On my last visit to Ethiopia in March/April 2009 I visited a few Self Help Groups and was fortunate enough to meet one of the facilitators, a lovely woman named Dinkenesh.

Dinkenesh means “you are beautiful” in Amharic and Lucy in English. This is also the name of the oldest female skeleton in the world which was discovered by Donald Johanson and Tom Gray in Hadar, Ethiopia in 1974.

As the facilitator of the groups, Dinkenesh was in a very good position to tell me how the women responded and progressed through the project. At first, she said, the women have difficulty in coming together and are very hesitant about joining and contributing to the group. Dinkenesh’s first job is to organise them into their roles, choosing who would be the best person to be the treasurer, etc. In the first year the group needs constant support and is continually seeking her help. By the second year they are starting to find and work out their own problems and future targets. On the third and last year they are usually running without any support from Dinkenesh, although she still enjoys their hospitality and friendship.

I asked Dinkenesh if the groups have internal problems such as arguments or disagreements. She said this would be very unusual and she had not experienced any such problems in her own groups as the women need each other and the bond is very strong between them. Without each other the groups would not work so it’s to the benefit of all that they work together. I couldn’t help feeling that asking this question in Ethiopia was inappropriate as the petty niggles indulged by women in the developed world are something those in developing countries can ill afford. The need for each other is something one has to live to appreciate.

On joining, the women agree to see the project through. As all the women in each group save each week – on average the equivalent of 12 pence –  the amount which they can borrow from steadily goes up. Should anyone wish to leave the project they would not be allowed to remove their savings and they would have to find another woman who could add the same amount to the group’s bank as the others have already saved. Needless to say this does not happen.

I believe the Women’s Self Help Groups are a positive way forward in Ethiopia. The women I’ve meet walk physically taller after being on the programme. They make eye contact and display a sense of pride and well being. They asked me not to forget them and I plan not to but then I couldn’t anyway. I’ve seldom meet so many beautiful people in one room.

With the help from you, the supporters, the women can provide and improve the lives of their families. They say “give me a educated boy and you have an educated man. Give me an educated woman and you have an educated family.”