How to provide financial resources to rural Ethiopian communities

A Glimmer of Hope is changing millions of lives in Ethiopia by providing sustainable, ground-up aid, including financial resources for local communities. Read on to see how SCOPEinsight helped improve local SACCOs in northern Ethiopia.

Life in Libo Kemkem, Ethiopia

According to the most recent World Bank estimates, the country of Ethiopia has an overall poverty rate of 24%. In rural areas, this number is even higher. More than 80% of the population of Ethiopia lives in rural areas, and nearly 26% of that rural population lives on less than $0.60 a day.

A map showing that Libo Kemkem is in the northwestern part of Ethiopia. — Libo Kemkem, Ethiopia

The lives of rural Ethiopians are obviously very difficult. In the woreda of Libo Kemkem, for example, there are 33 rural kebeles, and 23 are food insecure. The majority of the local households practice subsistence agriculture. This leaves the local people in a very vulnerable position.

A Glimmer of Hope provides sustainable aid

Founded in 2000, A Glimmer of Hope is a charity organization which focus on ending poverty in remote, rural communities in Ethiopia. In the decades since its founding, Glimmer has impacted an amazing five million lives, and they have completed more than 10,000 projects to help the Ethiopian population. Since 2000, they have tracked incredible results, including a reduction of national poverty by 47%.

How Glimmer is transforming Libo Kemkem

Libo Kemkem is a rural woreda, or district, in northern Ethiopia. Together with the Helmsley Charitable Trust, Glimmer has been working to empower families in this community. In 2019, they offered hands-on support to the community, which prompted remarkable financial change. Glimmer distributed over a thousand loans to the local farmers, and then also provided training and help to make sure those farmers got the most out of their money. They trained 1,856 farmers, and they helped to organize over two hundred village economic and social organizations to discuss and improve best practices for business and life. They have also been using and optimizing local data usage. For example, they trained certain community members in using tablets to monitor loan recipients so their progress can be tracked.

A picture of local villagers having a meeting together. — Local villages have economic and social organizations, often made up mostly of farmers. Image source: A Glimmer of Hope

How SCOPE tools help specialize trainings

Glimmer also has used data by assessing local Savings and Credit Co-operatives, or SACCOs, with our SCOPE tools. SACCOs often are more effective in rural areas than banks or MFIs, which makes strengthening them important. Using a modified form of our SCOPE Basic tool, we assessed nine diverse SACCOs and one union in Libo Kemkem and provided Glimmer with data regarding their strengths and weaknesses, as well as a list of recommendations on how to improve their professionalism. The results from these assessments were then used to design and target training and coaching plans for the cooperatives based on what they needed most. This is part of a five-year program intended to turn all of the SACCOs into self-sustained financial resources for the local communities.

Success stories from Libo Kemkem

The success in Libo Kemkem can be seen in the overall impact numbers, but it can also be seen on a smaller scale with stories from actual farmers who received aid. Glimmer has shared stories of two women in the area who both received life-changing loans. Workie and Tadilo both received loans of $830 to start growing garlic, as well as training and support. For both of these women, this loan provided them with the means to increase their income and support their families. Both Workie and Tadilo are now able to live better lives, thanks to Glimmer’s help.

A plan for future impact

Glimmer shows no signs of slowing down in its work in Ethiopia. While COVID-19 and internal conflict have created challenges, Glimmer is continuing to provide assistance, including COVID-19 training and supplies. Glimmer has helped five million people so far; with any luck, they will continue to help millions more.

Are you interested in obtaining amazing results like this yourself? Contact us today to find out how we can help you achieve impressive project results.

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