INTRODUCTION Beginning a Savings Revolution—They Know How

Two and a half billion people worldwide, most of them in desperately poor, rural communities, need a better way to save and borrow. The overarching and hopeful message of In Their Own Hands is that improving financial services for the poor need not be complicated or expensive if responsibility is firmly in the hands of those who directly benefit. Local ownership and control is the essence of “in their own hands” development. As local communities take charge of the financial aspects of their lives, they gain the skills, confidence, and motivation to do more. In the words of Marcia Odell, who taught me that savings groups were possible in Nepal more than a decade ago, “Dependency is not empowering.”

In Their Own Hands is a book about learning to be courageous, to take risks, and to make change happen. Rather than critiquing development, In Their Own Hands provides clear guidelines for how to develop and carry out initiatives that work.

This is a book for those who are already working for change abroad and at home, seeking a better way to do development that avoids dependency and helps achieve transformative change. Foundations and agencies funding grassroots efforts can use this book as a reference to refocus their efforts away from funding handouts and toward empowering the poor to take responsibility for their own change.

In addition, this book is for anyone who is curious about what it takes to make a difference. Educators will find this book useful as they introduce students to the effort it takes to implement effective grassroots development and the courage and dedication it takes to achieve it.