Credit Fund in Operation

The Janasaviya Trust Fund (JTF)in Sri Lanka works to alleviate poverty in a variety of ways ranging from the provision of grants to carry out community infrastructure projects (roads,dams)using local labour, to the implementation of programmes designed to improve nutrition in pre school children.

The savings and credit aspect of the JTF is carried out by the JTF Credit Fund.The Credit Fund works as an apex organisation which operates its credit scheme by providing credit to Partner Organisations(POs)which in turn are involved in the actual running of the credit and savings programme.

The Credit Fund caters to three target groups.1.Individuals with a monthly income of less than Rs.1500. 2. Youth below the age of 29. 3.Women. In addition to belonging to the target groups a potentialloanee must have a project proposal for a self employment project which can be implemented upon receiving the JTF loan.

The target population is identified by JTF’s social mobilisation process. Change Agents from local communities trained by the JTF,(upon choosing the potential loanees), educate the target group about the scheme.The potential loanees are then motivated to form themselves into groups which is done among themselves without the assistance of the Change Agents.

However the groups have to fulfill another condition before being eligible to receive loans from the Credit Fund. The PO under which the target group has grouped itself, must train prospective loanees in social mobilisation. The PO is trained by the Human Resource and Institutional Development(HRID)Division of the JTF and in turn imparts the training to the prospective loanees.

When a certificate is issued by the HRID stating that a particular group has obtained a satisfactory level of social mobilisation, the group is then ready to receive loans.

Social mobilisation is the process where trained change agents from local communities work with the people of the community to organise and facilitate group discussion, to come to know the people in the community intimately, to identify problems and to find solutions. The idea behind social mobilisation is that with the organisation of the community, a variety of social and economic benefits should follow; one economic benefit being savings.