Two years ago, Salamatu - now aged 19 - was forced to drop out of business school because she could not afford to pay the tuition fees after the death of her father and brother. But today, she is back in school thanks to a Plan-supported Youth Savings and Loans program in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

In July 2010, Plan Sierra Leone and their local field partner, CIFORD set up a Youth Savings and Loans groups in Salamatu's community. It was not long before Salamatu had joined, become chairwoman of her group, and had taken out her first two loans: one to buy a bag of rice to start up her small business, and one to pay for her school fees.

Today, Salamatu is one of over 3,000 young people that are participating in the program, which is aimed at introducing 15-25 year olds to financial literacy through a transparent, easy to understand system.