Sda Primary School, Waterloo Group

With the loan, some of the staff members will start a small business, and those who are already running small businesses will invest the loan in their businesses. 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 building a house (buying building materials).

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 classrooms have to find alternative means 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 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 salaries are 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.

Sixty years old, Josephine A. Shodeke (first row, second from left) is the Head Mistress of the Lower Primary school. She is a widow with four children, all of whom are now grown-ups. Mrs. Shodeke was born and bred in Waterloo. She has been in the teaching profession for thirty-five years. At home, Mrs. Shodeke is also a businesswoman. She has a small stall where she sells market food. With this loan, she will buy items like onions, palm-oil (the most popular cooking oil), peppers, salt, etc. to add to her business.

Note: SMT has just opened a new branch in Waterloo. SDA Primary School is the second institution to receive a loan from SMT at this branch. Waterloo is twenty miles (32 km) from Freetown.





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