To respond to this challenge, the Women for Women Rwanda program has included in its package for new women enrolled the training for 3 months of Numeracy literacy where women are trained in different topics
In the core program, most of the women enrolled in the program (60%) are illiterate and their capacity for counting, reading, and using numbers is very low. One of the objectives of the program is to empower them economically through practicing income-generating activities. Exercising these activities requires business skills and it is very hard to apply them without knowing how to read and count.
To respond to this challenge, the Women for Women Rwanda program has included in its package for new women enrolled the training for 3 months of Numeracy literacy where women are trained in the following topics:
- Problems solving: Addition, subtraction, Multiplication, and Division. This training helped women to open their mind vis a vis to business management
- Calculator use: This helps women involved in business to count with minimum errors
- Key business terms: This helped participants to be familiar with terms used in business in their daily life
- Record keeping: This helped participants to be familiar with calculations in their small businesses, hence, knowing whether they are making a profit or if they make a loss
All these skills help the women open their mindset and be prepared to acquire business skills that help them start small businesses and use the loans taken from VSLA to change their livelihood conditions. Numeracy /Literacy training is the 1st package given to women enrolled in the program.
One of the participants from Ndera in VSLA and Literacy numeracy shared her experience and expectations
Umuhoza Zawadi, participant in Ndera group 2. She is 31 years old with 2 children; her husband left her home. She lives in Gasabo District, Ndera Sector, Cyaruzinge Cell, and Karubibi village.
” Before Joining the Women for Women program, I was very exposed to danger because my husband used to beat me and I was traumatized.” Umuhoza said.
After being enrolled in the WfW-Rwanda program, I regain my self-confidence and I am expecting from training including VSLA to restart my business of selling goats as I used to do before getting married. She joined the WfW-Rwanda program in June 2022.
I am very ambitious to be trained in Numeracy and literacy and I was interested in using calculator machine lessons because I will be able to use my telephone in business.
Our saving group has already saved 110,250 FRW and Using the VSLA digitalization is helping me to work very hard so that I can save more money to achieve my goal. My savings in this group are 7000 FRW and we will start to ask loan in the middle of October 2022. I plan to take it immediately so that I can start realizing my dreams. Umuhoza Said.