VOICES: Oxfam learning event“There is no I in TEAM”

Community groups are becoming increasingly involved in how, what and when change happens at a local level. Supporting community groups to articulate their own needs and desires and giving them the confidence to influence decisions that affect their own lives is an important influencing strategy: collective action is much more powerful than individual action.

Managing the dynamics in these groups and keeping the group together and focused on the issue can be challenging however. In this session partners will share their community mobilisation strategies, the processes and methods they have developed to work with groups and the successes and challenges they have had to overcome to create and sustain change at a local level.

Planned Outcomes of the session

• Partners share and learn some of the successful ways in which community groups have been involved in change in their communities.

• Partners identify dynamics and issues that need to be addressed in community groups and some strategies that can be used to address them.

The Self-Help Group (SHG) approachPromoted by

Vision: Socially and economically empowered women within households made vulnerable by poverty, the impact of HIV and AIDS, gender inequalities and other societal injustices.

Mission: Sinamandla assists, capacitates and supports local South African non-profit and community-based organisations to promote self-reliance in the communities they serve.

See www.sinamandla.org.za

Mobilising women for change

- The SHG approach focuses on the poorest and most vulnerable sections of the community, organising women into strong affinity groups (called SHGs) so that they are no longer voiceless and powerless individuals. - Second, it helps women realize their potential as individuals through initiating a savings and loan system whereby the members in the group save from their own meager resources and administer their own fund. -Third, it improves capacity and builds competence through a series of training modules provided by a local implementing organisation that can support the processes which increase self-confidence, develop self-reliance, and help SHG members to set their own agenda.

Mobilising women for change-The final component is building the model through clustering six to ten SHGs into a Cluster Level Association (CLA) to work on the things that cannot be done by SHGs themselves effectively, such as linkages and coordinating larger community projects. - Eventually eight or more CLAs can be clustered together into a formalized network called a Federation (operating at district level).

A Self-help Group (SHG) is usually made up of 15-20 members from among women identified as the poorest in the community. SHG members have a common objective of working together for their economic and social development and also for their overall village development

● Each SHG meets weekly, has group leadership on rotational basis, has a book-writer to keep records and develops own rules and regulations. ● SHG members take small loans form their group’s savings for urgent

consumption needs , developmental needs of their children and for micro business. ● Interest is charged and is added to the group income.

A Cluster Level Association (CLA) is usually made up of 6-10 SHGs from a specific geographic area. Each SHG elects 2-3 representatives to the CLA. A CLA is not a superior body to the SHG but rather a representative body that carries out specific tasks on behalf of its SHGs.

● CLAs takes up the social, economic and political issues that are beyond the scope of the individual SHGs and it works on building a People’s institution towards empowerment . ● CLAs have own objectives and activities that are different to SHGs. ● Each CLA implements its activities and projects through sub-committees.

A Federation (or Network of CLAs) involves setting up a super-ordinate association in which each CLA is represented by 2-3 members.

Main tasks of the Federation are:

● advocacy and lobbying; ● fundraising and financial management of the wider system; ● concentration on the problems and issues which are important for the whole geographic area that it covers.

Forming a Federation is an important step in taking over the administration tasks from the supporting NGO partner, which now steadily withdraws from the SHG process over a period of two years. Strong SHGs and CLAs are needed before a Federation can be formed.

Specific data on Sinamandla partners and their SHGs in 2012

In Sinamandlapartners

Number of functional SHGs/CLAs 400/30

Number of SHG members 6 100

Total Amount of Savings of all SHGs R1,600,000

Total Amount of Loans of all SHGs R4,200,000

Total number of loans given by all SHGS 30 000

Household members of all SHG members 35 000

Number of initiated SHG projects 600+

SINAMANDLA PARTNERS

Success in the SHG approach

Sufficient food – no one goes hungryMeeting school expenses – uniform,

transport, stationaryHome building/renovationsBreaking loan shark interest cycleSaving (in various ways) Investing in income-generating activities Using SHG small loans effectively

More success… Major social and psychological benefits Improved community relations and social

cohesion Greater civic activities – assisting others

and mobilising around human rights Improved health – as a consequence of

access to services and in health education Improved women’s status at home and in

the community

What are the benefits to SHG members, their families and communities?

1. Poor women who are isolated and powerless, soon realise that they are no longer alone.

2. Each member becomes empowered as they feel a sense of ownership and belonging.

3. As they share their problems and start solving them, they gain a sense of pride.

4. Consequently they are recognized and respected by their families, stake-holders and the community.

Mobilising around GBV & HIV/AIDSWomen facilitated into SHGs gain recognition and are respectedby their families, stake-holders and the community as they:

- share their problems and start solving them, - they put own efforts in campaigns that uplift community life.- begin initiatives /projects that address social concerns

Sinamandla partners assist in the building of capacity (GBV &HIV/AIDS) that strengthens the efforts of women in SHGs in their response to HIV/AIDS in the community and enables gender-based violence to be addressed more directly.

● Savings and loan in SHGs enables household level economic needs to be met and quality of life is being further enhanced as a result of IGAs

● Women report a greater sense of well-being and reduction of stress as a result of social support shared in the group.

● At a community level, the SHGs are increasing commercial availability of resources and by working together.

Lessons learnt

Lessons learnt Members are creating structures to address

problems that are most pressing at a community level.

The positive socioeconomic impacts of social grant receipt are significantly magnified through participation in SHGs.

Challenges/OpportunitiesAt SHG level – the performance and

retention of stipendiary CFs

Better remuneration to retain CFs

Better care, support & capacity buildingLimited ownership and support by the

organisational leadership in some cases.

SHG vision leading to integration with other internal programs

Learning exposure between partners

Reinforce understanding of concept

Challenges/opportunities Need to identify broader product range,

retail outlets and marketing possibilities for SHG members

Work with SHG members, partners and experts to assist SHGs to develop a market-oriented approach to income generation thereby enabling an accurate market analysis before embarking on the production of saleable items.

Challenges/Solutions

Funding – finding donors who see long term partnerships

Promotion of SHG concept in SA context

Engagement with government – help them understand that SHG is not a quick fix Potential replication of programme

Challenges/Solutions

Role of culture and a patriarchal system

Engagement of men in dialogue

Better understanding of culture and tradition