Village Saving and Loan Association in Emergency - Toolkit

CARE established its presence in Lebanon in 2006 and has been responding to the Syrian Crisis since late 2012. Among CARE’s key imperatives is putting the people it serves first through implementing cutting-edge programming in the areas it operates. CARE currently carries out activities in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, Akkar, North Lebanon, South Lebanon, and the Beqaa Valley. CARE implements both emergency and development projects contributing to livelihood, food security, protection, gender, shelter, water, sanitation, and hygiene. It targets the most vulnerable people and populations, both host communities and refugees. Over 7 years, it has supported over half a million beneficiaries. In Lebanon, CARE’s program strategy for the upcoming years will focus on strengthening and expanding its emergency response and capacity to provide basic assistance services while pursuing development projects in areas of food security and livelihood support, gender, and protection. CARE intends to maintain its presence in all areas of Lebanon. CARE Lebanon has scaled up rapidly over the past few years and today it has about 90 staff members, with more than 15 different local/international partner organizations. 90% of the team is composed of national staff, with a symbolic number of international members.

CARE’s mission is to foster and enhance the protection and resilience of the most vulnerable populations, putting the values of diversity, equality, and inclusion at the core of its work to eradicate injustices and uphold integrity. In tandem with the Humanitarian development peace nexus, which focuses on the need to address people's vulnerabilities before, during, and after crises, the proposed intervention provides long-term support to Lebanese host communities and Syrian refugees. This will be done by providing them with technical knowledge to create saving groups and access to financial resources that can be used to start or expand small businesses, support their families, improve their quality of life as well as address their basic needs.

VSLAs are among the practical alternatives to banking in rural and marginalized communities, the real power of these groups is the confidence and capacity they build within members to uplift themselves and others and it is also a powerful tool to improve the financial education of the participants and in sensitizing them about the importance of saving. CARE’s data from six countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean indicates that 64% to 80% of VSLA women members invest their savings in education and are 15% more likely to take up leadership positions. Their family incomes are up to six times higher, and their children are up to 80% more food secure. When VSLA membership is complemented by training and tools that engage men and other community members – as in the CARE/MARS Women for Change program – the results include improved school enrollment, increased nutrition, better maternal and child health, and reduced gender-based violence by improving their income.

The selected vendor will be responsible for providing 40 VSLA toolkits, each containing all necessary materials and resources for setting up and running a VSLA group. These toolkits should include:

1. Lockable cash box with a slot on top and two sides inside the box (45*25*15), featuring an iron thickness of 0.5 mm. (as per attached Photo)
2. cloth bag for the box
3. Good quality padlocks, each with two keys
4. Rasor Spring notebook 100 pages
5. Cloth bag for keeping money 2 (One is white, and the other is black)-Size A4
6. Rubber stamp (small)
7. Ink-pad.
8. Ink
9. Ruler
10. Blue ballpoint pens
11. Red ballpoint pens
12. Pencil
13. Eraser
14. Calculator
15. Plastic bowl, at least 30 cm in diameter and at least 15 cm deep
16. Passbook (25 per box)

The bid will be open for 7 days, starting from 14 March 2024 and closing on 21 March 2024. The delivery of the 40 VSLA toolkits should be completed as requested by the project manager. The vendor must first provide a sample that meets the criteria before commencing production of the entire quantity.

The first sample should be provided 7 days after signing the contract.

• • The vendor should have a proven track record of delivering high-quality and reliable products.
  • The vendor must provide references from previous clients.