Centre for Research and Development Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has trained about 250 village savings and loans (VSL) groups in Mchinji as a way of enhancing economic potential of rural populations.

The NGO’s programmes manager Florida Banda said it was necessary to train the groups considering many problems associated with VSLs in the district.

She said: “This is open and distance learning on financial literacy. We are training group facilitators. We have about 250 VSL groups participating in the training in five traditional authorities [T/As] in the district.

“We are also training them on how they can use radio and short message service (SMS) via mobile phone in their routine activities in the groups.”She said.

Gersom Kadawala from T/A Kazyozyo commended the organisation for the training.

“The knowledge will enable our group to grow because we now know how to handle financial issues,” he said.

The Mchinji-based NGO focuses on health, education and economic livelihoods of a targeted population in T/As Nyoka, Kazyozyo, Zulu, Simphasi and Kapondo.