Aida Chao

21 February 2022- Mrs. Aida Chao, is a native of Mulevala district in the village of Ndala, Zambezia province, she is 28 years old and has two daughters. She is member of the WIWANANA ORERA savings group, who joined through her neighbor, with whom she heard about the advantages of being a member of the Group of Savings and Revolving Credit (GPCR).

When she realized the advantages, she went to the group, showed interest to become a member, and in turn, the group members accepted her request. Her first savings was 20.00Mt and she went on to increase her savings like the other members. As well as the other members who applied for credit for the implementation of income-generating activities, Aida Chao also applied for a credit of 750.00Mt, but with some fear, because she had never done a business. With the credit, Ms. Aida started a business, selling home-made alcoholic beverage in the market built by the members of the GPCR.

With the income from the business, she was able to return the credit and related fees to the savings group. Thus, Mrs. Aida Chao is very pleased to belong to the WIWANANA ORERA savings group and the ease she had in accessing the credit that, according to her, contributed to the improvement of her living conditions. The biggest thank you goes to her neighbor who told her about the advantages of belonging to a savings group. Like Aida, several members of this savings group have used credit to improve their living conditions through the implementation of various initiatives.

This action is part of the implementation of the project Payment for Environmental Services (PES), which aims primarily to contribute to Forest Conservation and Sustainable Livelihoods. In this sense, the Association for Community Empowerment (UATAF-AFC) has been providing services for FAO, in the implementation of PES, with the specific responsibility of establishing Savings and Revolving Credit Groups (GPCR) in communities in the districts of Maganja da Costa, Alto Mólòcue, Mulevala and Gilé, in Zambezia province, and offer training in business development to support forest and environmental conservation.