Burkina Faso officials study Umwalimu Sacco model

A delegation of eleven officials from the Ministry of Education of Burkina Faso has visited Umwalimu Sacco to study the business model used by the teachers’ cooperative finance income-generating projects for members.“In my country, teachers are always striking over salary which they say is not enough. We are therefore interested in finding out what Rwanda has developed to support teachers given positive stories we read about this country,” the head of delegation, Sema Blegne, said.He made the remarks during a visit to the Sacco last week. Umwalimu Sacco was initiated by the government to improve the welfare of teachers through low interest loans.Blegne explained that although teachers in the various countries face almost similar challenges, they decided to learn from Rwanda so as to identify ideas that might be relevant to their country.Umwalimu Sacco managing director, Joseph Museruka, briefed the visitors about the operations of the cooperative, its achievements and challenges. He said that the cooperative had been able to give mortgage loans for the first time in the history of the teaching profession in this country.“Based on the salary of a teacher, we realised that it was of great importance to support them by giving them loans so that they can have a side income or even support them own houses to avoid monthly rent,” he said. Blegne said he realised that it was sustainable to support teachers come up with other income-generating activities than increasing salaries.

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Burkina Faso officials study Umwalimu Sacco model