safer on the roads in this vehicle.

5. We’re resuming visits to our programmes again (with safety precautions in place for the communities we’re visiting!)
We are very fortunate that Zoom and other technology keeps us connected to one another & our partners, and our approach means we don't need to visit - all the training, monitoring etc is led by our partners who live in the communities themselves. But partnership relationships are often best nurtured through face to face conversations and interactions, and it is inspiring and encouraging both for us and for our partners and Savings Group members to meet in person again. The joyful welcome we received in Burundi (photos below) recently says it all!

We have a few spaces left on our Uganda trip next year, and are also planning trips to Kenya and Tanzania in February and May 2023. Let us know if you're interested in joining us at info@fivetalents.org.uk.

Welcome song from village in Burundi.

Welcome song from village in Burundi.

What is the global food crisis?

This blog post was written by Rachel Lindley, our CEO, and Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

Tomatoes sold by a member in Baringo, Kenya.

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues, many of you may be reading news articles about the global food crisis and how it is impacting the cost of living and supply chains in the UK. What you may not be seeing featured so prominently, however, is the impact of the war in Ukraine on hunger in East Africa and how the war, paired with an intense drought, is forcing even more families to go hungry in the places where our partners work.

Drought is not uncommon where our partners work and often causes intense difficulties. Without access to water, crops fail, livestock die, and communities have difficulty feeding their families, but with ongoing climate change the seasonal rains have become even more sporadic and unpredictable. As the invasion in Ukraine developed, driving fuel and food costs even higher, at the same time parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are facing a severe drought - one of the worst in 40 years. Together, these two factors (both beyond communities’ own power to control) compound the crisis millions are experiencing.

Our partners in Marsabit, northern Kenya, reported recently that their communities were really suffering due to the prolonged drought. Their words echo what we read in emergency briefings from other International NGOs; UNICEF assesses malnutrition to be at 23% in Marsabit (well above the 15% threshold used for triggering emergency response). Elema and Joseph, the Programme Coordinators in Marsabit, said everyone had prayed for rain as women and children were going hungry. As Obi Anyadike, Senior Editor of New Humanitarian for Africa, says: “Women are bearing the brunt of the crisis – they are the last to eat in each household, and the first to be displaced.”) The rain has come, and Elema and Joseph tell us that families are doing better. But the situation is precarious.

It’s not just Marsabit; our partners in Burundi and Tanzania are reporting severe fuel and supply shortages; meaning that communities there too will face added difficulties buying food, medicine and other essentials for their families. In South Sudan, the most dangerous period is usually July-August, the traditional ‘lean season,’ and in a country where 70% of the population is already dependent on food aid, experts are forecasting famine in some of the most vulnerable areas and calling for emergency funding.

In Marsabit, northern Kenya, the UN estimates there are 4.2 million people in need of emergency aid at a cost of $180,7 million, of which just $27m has been pledged by the international community. Last year, the UK cut humanitarian funding by 51% – and as communities around the world face compounding difficulties, there is insufficient aid available.

Five Talents does not provide emergency relief; there are others with more expertise in that when, tragically, it is needed. Instead, our focus is on building communities’ resilience before the next crisis, through Savings Groups. For example, members take loans from their groups to invest in rainwater harvesting tanks, or to start non-agricultural businesses which do not rely on the rains. Each group also contributes to an emergency fund so they can help each other out if their savings are not enough.

While Savings Groups are not an answer to everything, and the scale of Five Talents’ work is tiny compared with the number of vulnerable communities globally, we know Savings Groups do create an incredible safety net for times of crises and support communities as they build and rebuild their resilience.

Meet a Microfinance Member: Akifa from South Sudan

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer, with information gathered by Anne Figge from our Global Programmes Team.

Akifa with her employees.

Akifa is a widow and mother of three children living in South Sudan. When she first joined her Savings Groups the members each contributed 100 SSP ($0.30) per week to the savings pot. In the beginning it was incredibly difficult and 100 SSP felt like a huge amount to Akifa and the other members, but as they started business skills training they began identifying resources and opportunities within their community.

A year later Akifa and her group were surprised when they shared out the savings pot and each member received 9,000 SSP (nearly $30). This was a huge change for them given where they started! Consequently, theGroup decided to increase the savings from 100 SSP per week to 1,000 SSP per month! Akifa was able to take a loan for 5,000 SSP, and she bought things for making and selling groundnut paste and mandazi (local donuts)—which she sold under the tree. Using her savings and the business skills training from our partner, World Concern, she added other food items to her business, like porridge, and tea. Akifa’s life was changing. She began to believe that her dream of starting a restaurant could be a reality - but then tragedy struck.

