Young girl finds solution for her family’s woes

For Averil, her CoMSCA saving is a huge relief. She can already buy brand new clothes and school supplies for school. This makes her happy because she had been using hand-me-downs ever since she started school.

The 11-year-old demure girl is already in her 7th grade. She can still remember during class opening, her parents would scramble with their budget so that they can pay for her school needs and expenses, including the needs of her 7 siblings.

Averil’s parents both work as rice farmers. Her father is the main worker in their borrowed farm. While her mother, Natividad, keeps their home and helps in the farm during harvest. Every harvest, they earn by selling the produce. They pay the owner of the farmland by sharing a part of their harvests.

But having a livelihood doesn’t always mean a comfortable life. Climate conditions like extreme heat or typhoon season threaten the family’s source of income in a regular basis. Her mother shared that their harvests during the past two years have already dwindled.

Just last year, Averil found the solution for her family’s woes when she entered a CoMSCA Kids group in their school. CoMSCA or Community Managed Savings and Credit Association is a savings mechanism introduced by World Vision. It promotes community empowerment, savings mindset, and livelihood scale-up.

Along with her classmates, she saves money every week in the entire school year. And at the end of the school year, she can get her earning to buy her needs for the next school year. During her first share out, she bought a dress for herself.

Seeing the positive impact of Averil’s participation with CoMSCA, her mother also decided to join the CoMSCA Adult in their neighborhood. In just a few months, she was able to borrow money for medication of her goiter. She also saved enough to spend for her children’s school needs.

“Being a member of CoMSCA taught me how to manage our money. I make sure to save a portion from our income so that we have something to use during emergencies,” shares the 43-year-old mother.

During this pandemic when livelihood of families have been gravely affected, saved money helps families weather these long months of quarantine. CoMSCA also promotes camaraderie among its members which is also a good thing for them to thrive in this trying time.