The ladies at Mend love to borrow money.

Almost as much as they love to save it.

Last Saturday afternoon the Mend family was at the center and the air was filled with rhythms of music from the radio. It was the weekend, and they weren’t there for work, they were there to celebrate the hard-earned interest on their savings over the past ten months.

On a monthly basis, the ladies meet to pool a small portion of their incomes to provide each other with access to small low-interest loans. These loans have provided an opportunity for them to start small businesses on the side, like selling produce in the market, and over time they pay back the loan with interest.

At the end of the savings period, they met together to divide that interest among themselves, based on how much each had saved. Like a Hollywood awards ceremony, each seamstress’s name was announced and she came forward amidst cheers and applause to claim her reward.

Each member of the savings group earned more than 20% interest on her savings.

Now that’s a good reason to love saving money.