“My Group is the one who came running and went into my burning house with me to rescue my things. They also provided me with an emergency loan which helped me to rebuild my house and start over.”

Akifa cooking in her restaurant.

Out of all the benefits of her Savings Group, Akifa shares that the relationship and love that the members have for one another is the most life changing aspect of being part of a Savings Group. After her home burned down, she was able to rebuild and keep moving forward with support from her Group.

Now, a year from her initial loan of 5,000 SSP, and following the house fire, Akifa was able to borrow 10,000 SSP from her Savings Group. She has used it to build a simple, woven grass structure to house her restaurant. She has a basic stove where she cooks rice, beans, soup, local spinach and maize porridge. Akifa makes a profit of 1,500 SSP ($3.50) each day! Now, she employs a night guard and two women who help her cook and manage the restaurant.

The profits Akifa makes at her restaurant are enabling her to pay school fees for her three children. Now, if her children are sick, Akifa can take them to the hospital. Her business and Savings Group have brought her peace of mind because she is now better able to care for her children.

The Newest Programme: Five Talents in Rwanda!

The Newest Programme: Five Talents in Rwanda!

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

On Tuesday, 26 April 2022, we hosted a virtual lunch with friends from Rwanda! Five Talents, in partnership with the Mothers’ Union, is beginning a new programme in Rwanda - the first new country we have started work in since 2018.

During the event we introduce Annonciata Kabega. Annonciata is a priest & mother of seven. She works with Mothers’ Union, Rwanda, and will be serve as the Programme’s Coordinator. Our event also features two photographers from the Taking Pictures, Changing Lives Foundation who live and work in Rwanda: Gadi & Bizi. Gadi & Bizi provide insight into Rwanda and its people; they have both visited and photographed Five Talents programmes before.

Learn more about the new programme, the communities it will support and the people of Rwanda in the video below.

Bringing hope to Aru, DR Congo

This blog post is an excerpt from an interview between May Mak, our Senior Grants & Programmes Officer, and Irene Nyambura, the Programme Advisor in Aru, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

What are you most proud of in your job? Why? 

Irene in Aru, Democratic Republic of Congo.

I am proud to be of service to both the community and coordination team. At the end of the day I feel I am providing a solution to the serious needs of the community, lack of access to inputs, healthcare and social stability in the communities. 

When I get to hear about testimonies of effective delivery by the teams that we facilitate and the progress of the learners, I feel very happy about the mission we have with the communities in Aru. For instance, a widow who continued to pay school fees for her children after the death of her husband; women contributing to the incomes in their households; enhanced relationships achieved because of training on the rights and respect of the vulnerable members of the community. Now, in Aru, parents are allowing education for their daughters which previously was not the case and there are less gender-based violence cases reported.

We’re seeing increasing demand at grassroots level by new learners and Groups. Even after the phase out of the adult literacy classes [funded by Five Talents] there are still new classes running voluntarily in order to access the training programme for Savings Groups and business skills.  

The project is actually a room for knowledge and experience sharing. Every day presents a new challenge to be resolved or tackled. A moment to learn and to share. 

What were some of the challenges of the programme in 2021? How did you overcome them? 

Mental health of the facilitators: During a recent training on trauma healing, it was discovered that the movers of the programme themselves, our facilitators, have been through traumatic experiences in the past and some who are still living in areas currently experiencing conflict could be living with the burden of such experiences.  

We have addressed the challenge by including a series of training on topics like trauma healing, Bible study devotionals and sexual and gender-based violence awareness and prevention. The courses are aimed at helping the facilitators to cope and be able to assist those who are in similar circumstances.  

Why should someone support the Aru programme? 

It takes about 3 weeks for an ordinary person to travel from Aru using all available means combining both land and water travel to the country’s capital, Kinshasa. Aru, like the bigger Eastern region, receives very little government support due to the distance and lack of funds. In such a scenario, the vulnerable sections of the community suffer the hardest. Most of the learners in the programme are women, 83%, and if women suffer, their children are in an even worse state. 

The men are also not able to provide for their families as they would want to due to lack of knowhow, support from their wives and even lack capital to undertake farming or small businesses. The situation creates a sense of hopelessness and helplessness and finds that people fail to appreciate their own God given resources. The programme helps bring hope to the members and once they regain hope and take charge of their lives, their enhanced self-esteem brings about a phenomenal change that spirals outside the programme. 

The programme helps build peace in an otherwise conflict ridden region by facilitating social interactions and welfare. The members become accountable to one another in not only financial services, but during funerals, weddings, sickness, gender-based violence and information exchange. 

