Margaret, together with her husband and children, lives in a small hut about 200 yards from our school. She has been a part of our IGA programme since 2009, when we helped her to start up a vegetable stall in the local market. Over the years, this vegetable stall has provided them with a small but steady income.
Although the business seemed to be continuing on as usual, our eagle-eyed IGA staff noticed that, over a period of some months, Margaret was depositing less in her savings book than she had in previous years. This set off some alarm bells and we started to investigate to try and find out the cause.
We knew that Margaret’s husband was in poor health and that Margaret was the main breadwinner in the family. Although her husband couldn’t work every day, he would occasionally ride an old motorbike, which he would use to earn a bit of extra money. But he had now completely stopped working due to his sickness and because the motorbike had a serious mechanical problem.
After some discussions with Margaret and her husband, and a careful inspection of the motorbike, we advised them to repair the bike and find someone who could be renting it from them. This advice was gratefully received and, after Margaret had made the necessary withdrawal from her savings book, we arranged for a trusted mechanic to come out and fix the bike. Within a couple of days, the repaired bike was back on the road, rented out, and is now bringing in a bit of extra money each week.
Margaret’s level of savings is now back up to their expected level and the smile is back on her face!