Income generating activities: another aspect of care and support for people living with HIV
27 July 2007
When people with HIV regain health and strength through the care and support they have received, they start to think about how they can become more independent and provide for their families. One of the ways they can do this is with support to carry out income generating activities. Find out more about the work that SOLVIE (Solidarité Organisation Lutte et Vie) has been doing in this area in Burkina Faso.
Supporting widows living with HIV in Yako, Burkina Faso
SOLVIE – an organisation of people living with HIV – has been supporting widows living with HIV with income generating activities. Since October 2006, 20 widows living with HIV have received small loans of 15,000 FCFA each (approximately US $30), to be repaid in five months at an interest rate of 10%. All the beneficiaries have successfully repaid these. With the funds they received, the women developed both individual and collective income generating activities.
The collective activity consisted of twenty women setting up and running a pig farm to fatten up pigs over a period of six months before selling them at a higher price. Three women formed a management committee that co-ordinated and supervised the process, including purchasing the food, deciding when to buy and sell the pigs, managing the finances, and ensuring the pigs were healthy and well fed. The rest of the women took daily care of the pigs, feeding and watering them, and cleaning the pigsty.
The individual income generating activities have included selling cereals, vegetables and prepared foods such as beignets, biscuits, cakes, dolo (beer made from millet), peanuts, attiéké (food made from cassava), fried fish, and hairdressing and selling jewellery. These activities required only a small amount of funds to begin and very little capacity building. The women preferred the individual income generating activities, as they were able to manage their own time and financial resources, including their profit.
All of the activities had positive effects on the beneficiaries and the association as a whole. The women were able to start taking care of some of their health problems, for example buying certain medications and covering their transport costs to access health services, which previously would have been paid for by SOLVIE. They have also been able to improve their children’s and families’ diets, buy clothes and school equipment for their children, and other essentials such as soap and washing powder.
A further benefit to SOLVIE is that the women have been able to increase their contributions to SOLVIE’s health insurance fund, meaning that SOLVIE has been able to cover more peoples’ medical costs.
The individual income generating activities have given the women autonomy and responsibility in managing their business and financial resources. Collective activities reinforce the solidarity between the beneficiaries; working together in a group provides psychosocial and physical support to the women. The women taking part in the income generating activities have clearly been able make their small businesses a success.
About IPC and SOLIVE
The Alliance’s linking organisation in Burkina Faso, Initiative Privée et Communautaire de lutte Contre le VIH/SIDA au Burkina Faso (IPC), implements HIV projects including voluntary HIV counselling and testing, and care and support for orphans and vulnerable children in Ouagadougou and the surrounding areas. In June 2006, SOLVIE was one of three associations given grants to implement income-generating activities.
IPC has supported SOLVIE financially and technically since 2004. This has allowed SOLVIE to:
- implement activities in three regions (Latôdin, Gomponsom, Grand Samba) and the commune of Yako
- reach 102 people living with HIV – of which 46 are on antiretroviral treatment (37 women and nine men)
- reach 150 orphans and vulnerable children (72 girls and 78 boys).