Why do we celebrate International Women’s Day?

Why do we celebrate International Women’s Day?

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

International Women’s Day is marked annually on the calendar on the 8th March. Every year it is an opportunity to remind ourselves of women’s achievements - but why do we celebrate it?

Historically many women have faced inequity and while some people believe this is now a thing of the past, sadly that’s simply not true. In the UK, only 29% of seats in parliament are filled by women, meaning women are heard less in lawmaking and decision-making. And in the places where our partners work, women are even less likely to be heard in the decision-making within their own homes. Here are some key figures from one of the countries where our partners work, Uganda.

Sources: UN Women & UNDP Human Development Reports

Yet, women have the power to transform communities. They are caretakers, problem-solvers, innovators and peace-keepers. When a woman is empowered she often uplifts her whole family - not just herself. When one woman changes her circumstances, the circumstances for those around her change too.

After losing both her parents, Afiya moved in with relatives and had to drop out of school because they could not afford the fees. Afiya was pushed to marry early so a husband could provide for her. After having two children, Afiya decided to leave and divorce her husband, who was mistreating her. 

“I have declared to stand and to be an example to other community members by saying; ‘time has come to start a new journey in life and our families, journey of freedom not violence, free participation for change.’”

Afiya at her business.

Afiya joined a Savings Group and began renting her own place. Most of the profits she earned from her business selling vegetables went towards her rent. In 2019, a friend in the Group encouraged Afiya to take a loan and invest in buying land so that she could build her own home instead of renting. Afiya took a loan which enabled her to purchase land and expand her business.

“I was now able to build a room for me and my children and now, I no longer rent. I am happy with my children in our own house. Saving in the Group has helped me become independent. I am paying for school fees and other necessities including; exercise books, pens and school uniforms.”

On International Women’s Day we celebrate women like Afiya, who took huge steps to change her circumstances, escaping domestic violence and providing more for her children. But in celebrating we remind ourselves: there are many more women, just like Afiya, who still have not access to a Savings Group; who still have not had the opportunity to change their circumstances and create a more equitable community for themselves and their family. With your support, our partners can stand with more women on International Women’s Day and every other day, to support them in creating a brighter future.

Russia's invasion in Ukraine: An event with Tim Cross

Russia's invasion into Ukraine: An event with Tim Cross

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer

Last week Rachel & Kris had a call with Retired Major General, Tim Cross. Tim is a longtime friend to Five Talents and inevitably their conversation did shift to Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Rachel & Kris felt that Tim’s expert knowledge would be of interest to some of our supporters. We hosted a half hour session with Tim on 2 March 2022. You can view the event in the video below.

Power & Privilege One Year On

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

Main road to Tanga, Tanzania.

A year ago, we promised that we would report on what Five Talents is doing to shift power and become more anti-racist. We’re grateful that you are joining Five Talents on this journey. We know that this journey will never really be finished, but we’d like to share what we accomplished last year, and our next steps.

Recently, we announced that we have added six new trustees to our board (if you haven’t met them please do click here to learn a bit more about them and their backgrounds!). Their recruitment was part of our process to identify the power and privilege within Five Talents and begin to address imbalances and biases. They each have unique perspectives, and we hope they will enrich our board with new knowledge and experiences.

Over the last year we’ve continued to discover, listen and learn. The whole team has been reading books like Black and British a Forgotten History and “But Where are You Really From?” We also completed an audit of our language.

Last year, I spent time on a course on ethical content collection with BOND and developed a Communications Policy which puts more focus on the rights and voices of programme participants. This year, alongside safeguarding training for partners which also focuses on recognises where power lies in different contexts, our team hopes to develop an even more robust informed consent policy so Savings Group members and our partners hold and maintain power and control over their own stories.

We’ve also updated our Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with programme partners to make all of its clauses mutual, moving away from the colonial structure of Five Talents (as the provider of funding) setting all the conditions which the partner must agree to. Instead, our updated MoU recognises that both parties to the MoU need one another, and we’ve made many of the requirements mutual. These might seem like small changes but they are an important step toward making our partnerships more equal.

Sue Johns, Chairperson of the Five Talents International Board, created a Study Group for all board members where they could discuss issues of power, privilege and unconscious bias. Sue is also growing the international board with more members from countries in eastern Africa that bring unique perspectives to Five Talents. Our Programme Quality Committee has also introduced new members from eastern Africa which we hope will continue the journey of ensuring our governance structures are more representative. Similarly, in our own events in the UK we have consciously included more voices from the countries where we work; our climate justice event, for example.

