| Abstract: | A qualitative impact study was conducted in two impact site of Family Health International Ethiopia ( Sodo and Dilla ) to assess the impact of Community Self help saving group model on the livelihood of rural people living with HIV/AIDS there by to identify opportunities and constraints for improving access to financial services. A structured questionnaire and participatory impact assessment tools relevant to the livelihoods of the rural people living with HIV/AIDS were used to collect data. Using a stratified random sampling technique, 216 households were included in the survey. The result showed that the main objective of CSSGs was to protect and build the assets of the poor and to improve their access to more affordable financial services. They were organized from a group of households with common interest and more or less similar socio economic background.
The objective of asset protection and building was positive even though the outcome was marginal compared to the control groups. In general, the combined asset indices for farm tools and household durables grew from 7.22 to 14.78 for CSSGs and from 6.15 to 9.16 for non-members in the period with relatively higher growth for the members. In general, while the asset indices for the CSSG sample grew by slightly more than two times, that of the control group grew by 1.5 times.
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There was no change in size of land at all in the last five years for both groups of samples. However, land tenure arrangements and access to various land tenure was improving marginally in favor of the CSSG groups. Positive land tenure arrangements such as renting and sharecropping from the second party was increasing among the CSSG groups while renting and sharecropping own land to other person was the highest among the control groups.
There was no significant contribution of CSSGs on agricultural production mainly due to variability of weather conditions, low utilization of inputs and inadequate access to sufficient credit. Livestock was important productive asset of the poor. The proportion of livestock owners increased by about 12.7 percent for members, a net percentage change of about three percent, over control groups. Cash income was increasing for both beneficiaries and control groups both in terms of per capita income, changes in income quartiles and shifts in income sources. The overall changes in cash income for the members were about 19.6% and 45% for non-members. Diversification of income sources however was promising for the beneficiaries. Income for some important sectors such as crop has shown only a one percentage point change for both sample groups consistent with the frequent crop failures in the periods. Cash expenditure for both groups has increased significantly. The investment expenditure for the members have shown a percentage change of about 11 compared to only five percent among the control groups. CSSG members invest more on productive ventures than the control groups even though the amount of income generated from all sources was relatively smaller compared to the non-CSSG sample groups. The result of the survey also showed that overall food security situation have shown no or marginal decline in the period for both groups.
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The contribution of CSSG to education and improvement in access to some basic services was also not significant. Gross enrolment rate (the number of students currently in school), dropout rates, and frequency of drop out was in favor of the control groups than the members of CSSG s. However, the CSSG members have developed capacity to finance the educational costs of first cycle primary, second cycle primary and high school education of their children than the pre CSSG period. Changes in primary health care, reproductive health, environmental and personal hygiene and child and maternal care services have shown positive changes for both groups. Utilization and resource control has also improved even though the overall change was not as such significant to differentiate between the two sample groups. Participation in various community activities and collective action was also improving but not with encouraging proportions.
Even though CSSGs are the most preferred semi traditional financial institutions, their overall capacities was inadequate to change the old aged multitudes of social and economic problems which put the livelihood of the poor at odds. Low level of saving and small loans, short repayment periods, weak linkages between the major livelihoods and capacities of the CSSG s, inadequate financial, management, technical and capacity building efforts, lack of legal status and failure to link with other financial sources, inadequate support for the IGAs were some of the reason responsible for low impact of CSSG. However, they are the most promising financial institutions favored by the poor members with adequate ground for sustainability and transformation into viable intermediaries with adequate policy and strategic support from all organizations who endeavor to improve the wellbeing of the majority of the rural poor who suffer from multitudes of Scio –economic problem. |
