Scheme teaching locals to be wiser with money

Thirteen communities in Madang are using a scheme initiated by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to better their livelihoods.
The Village Savings and Loans (VSL), introduced by the fund three years ago, has helped more than 3000 people in 13 communities with financial literacy, save, lend and invest, among others.
Funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Australia and John West fishing company through WWF Australia, this project has reached people in the Madang Lagoon and the North Coast region of Sumkar and Bogia since 2015. Nearly 50 per cent are women and girls.
WWF coastal marine officer Rebecca Samuel managed the project with the support of the financial inclusion officer Belinda Chokoli and a consultant from World Vision, Paul Kauke.
Samuel said the project allowed financially-burdened communities have access to these self-managed financial services.
She added that the project also instilled some discipline to save money for the “rainy season” or to meet priorities for their families and improve their capability to invest in alternative income-generating activities.
Under this initiative, a group in a village saves money together and let members take small loans from those savings.
The goal of the group is to promote the savings culture at the village level due to difficulties faced by a villager to access commercial banking services as a result of their stringent processes.
It was also to allow villagers to take loans from their savings to invest in other micro businesses so they diversify and grow their investments.
Members in the village attend regular meetings, save, take loans and participate in open discussions for answers to queries so they understand how best they can grow under this programme.
WWF has trained 20 village VSLA agents to ensure a lifeline is available at their door step.