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Microloans are good!
Feb. 4th, 2005 10:19 amI'm so excited! My radio was on the other public radio station (other than Fresh Air at 9 AM) when I got in my car this AM, and I caught a program all about microloans in 3rd world countries, which has always seemed to me to be one of the very best things to which one can donate. It warms my feminist heart, too, because the loans primarily help women, because women are primarily taking care of the family unit.
The fellow on the radio was really good. I haven't heard anyone in the, hmm, charity business who has grabbed me like that since Paul Butler of the RARE Center for Tropical Conservation and Randy Hayes of the Rainforest Action Network. It bodes well.
Anyway, here's the gem: http://www.microcreditsummit.org/
It's the hub of the microlenders. On that page is a link to a 7-page list of microlenders here:
http://www.microcreditsummit.org/pubs/reports/socr/2004/en_app1.pdf
Aside from the obvious good, I very much like that they are not making anyone getting a loan to listen to anything about someone else's religion. This is an example of the kind of loan they make:
---
La Maman Mole Motuke lived in a wrecked car in a suburb of Kinshasa, Zaire with her four children. If she could find something to eat, she would feed two of her children; the next time she found something to eat, her other two children would eat.
When organizers from the Association interviewed her, she said that she knew how to make chikwangue (maniac paste), and she only needed a few dollars to start production. After six months of training in marketing and production techniques, Maman Motuke got her first loan of US$100, and bought production materials.
Today, Maman Motuke and her family no longer live in a broken down car; they rent a house with two bedrooms and a living room. Her four children go to school on a regular basis; they eat regularly and dress well. She currently is saving to buy some land in a suburb farther outside of the city and hopes to build a house.
---
FYI. If it grabs you, consider donating. Thanks for reading.
The fellow on the radio was really good. I haven't heard anyone in the, hmm, charity business who has grabbed me like that since Paul Butler of the RARE Center for Tropical Conservation and Randy Hayes of the Rainforest Action Network. It bodes well.
Anyway, here's the gem: http://www.microcreditsummit.org/
It's the hub of the microlenders. On that page is a link to a 7-page list of microlenders here:
http://www.microcreditsummit.org/pubs/reports/socr/2004/en_app1.pdf
Aside from the obvious good, I very much like that they are not making anyone getting a loan to listen to anything about someone else's religion. This is an example of the kind of loan they make:
---
La Maman Mole Motuke lived in a wrecked car in a suburb of Kinshasa, Zaire with her four children. If she could find something to eat, she would feed two of her children; the next time she found something to eat, her other two children would eat.
When organizers from the Association interviewed her, she said that she knew how to make chikwangue (maniac paste), and she only needed a few dollars to start production. After six months of training in marketing and production techniques, Maman Motuke got her first loan of US$100, and bought production materials.
Today, Maman Motuke and her family no longer live in a broken down car; they rent a house with two bedrooms and a living room. Her four children go to school on a regular basis; they eat regularly and dress well. She currently is saving to buy some land in a suburb farther outside of the city and hopes to build a house.
---
FYI. If it grabs you, consider donating. Thanks for reading.