The Super Savers Program has been met with great enthusiasm and excitement ! Our eight pilot schools have embraced the program and more than 1000 children are currently enrolled and saving. We've conducted two pay-outs, where the bank drove to all eight schools to disperse the children's savings. Schools arranged for a small fair to enable pupils to use their savings to pay for their school fees and scholastic materials. Savings have been used to pay for school lunch, extra lessons and general school fees, as well as the purchase of uniforms, pens, pencils, exercise books and mathematics sets. During this pilot phase we also experimented with a matching grant, or financial incentive to save regularly, in addition to a voucher system which ensured that at least half of a pupil's savings went towards educational expenses.

Encouraged by the success of the pilot, we are now gearing up for the scale up and a full impact asssessment of the program. We'll be collecting data from 136 schools, or every government primary school in Jinja district, as well as from a couple subcounties in Iganga and Mayuge districts. Throughout October we'll be conducting individual pupil surveys, school administator surveys, classroom surveys and aptitude test for those pupils in classes Primary 4 and 5.

Once we complete the research phase, we'll begin implementation in 76 new schools. It's a very exciting time. We want to thank all of our supporters for the interest and involvement and hope many more people can become a part!

Pictures:

• pay_out_143.jpg (JPG)