Rising strong: How a mother and daughter found strength and success through a local savings group

At just 13, Ei is saddened by the number of children in her village who are unable to attend school, or even secure a daily meal. ‘For them, going to school is like a golden ticket. Even having a meal each day is considered a stroke of luck’, says Ei, who lives in Myanmar’s Thanlwin Township.

She and her mother, Daw, have long battled to find enough money for food, even when Daw was working as a street vendor selling rice and curry. Her microbusiness faced challenging times, and had to close. The small family’s perilous financial situation grew even worse when Ei’s father died. Even the cost of a funeral was beyond their means. Ei’s mother often had to borrow money at exorbitant interest rates from informal lenders to afford basics such as food and medical care.

Thankfully, a few years after their devastating loss, Daw and Ei were able to join World Vision’s Savings for Transformation (S4T) programme. Daw had little knowledge of finances, and would only save money – if there was any left – after buying necessary items. However, through the programme, she has learnt to commit money to her savings first, sharing her newfound saving practices with friends.

“Before S4T, life was incredibly difficult. I couldn’t provide my daughter with pocket money. But now I have improved my financial management skills and learned how to allocate funds for food, health care, and my daughter’s education.”

Ei has also learnt plenty, managing to buy her own bicycle after carefully saving part of her pocket money. Through support from S4T, her mother has also established a flourishing small business selling clothes and kitchen commodities and learnt to make soap through World Vision’s vocational programme.

Daw's profits now cover their daily needs, along with educational materials for Ei, who has her own big dreams. ‘I aspire to become a doctor so that I can help impoverished children and families, particularly those struggling with daily food’, she says.