2006年VOA标准英语-Senegalese Women Find Innovative Ways to Save M

By Naomi Schwarz
Casamance, Senegal
05 September 2006

Women in West Africa have implemented¹ many types of informal banking² as a result of not having access to regular credit. Some of these innovations are used to start or expand local businesses while others cover more basic needs, like a baptism or a funeral. 

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Customers shop at Kdady Ndiaye's boutique
  
On the tiny island of Carabane, Khady Ndiaye and her eldest³ daughter Sophie bustle⁴ around her well-stocked store.

Boutiques like these are common throughout the West African nation - a one-stop shop for all household goods. It is rare, however, to see a woman behind the counter.

But Ndiaye is a veteran entrepreneur, dedicated⁵ to making her new venture a success.

She says that all the money she earns, she reinvests into her boutique. And like any entrepreneur, Ndiaye wants to get the maximum benefit from her cash.

If she were in North America or Europe, she might open an account at a bank, where she could earn interest. But in Senegal, according to estimates by economists⁶ in the region, only about five percent of the people have bank accounts.

Oumar Diene, who works at a Senegelese NGO and has studied informal banking in Yoff village, near Senegal's capital city of Dakar, explains that, instead of bank accounts, Senegalese have developed a variety of local strategies to save money and raise capital. Examples include what are known in local languages as maases, tontines, and tekks.

A maas is a support group based on local traditions. Where once that meant helping⁷ a sick neighbor plow⁸ his field, today this has evolved into various forms of economic support.

Tekks are a simpler form of informal saving, in which a group of children turn over their collected change to a trusted adult for safekeeping.

But it is the second method, tontines, that have become particularly popular among women on Carabane, Ndiaye explains that groups of women formed to help each other, and her group of 17 women contributed 1,000 local francs per month. That is the equivalent of about $2.

The idea is a sort of group savings⁹ plan. Originally developed in Europe in the 1600s, members would contribute a sum to be invested jointly¹⁰, and dividends¹¹ were shared equally until the last surviving member took all.

In modern Africa, the form has been reinvented to fit with local needs. Each member pays in a fixed¹² amount at regular intervals¹³. The members take turns receiving the entire pot. For Ndiaye, that meant instead of a trickle¹⁴ of francs every month, she had a lump sum of 17,000 to reinvest in her boutique. That is about $35.

Desirée Diatta prepares traditional Senegalese lunch   
  
For Desirée Diatta, whose job is making a home for her husband and their six children, it meant a chance to buy herself some new clothes. Without a job, Diatta had to be creative to raise the 1,000 francs a week the members of her tontine agreed to.

We do what we have to, she says. We cook mangoes to sell them for 25 francs each (about 5 cents). Whatever it takes.

Despite their sometimes limited opportunities and education it is women who are finding innovative¹⁵ ways to save money, Diatta says, even on small islands like Carabane.

She says women want to work, but it is difficult for them to find the means to do so.

1 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 eldest   

adj.最年长的，最年老的

参考例句：

• The King's eldest son is the heir to the throne.国王的长子是王位的继承人。
• The castle and the land are entailed on the eldest son.城堡和土地限定由长子继承。

4 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

5 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

6 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 plow   

n.犁，耕地，犁过的地；v.犁，费力地前进[英]plough

参考例句：

• At this time of the year farmers plow their fields.每年这个时候农民们都在耕地。
• We will plow the field soon after the last frost.最后一场霜过后，我们将马上耕田。

9 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

10 jointly   

ad.联合地，共同地

参考例句：

• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。
• She owns the house jointly with her husband. 她和丈夫共同拥有这所房子。

11 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。

12 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

13 intervals   

n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息

参考例句：

• The forecast said there would be sunny intervals and showers. 预报间晴，有阵雨。
• Meetings take place at fortnightly intervals. 每两周开一次会。

14 trickle   

vi.淌，滴，流出，慢慢移动，逐渐消散

参考例句：

• The stream has thinned down to a mere trickle.这条小河变成细流了。
• The flood of cars has now slowed to a trickle.汹涌的车流现在已经变得稀稀拉拉。

15 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。