A Man Who Being Active in ASCA Got the Appreciation

Farming is one of the main sources of income for most people in Oebola Village, Kupang Regency, East Nusa Tenggara. The livelihood was not able to provide adequate income for the community, so the Kupang Regency Government established a farmer group for the community.

The farmer group in Oebola Village is one of the groups assisted by Wahana Visi Indonesia (WVI). This assistance is carried out considering that even though they have joined the farmer group, there are also people who do not understand how to properly cultivate crops.

Apart from providing various counseling and information related to agriculture, WVI also introduced the community to the Accumulating Saving & Credit Association (ASCA). ASCA is a form of solution from WVI to help the community economy to support the welfare of children in various WVI assisted areas throughout Indonesia. WVI also provides ASCA training, with the aim that the community can access loans without having to borrow from cooperatives.

The community welcomes the concept of ASCA so that it is implemented in Oebola Village to this day. Even though Indonesia is in the Covid-19 pandemic, ASCA is still running by implementing the health protocol recommended by the government.

Samuel Utan (49), a member who is actively involved in ASCA, said ASCA's presence helped the community to access loans to meet basic needs, both before the pandemic and during the pandemic.

"We are happy and helped by the present of ASCA because we can borrow money to meet household needs during the Covid-19 period," said the man with the most stock savings.

As a form of support for his activeness, Samuel also received appreciation in the form of basic food assistance which he can reuse for household interests.

Written by: Program Area Staff for Kupang TTS Wahana Visi Indonesia