ADRA ACKNOWLEDGE SINPF AND OUR TELEKOM FOR AWARENESS SESSION

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Solomon Islands has acknowledged the Solomon Islands National Provident Fund (SINPF) and Our Telekom for providing firsthand information about their financial saving scheme and products during the Soul Cocoa Saving Refresher Workshop.

Officers from NPF YOUSAVE and Our Telekom M-Seleni were invited by ADRA Soul Cocoa Project to give talks about their products and saving scheme to the Soul Cocoa Savings Group Participants.

You Save scheme is a voluntary savings scheme designed for the self-employed in the Solomon Islands by SINPF.

M-SELEN is a fast, simple, and affordable way of transferring money, making payments and doing other transactions using a mobile phone. Our Telekom is currently providing the service in Solomon Islands.

A total of 32 women from Sali in Central Guadalcanal and Geza, Ghombua, and New Tenabuti Communities in Northeast Guadalcanal attended the two days’ workshop which started on the 31st of October to the 2nd of November at the Guadalcanal Resource Centre, located at Henderson, East Honiara.

The Soul Cocoa Savings Group Refresher Workshop was financially supported with Private Donations administered by ADRA Australia.

The aim of the workshop was to help the women’s who are members of the savings program that is part of the Soul Cocoa plus project that ADRA is currently implementing in Four Communities in Guadalcanal and Three in Malaita to see how the initiative can be sustained into the future.

Some of the initiatives discussed during the workshop included the possible linkages to financial platforms like the YOUSAVE, M-Seleni or Ezi-Pay.

Project Manager for ADRA Soul Cocoa Project, Patrick Mesia sincerely thanked the team of SINPF YOU SAVE and M-Seleni for sharing important information and brought the opportunity to the savings group door-steps, which resulted in 22 out of the 32 participants attended the workshop being able to register with YOU SAVE.

“The savings program has helped the mothers in accessing money in the communities. There were also huge amounts of money accumulated in the villages, which pose a lot of risks to the safety of accumulated funds stored in the rural communities”.

“The workshop is important in identifying the risks and finding mitigation through the invitation of YOU SAVE, which convinced the members of the savings program to link their savings to the scheme which guarantees an overall retirement savings benefit to everyone in the next 5 to 10 years’ time. From the workshop evaluation questions given at the end of the workshop, all the mothers are happy with the outcome of the 2 days’ workshop and are excited to return home and continue with their savings program,’’Mr Mesia said.

A Private freelance Accountant, was contracted by ADRA Soul Cocoa Project to facilitate the workshop with the support of ADRA Soul Cocoa Project Staff.

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is a humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the purpose of providing individual and community development and disaster relief.

• ADRA Press Release