R.c. Boys School Group

These are teachers of the RC Boys School in Magburaka. R.C Boys is a primary school. It was founded in 1955 by the Catholic missionaries. Today, it has a total of 250 pupils with a staff of twelve teachers and administrators. This school is proud that they almost always earn a 98-100% pass rate on the National Primary School Exams (NPSE).

RC Boys had never got a loan from SMT before. They heard of SMT from colleagues in other schools who have benefited greatly from SMT’s services. They decided to form a group and send in an application to SMT requesting a loan after hearing these other success stories. With the loan, some of the staff members will start a small business and those who are already run small businesses will invest the loan into their business. Some of the staff members will be using the loan to buy pieces of furniture, others to pay either for their children's education or pay for themselves to pursue further studies. Others will use their loan in home building projects.

Government salaries are usually quite small for teachers, thus making teaching an unattractive profession for many whose primary motivator is money. Many choose other jobs over teaching because of the small salary, thus starving the field of qualified personnel to teach the children. The few who remain in the classroom have to find other ways of making ends meet. The vast majority of them engage in either business or agriculture or they provide extra tutorial classes for the children (although this is a practice the government is trying to stop). Needless to say, loans from SMT are a great help to the teachers in order to boost their businesses or invest it in something productive. Many want to go to school but could not afford the cost. Some will want to buy pieces of furniture, but their monthly salary is not enough to let them do so. With a loan, they will be able to meet some of these needs. And with their monthly salaries, they can repay easily via a payroll deduction type of system.

Fifty-nine year old Augustine J. Kalokoh (back row, fourth from left) is the head teacher at the school. He was born in Makali, only a few miles from Magburaka town. He is married with five children. One is in class three, one in junior secondary school III (JSS III) and three are in senior secondary school III (SSS III). Augustine will use his loan to purchase house building materials, specifically cement for bricks. In Magburaka town, where he will do this purchase, a bag of cement will cost him Le 36,000. Augustine will use the loan to buy as many bags of cements as the loan can offer.




About Group Loans
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Learn more

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