By Mbali Vilakati
Mbabane – The children from Mkhiweni Inkhundla (Constituency) have made it clear that they want to establish their own savings groups.
This transpired on Saturday (May 18, 2024) when the board of directors from World Vision visited the children at the Mkhiweni Area Programme (AP) as part of their oversight of the organisation, to engage with the children.
During the visit, 10 children participated in the engagements highlighting their understanding of World Vision’s interventions and how their lives had been impacted by these. Most of the children who participated were aged 17 years and below. They shared how they had benefited from World Vision’s interventions from a very young age up to the present.
This includes being part of the organisation’s early childhood development education programme at the neighbourhood care points (NCPs) supported by World Vision. They also highlighted how having water in their communities had resulted in school absenteeism and dropping out as they no longer suffered from waterborne diseases such as bilharzia or diarrhoea, which kept them at home.
It was also shared that having enough time to study and play, as well as protection from possible sexual violence, as well as other risks was one of the benefits of having water closer to their homes.
A 17 year old boy named Nkosingiphile said having water closer to their homes allowed them to have enough time to rest and also do their schoolwork. “We now have enough time to rest and do our homework, thus we do not get into trouble at school for not doing our homework,” said Nkosingiphile.
Silindzile (17) said, “Our parents can now afford to take care of our basic needs, such as school fees and uniforms, food, and other needs, because they participate in World Vision’s livelihood projects and are able to save money in the savings groups.”
After sharing the impact the organisation has on their lives, they urged the organisation to ensure that they are also supported to start savings and lending groups so they grow up with the skills they believe will positively impact their future.
Manzini-Hhohho Cluster Manager Simanga Mkhombe responded to the children, sharing that children’s savings groups are already part of what they had recently started implementing. He further said that they would definitely be looking to increase this number, which currently stands at 32 savings groups with 639 child members.
The Senior Leadership Team and Board emphasised the need to consider and deliberate extensively on all the children’s recommendations because children’s voices are very important for the organisation’s programmes to fully respond to children’s needs.
