The introduction of Saving for Change in a new community starts with the approval of the village authorities.

The first group is trained by an animator (in blue) from a partner NGO.

The volunteer replicating agent trains groups, with an illustrated manual to guide the discussion.

Each week members gather to save and borrow.

The box keeper takes the locked cashbox out of hiding and brings it to the group.

The group’s officers open the meeting with a recitation of the bylaws.

Each woman in turn deposits her saving and repays the interest or principal on her loan.

At the end of the cycle, each member receives back all that she saved, plus her share of the interest.

Even with low literacy levels, group treasurers created a way of record keeping by placing pebbles in a small bag.

Carrying their wooden stools on their heads, women from one group walk to visit another.

Loans are used for many purposes. This woman used her loan to stock her business.

A collective enterprise set up in a Saving for Change group produces sambal, a nutritious sauce, in the city marketplace.

Two savings group members hug at a Saving for Change meeting in Senegal. Members often teach their daughters to run their own groups.

Women in Mali garden collectively and sell what they grow in the market. Their Saving for Change group helps them manage their resources through the seasons.

The man at the left, from an NGO in Cambodia, trains the group secretary to keep records.

Group trained in the prevention and treatment of malaria. The blue picture card shows the steps.

Saving for Change youth groups spring up spontaneously, even though fostering them was not part of the program. This group in Cambodia shows how important these groups are to their members.

Meetings are communal affairs, with children looking on and sometimes participating. A treasurer counts money while her daughter looks on.

Savings for Change groups often serve as platforms for other community initiatives. In Guatemala, the woman on the right successfully organized the groups in her region to campaign and vote for women mayors in their communities.

The secretary and the treasurer of a group in Guatemala keep track of the transactions in their groups.

A Saving for Change meeting is not only about saving and borrowing—it is also a chance to have fun. A Saving for Change member dances for her group in Mali.