Implementing Multiple Gender Strategies to Improve HIV and ... - ICRW

superiority.
Replication and
Scale-up Activities
• The project was expanded in 2004 when Young Savers Clubs were
established independent of TRY. KDA regularly meets with young
savers to collect and keep savings in a safe place. Young Savers Clubs
are continuing in the Kibera slums, with more than 600 girls currently
participating in the project.
LESSONS LEARNED AND CHALLENGES
Key Findings and
Lessons
• Reliable and safe group structures should form the core of programs for
vulnerable girls, with participation constructed as a positive experience.
The most vulnerable girls need a place apart from their family for
dialogue, support, crisis intervention, the protection of their savings,
and development of rudimentary livelihood skills.
Challenges and
Unforeseen
Outcomes
• The main challenge was that of girls dropping out of the project. Delays
in receiving loans often were cited as reasons to leave the project, as
were nonflexible savings schemes that locked up girls’ savings as
group collateral and did not allow them access, even in an emergency.
• The project underscored the vulnerability of girls and highlighted their
diversity despite their common residence in a poor urban community.
The initially rigorous microfinance model piloted for TRY was
appropriate for only a small subset of the least vulnerable girls. For the
majority, entrepreneurship and repeated borrowing were not primary
concerns. Instead, their fundamental needs related to acquiring social
capital, including social support groups, friendships, mentorships,
physical safety, and the opportunity to save their money in a safe,
accessible place. For most, entrepreneurship and credit opportunities
follow provision of these more basic services.
Recommendations
for Replication
• Girls require a strong group structure as a base. The model should be
constructed as a positive experience, with benchmarks of success
based on their capabilities and goals, such as individual voluntary
savings or goal-oriented savings.
• Infrastructure, staffing, and funding are needed.
• Girls’ capacity for developing livelihoods for self-protection grows and
evolves over time. Programs should therefore be structured to provide
some form of individual identification to foster self-esteem and a sense
of belonging and identity.
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