Lead Writer: Mogbonjubade Adesulure
Rabilu is a businessman with a thriving business,but this wasn’t always the case. Before joining the Village Savings and Loan Association, also known as VSLA, supported by Save the Children in partnership with the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) under the PLANE window 3 project, Rabilu had no source of income. He told us: before the coming of this group, I had no occupation, but with its coming, I now have a source of livelihood. Rabilu first learned about the VSLA through a community agent he met at a local tea shop. That meeting marked the beginning of a new chapter in his life. Upon joining the association, he was able to start a business selling petrol and offer vulcanising services.
During the time this association came, I also started selling petrol… After that, I even bought an engine for vulcanizing (repairing tires). If your car’s tire gets punctured, I can inflate it for you or fix it. All these are things I was able to achieve through this association

Rabilu smiles as he rests his hand on his vulcanizing machine Mogbonjubade/Save the Children.
I don’t have financial problems at home anymore, he told us. The impact of the PLANE Window 3 project didn’t stop with Rabilu. His daughter, Summayya, joined the Catch-Up Club (CUC), an accelerated learning programme aimed at improving literacy among in-school and out-of-school children. In fact, Rabilu, Summayya's father, told us that Summayya now teaches her siblings at home: When she’s sitting with her siblings, you’ll see her teaching them while they respond to her teaching

Summaya, Rabilus's daughter Mogbonjubade/Save the Children.
I don’t lack money in my hands anymore... Rabilu acknowledges the growth he has experienced and advocates for the expansion and replication of the VSLA to other communities.
Looking at the kind of progress that I myself have achieved before even talking about other members and the leaders, I have really seen great improvement, which is far better compared to before this association came... I am pleading with you those places that do not have such organizations, please make efforts to take them there so they too can progress, just like we have benefitted. And when they are established, they will always be praying for you, just as I personally pray for you every day because of the progress we have witnessed. This has also strengthened unity among the people.
Under the PLANE Window 3 project, over 3,000 households across Kano, Kaduna, and Jigawa have been reached through the VSLA program. The PLANE is a four-year education program funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). PLANE aims to improve learning outcomes. It is designed to address the foundational literacy and numeracy needs of children at risk of dropping out or those who have been out of school for up to 2 years. As an integrated program, PLANE includes several components, one of which is Household Economic Strengthening. This component supports caregivers’ economic capacity to keep children in school through initiatives like the Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA).