Child holdings vegetables

Child Well-Being

Child Well-Being

Throughout our network of 28 microfinance institutions, we regularly survey our clients to understand how our work has improved the well-being of their children and how we can improve our services to further the lives of children.

 

 

5.2M

children reached by VisionFund each year

2.9

children reached per household for clients with children

77%

clients who have dependent children and benefit from a VisionFund loan

95%

clients who report at least one child well-being outcome

26,000

clients have child well-being loans
Family sitting under a tree in Africa

Child Well-Being Outcome Trends

At the core of VisionFund’s work, child well-being forms the basis of all our loans, savings and insurance products. A child living in a household that has access to financial services is more likely to have nutritious food on the table, a proper education, and the health services they need to grow up thriving. Our financial services are one of the ways families can break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, and we are committed to measuring child well-being outcomes (CWBOs) at every stage of our work.  

Using a sample size of 8,305 clients, we measured the number of CWBOs they reported from FY16 to FY18. For most CWBOs, there is an increase in the percentage of a CWBO being reported by the same clients. There is a significant increase in the percentage of clients reporting improvement in sufficient drinking water for their children. 

Child peeking through a curtain

Child Well-Being and Microfinance

At the core of VisionFund’s work, child well-being drives the design of all our loans, savings and insurance products.

A child living in a household that has access to financial services is more likely to have nutritious food on the table, a full education, and the health services they need to grow up thriving. Our financial services help families to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, and we are committed to measuring child well-being outcomes (CWBOs) at every stage of our work.  

Using a sample size of 8,305 clients, we measured the number of CWBOs they reported from FY16 to FY18. For most CWBOs, there is an increase in the percentage of a CWBO being reported by the same clients. There is also a significant increase in the percentage of clients reporting improvement in sufficient drinking water for their children. 

I can provide for the family all year around

The Role of Caregivers

Adult caregivers who have access to financial services are able to afford better goods and services for the children in their care. Studies have shown that microfinance leads to substantially better impacts on access to education and household needs for both microfinance clients and their children.

Poverty-related stress has significant effects on children’s well-being, including on outcomes as serious as delays in their overall development. Home lives are likely to be less safe for children living in poverty, and other deprivations, such as food or healthcare scarcity, can have lifelong impacts on children’s health and well-being. Families living in poverty are more likely to send their children to work to earn their living, depriving them of education and agency in their futures in order to prevent immediate threats to life and health. Removing the stress related to poverty allows caregivers to provide healthier, safer and more fulfilling environments for their children. VisionFund’s core mission is to reduce these complicated effects of poverty , and currently we help 1.1 million clients provide better lives for their 3.5 million children day-to-day.

We constantly hear from our clients about the pride their children feel for their parents which strengthens family bonds and community relationships. VisionFund client and market-garden owner Yandé, who lives in Senegal, was on her third loan cycle when she realised she had enough money to pay all the fees and expenses for her twin daughters to go university, rather than work in the garden with her. “My children can see that their mother works hard, and they are proud of me because I am always able to provide,” says Yandé, adding with a smile: “Earning money is wonderful.”

Children in classroom in the Dominican Republic

Our Child Focused Products

Education Loans

In many countries where VisionFund is active – including Dominican Republic, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, India and Mexico – education loans are being tested as a means to improve the well-being of clients and their children through educational opportunities. VisionFund is optimistic about the potential for education loans to improve child well-being outcomes in all its operating contexts.