We are continuing to revisit the 20 actions points we created to better understand shifting the power and we know we’re not finished yet. But perhaps one of the biggest changes is that throughout the Five Talents family, from Board to staff to partners, we talk about power and privilege as a matter of course now. It is on everyone’s radar.

As for next steps, we recently asked our Board to vote on two areas they would like some training on; the topics chosen were unconscious bias and decolonising development / mission. We’ll be booking these sessions soon, as well as continuing our programme of ‘Learning Afternoons’ within the staff team.

We are working together to hold ourselves accountable, but as we said last year, please call us out if you see areas where we could improve. We want to continue to learn and grow together to address systemic injustice and to better serve our partners and the communities that they support.

Is this the "endemic"?

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.

There's No Fire Without Kindling

This blog post was written by Rachel Lindley, our CEO.

Embers burn in a member’s cafe kitchen, Kenya.

I recently moved into a little cottage in rural north Lincolnshire, complete with a wood-burning stove; it’s fair to say I’ve been on a steep learning curve on how to light it! I vaguely remembered school science classes teaching me about the three essentials for fire - fuel, oxygen and heat, and of course thinking in threes comes easily to us at Five Talents.

We often think in threes: our three offices (UK, US & Kenya); our strategic pillars (Growth, Tell the World & Addressing Injustice); and we even have three ways we ask you to help us (Give, Pray, Tell)! So, the fire triangle of fuel, oxygen and heat was easy for me to grasp - but the revelation, missed from my science classes 30 years ago, was the role of kindling!

I tried several times to get the fire going without kindling, and always failed. But just a couple of sticks of kindling, and whoosh, the coffee logs and wood logs are literally on fire.

Which got me thinking… What is the kindling for Five Talents? There are so many possibilities:

An amazing team of staff in the UK office; I am so grateful to work with a team which has stayed focused, dedicated, hard working and passionate, even after so many months alone at our kitchen tables. This includes colleagues who’ve come & gone before us too. Five Talents would not be where it is today without them.

A clear vision; right now, our teams are building an ambitious new Strategic Plan for scaling up our Savings Groups programmes. Look out for it later this year.

Our evidence-based approach; our Savings Groups have profound economic and social impact, and we have the data to prove it. This year we’re commissioning a longitudinal evaluation of our Burundi programme, revisiting Savings Groups who graduated from our support 10 years ago to trace the impacts today. This is really exciting!

Good governance - perhaps not the most exciting piece of kindling in the bundle, but it is essential. This year we are delivering a comprehensive programme of safeguarding training, and are excited that we have six new trustees on our UK Board (an outcome of our diversity audit in 2020);

Introductions via your networks - this is really the very definition of kindling! Our income, and therefore the number of programmes we can support, has more than doubled since 2015 - and almost every new supporter who has backed our work has been introduced to us by an existing supporter. Thank you!

I’m proud and grateful of all we (you, our partners and thousands of Savings Group members) achieved last year, against the odds. But now we need to do even more. There is huge demand for Savings Groups across the world - and with your help, we can meet it.

So we ask you, this year, to be our kindling! Who could you invite to one of our events - or could you invite us to one of your events? Who can you tell about Five Talents, at work, at church, in your social networks? Who do you know who might help our fire burn even more strongly in 2022?

Let us know at rachel@fivetalents.org.uk - and again, thank you all for being part of this incredible journey. As Anne, our partner in Karamoja, Uganda, told us in December: ‘It is spreading from one small area, it is spreading like fire!’

Meet a Microfinance Member: Celestine from Kenya

This blog post was written by Megan Henderson, our Senior Communications & Events Officer.

Celestine from Kenya

“It has been difficult because of the coronavirus, but my Savings Group has helped me.”

Celestine lives in Butere, Kenya, with her two children, aged 12 and 6. She joined her Savings Group in 2018 as a means to support her family and her tailoring shop in Butere’s market.

“I have never had a place to save until I joined my Savings Group. Every time I go to my Group’s monthly meeting, I receive training. Business management training helped me to increase my profits and taught me to plan for the future.”

Now, she is not only a shop owner, but an employer too. Celestine has hired two youths from town.

“After making some profit from my tailoring business, I bought a motorbike and employed a youth to use it as a boda boda [motorbike taxi]. The driver sends me 300 shillings each day from the proceeds he makes.”

Celestine is growing with her Group. She is better able to support her family, business and community. With access to financial services and business training, Celestine is planning for her future and aspires to impact others in her community too.

“I am now more educated and open-minded. I want to expand my business and train more youth in tailoring, so that like me, they can provide for their households. I also want to buy more motorbikes because it is a good way to earn money to support my family.”