The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Sierra Leone has trained individuals within six coastal communities on the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA) program.

The training according to them is as a result to enhance the livelihoods and boost the local economic growth for the coastal communities. It will serve as a boost to their businesses and basic upkeep.

The VSLA is a safety net for alternative livelihood in coastal communities in Sierra Leone.

Emmah Y. Summah, a VSLA box keeper of the Tamemsu village savings and loans association in Conakridee a town in Portloko district talked on her experience and journey through the gains in the VSLA.

She maintained that, she used to borrow money a lot which disturbs her but after joining and using the VSLA her life and business has been changed for the good.

“I used to borrow money from people in my community. I don’t again. This box (VSLA saving box) has done me a lot of good. Since joining the VSLA, I am now “steady”, because I know I have something big behind me,” she stated.