Trickle Up, US-based nonprofit that aims to alleviate poverty in poor countries, recently released a study “And Who Listens to the Poor?’ Shocks, Stresses and Safety Nets in India and Pakistan” by Karishma Huda, Sandeep Kaur and Nicolina Lamhauge, documenting the cases of 20 women participants in its 2009 Trickle Up Ultra Poor Pilot Program [1]. The aim of the program, which was conducted in the Indian state of West Bengal and the Sindh province of Pakistan, was to “graduate” women from extreme poverty to sustainable livelihoods using training, financial services and mentoring. The study documents each woman’s early childhood, transition to adulthood, experience with the program and progress over the nine months after the program ended.
The case studies led to the following findings: (1) the “life trajectory” of the woman before she began the program had a significant effect on the impact of services offered; (2) women in seemingly similar financial positions sometimes have very different needs for resources such as mentoring and training; (3) the performance of the field worker has a strong bearing on the impact on the individual served; (4) feedback from each individual is a “snapshot” of their current economic situation which is “fluid,” meaning it can change very rapidly; and (5) a number of saving and credit groups did not continue once the program ended due to infighting caused by power imbalances among members.
Based on the findings, Trickle Up concluded the following: (1) programs need to be customized to individual needs; (2) mid-program re-allocation of resources based on individual needs can better utilize resources such as time spent “handholding” by field workers (3) field workers need more training and support as well as more clearly defined goals; and (4) the sequencing of the program should focus participants first on savings so that the group has time to mature further, thereby increasing the chances of it enduring after program completion.
To view the detailed study you may visit http://www.trickleup.org/media/publications/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=3851.
Trickle Up reports an annual budget of USD 4.3 million, and as of August 2010 it reported total assets of USD 2.6 million.
By Nisha Koul, Research Associate
About Trickle Up: Trickle Up is an international poverty alleviation organization that was founded in 1979 in the US. It targets people who live on less than USD 1.25 a day through “spark grants,” financial literacy training and a savings program in West Africa, East Africa, Central America and Asia. Trickle Up reports an annual budget of USD 4.3 million, and as of August 2010 it reported total assets of USD 2.6 million. Trickle Up does not report financial information to the US-based nonprofit Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX).
Sources and Additional Resources:
[1] Trickle Up, “And Who Listens to the Poor?” http://www.trickleup.org/solution/andwholistenstothepoor.cfm
Study, “‘And Who Listens to the Poor?’ Shocks, Stresses and Safety Nets in India and Pakistan” by Karishma Huda, Sandeep Kaur and Nicolina Lamhauge, http://www.trickleup.org/media/publications/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=3851
MicroCapital.org story, October 13, 2010, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Trickle Up, Provider of Grants, Microfinance, Training, Announces Release of Documentary Film “The Test of Poverty,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-trickle-up-provider-of-grants-microfinance-training-announces-release-of-documentary-film-the-test-of-poverty/
MicroCapital.org story, September 26, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Haitian Microfinance Institution Fonkoze Using “Progress out of Poverty Index” to Monitor Economic Progress of Clients in Disaster-Affected Areas,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-haitian-microfinance-institution-fonkoze-using-%e2%80%9cprogress-out-of-poverty-index%e2%80%9d-to-monitor-economic-progress-of-clients-in-disaster-affected-areas/
MicroCapital.org story, August 5, 2011, “MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Economist Angela Luci Argues Microfinance can Empower Women in Non-Financial Arenas, Fight Discrimination,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-economist-angela-luci-argues-microfinance-can-empower-women-in-non-financial-arenas-fight-discrimination/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Trickle Up, https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tiki-index.php?page=Trickle+Up
Browse the MicroCapital Universe and add your entry to the wiki at https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/
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