November 23, 2021
By Aruna Kamara
Center for Advocacy and Sustainable Empowerment (CASE) Sierra Leone which is a Community-based organization has placed women and children’s well-being at the central of its work by empowering the women with business skills and financial management.
The organization views with great dismay the level of discrimination, stereotype, and to a large extent the inhumane treatment meted against women and children in our society. It is on this backdrop that CASE SALONE positions itself to thwart the socially constructed reality around women and girls.
In a bid to helping women out of this savagery act, the organization developed an initiative called Bamba WI Community Savings Scheme, an initiative designed to help low income earning women to advance their business career through revolving loaning the organization called self-help model.
According to the Executive Director of CASE Sierra Leone, Madam Rassie Bah, the idea behind the scheme is to help the women to invest in their business as a livelihood to support the education of their girls.
“It is on this note that CASE SALONE deems it fit to organize a one-day training on financial management and basic business principles, an aspect of business that is seen absence in the business life of many illiterate and semi illiterate business women which is largely affecting their business growth. It is thus believed that capacitating women to acquire the right business mindset by employing necessary business ethics will largely improve their business, thereby leading them to support their children’s well-being and education,” she said,
He added that the theme of this year’s training was “DU BIZNESS FOR DREB PO”, which is translated as “do business to avert poverty”, an inspiration drawn from the fact that business helps in not only reducing poverty but wealth creation.
The participants who benefited from this training said that they were thrilled and honoured for the service CASE SALONE rendered them, which will help them in their business as they have never received such training before.
Out of the 60 women who were capacitated, 25 were certified for being the most active members/savers in the Bamba Wi initiative, a technique that was deliberately applied to motivate other members to follow suit for their own development.
The said training which was facilitated by the Executive Director and Founder, Rassie Bah and the Finance Officer, Mariama Kunateh attracted partner organizations such as; IDP4T, HEMDEF, Action Aid, WAVES SL, Bo District and City Council, media houses amongst others.
The key note speakers for this august event were gender activists, Ame Atsu David and Hadja Diaraye Barrie who both inspired the women to see business primarily as their first husband, inspiring them to not only rely on their husbands for support.
Ame Atsu David, the Regional Capacity Development Specialist for Global Fund for Children threw light on the significance to invest in their girls’ education.
The training which was punctuated by drama and cultural dance song, a sign of appreciation for the commitment of CASE SALONE and its partners.