What are the principal benefits of participating in a microcredit group?
Self-Help programs break the vicious cycle of poverty. Without credit, low-income people may work hard but stay poor because of a lack of opportunity and capital. Self-Help borrowers receive working capital so that their efforts can become more productive. As they become more productive, they increase their income and are able to accumulate savings for other expenses and for emergencies. Most importantly by participating in a microcredit group, mothers can better care for their children and extended families. Self-Help borrowers often say they spend increased earnings on children first, improving nutrition, health, and educational status, in that order. As nutrition and health improve, women then invest income in education, followed by home improvements. Having a steady income and a savings account raises a woman’s self-esteem and her status, even in societies where women are consistently treated as second-class citizens.
