MENTOR SACCO MEMBERS’ INFORMATION DAYS TESTIMONIALS

GRACE WANJIKU: PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF MENTOR SACCO

Mrs.  Grace Wanjiku Njoroge Ihugo the head teacher of Ihumbu  primary school  and a   loyal member of Mentor  applauded the  Sacco  for organizing   the   MID  at  Maragua. It was  highly  successful.     “Today’s members’ information day was excellent – above expectation. We have learnt so much, I would rate the event as exceeding expectation,” she happily shared.

She is among the    members   who   joined   the Sacco in its early years. She has seen it achieving tremendous   growth over time.   On a personal level,   Grace   said   that   she has benefited immensely from Mentor Sacco –   financially and   career wise.Years back, when she wanted to advance her studies,   Mentor Sacco financed her.  “ I  needed  funds  to  enroll  for  further  studies  at   Mount Kenya University   and  Mentor Sacco  came in  handy,”   she recalls.  “Ultimately, I graduated with  a  bachelor’s degree in education ,” Wanjiku reminisces. The loans and the efforts paid off. She is now a head teacher. 

Besides Mentor Sacco supporting Grace to further her studies, she has also made key investments together with her husband. For instance, building a home for her family.  Through the friendly   loans from Mentor Sacco,  the living  standard  of  her family has  improved. 

As one of the annual participants, Grace   has come to appreciate the MIDs as eye opening.   “One good thing about Mentor Sacco is that they also care about   our health and that is why today, we had a facilitator (Mr. Leo Ndegwa) who is experienced   in clinical nutrition,”  she said.

 By the same token, members were taught how to achieve financial success   by   saving    and investing   prudently by Mr. Nelson  Nyoro.  As a head teacher, when new teachers report to her school, she  advises them    to join    Mentor Sacco because  of  its  strong  performance  and  steady  growth. In effect, she has become a brand ambassador of the Sacco.

“I would wish to   advise  the    young people to join Mentor Sacco as  soon   as possible so  that they  can accumulate a lot  of  savings ,” she remarked adding that young people ought to take advantage of their  age  to  grow  wealth . She encourages everyone, be it employees   or entrepreneurs to join Mentor Sacco  in order   to grow their savings as well as get friendly  credit.

JAMES KARANJA: I AM LIVING BETTER AFTER I JOINED MENTOR SACCO

A very proud member of Mentor Sacco, Mr.  James Karanja has grown with the Sacco since he started his career in  teaching  until now when  he is at the cusp of retirement. Currently serving as the head teacher at Githunguri Primary School in Kiambu,  Mr. Karanja  has experienced remarkable personal    growth over the decades ,   thanks to  his membership of Mentor Sacco.

Over the years, Mr.  Karanja   has  invested  a lot    through Mentor Sacco.  He has  put  up   a  modern  house   for his family, educated his  children   to tertiary level and to top it all , ventured into business. As he  retires  from  the    teaching  profession,    he has no worry of  financial  distress    because his investments are doing well. “Mentor Sacco has been my investment partner ;  I always  approach    Mentor Sacco for financial support,” he opines.

 Mr.  Karanja    vouched   for the members’  information days to continue being held. “I’ve learnt  a  lot    about my health, investment opportunities and of course as I  approach   my retirement,   I am a very proud person.” Based  on  his  experience,  he advised  all  and sundry  to  join  Mentor  Sacco. “The Sacco movement is the in-thing because the loans  are  friendly  and  the  members  are  united,” he said adding  that Mentor Sacco in particular  is  a solid  financial institution.

His advised   the  youth    to   join  Mentor    Sacco and save aggressively. However,  he  was     concerned with the growing trend  among  the   young members who want to get loans before they save. “For us [the older generation] we would save first and borrow later, now it seems to be the opposite. I would advise young members to start by saving first. It’s always prudent to start by saving because what you save is what keeps you going,” he shared urging young people to beware of borrowing  irresponsibly.

THIS YEAR’S THEME IS ON POINT, SAYS JOHN NJATA

Mr.  John Njata,    the executive secretary of Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT) Murang’a South branch is a dedicated    member of Mentor Sacco. Being a teacher and a believer of continuous learning,  he religiously attends members’ information days every year without fail.

“Member information day is a very important day, because we as co-operators are thoroughly educated on how to boost   our   shares    and     deposits,   and ultimately       become better co-operators ,” he said noting this year’s theme ( Empowering members to  add  value  to  their  lives  through   prudent    financial    management )    is timely and  relevant to members.

Given that Mentor Sacco has been inviting facilitators to  present   on   topical issues, the member information days have become  very   popular. Importantly, Mr.   Njata highlighted the crucial role of MIDs in educating members about taking loans for development  as opposed   to  consumption. Lessons shared directly impact loan repayment trends within the Sacco as members learn to invest wisely which helps them service their loans on time.

At the same time,  the board  of  directors    present    shared   a report that outlined the Sacco’s progress. Commenting about the report Mr.   Njata said: “We are very happy because  the  report  from  our  directors  showed  that our Sacco is  performing  well.”

Since the MIDs are set to be held in other electoral areas, Mr.   Njata anticipated    that    this year’s theme   is going to be beneficial not only to the members,   but also to the   Sacco’s bottom line. “I would encourage people to join   Mentor Sacco since  our common bond is  open ; now the door is wide open for people in other professions , besides  teaching, ” he  observed.