Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI) Officer in River Cess County is urging women of various Village Saving groups trained by her organization to sustained the program when the project officially ends.
FCI is a local based Non-governmental organization that is working in several counties of Liberia implementing different projects. Speaking with reporters recently, Madam Hawa Varney said the dream of her group is to see the women maintaining the village saving groups after the project shall have to come to an end. Madam varney added FCI also aims to establish village saving groups and continue to empower them with the necessary trainings and finance throughout the project is to make them self-sufficient to avoid them being depended on their male counterparts.
“We grouped the women and provided them with some cash in the form of grant so that they can make business and have money on their own because that is one way we can tackle the many acts of violence against them” madam Hawa Dunor Varney.
She added if women get the necessary economic empowerment, will further enhance the eradication of Gender and Sexual Based Violence from the Liberian society, something she says is greatly affecting development with direct impact on women, youths and other vulnerable groups who are not economically strong to resist the influence of money.
Madam Varney recalled a recent capacity building training for youth and women held in June in Yarpah Town, River Cess County that brought together over 40 participants which she described as one of the many eye openers that her group been doing for those captured under their current project.
The FCI is presently working with women groupings they organized into Village Savings in three counties of Liberia including River Cess, Sinoe and Grand Kru under the ENOUGH PROJECT sponsored by the European Union. The ENOUGH PROJECT is a five-year project that is jointly implemented by five Non-Governmental organization which includes FCI, Her Voice and OXFAM with each group targeting a specific component. In 2021 the Foundation for Community Initiative launched a Village Saving for over 200 women in four major communities in River Cess County including Little Liberia, Charlie Town, James Town and Logan Town and Fen River and Nyorwein administrative districts respectively.
A grant of LRD$400,000 was shared across the groups for business purpose following weeks of training on how the mange the cash and sustain the groups. In addition to the village saving groups, FCI is also empowering women in River Cess to engage in agricultural activities aimed at helping them generate their own money to avoid them being abused.
Women of Sayah Town in Gbasaw clan were grouped and have been trained by the group to grow crops for marketing to improve their financial capacity, according to the FCI Gender and Justice officer.
