Monday, October 31, 2005
Microcredit Loans Make A Big Difference
***Note: I do not support most US charities because they waste so much of the money they receive or else they use up too much of it in "overhead". I give to my church because I know where the money goes and that is about it. However, the following program is different.***
To see the difference between private initiative and government initiative, one only needs to look at various loan programs. We are all familiar with Social Security fraud, SBA Loan fraud, World Bank fraud and waste, etc. However, when private individuals step in, the picture changes drastically.
Let's look at Mike Espinilla who makes glass swans out of old flourescent lighting tubes. In America he would be celebrated as an environmentalist and a unique artist. He works out of his home in Philippines and the proceeds of his Microcredit loan are used to support his family. His loan came from the Philipine affiliate of the St. Louis-based Enterprise Mentors International. There is no government money here. Private individuals give money which Enterprise Mentors loans to needy families in third world countries. The repayment rate is 95.3%. Bankers in any developed nation would drool over a rate that astronomically high.
Loan recipients are expected to pay back their loans and then run their business off of their earnings. The original money is then loaned out again to someone else. "Each family we serve has an average total of five dependents who are beneficiaries. It's not just about money, but about how people discover their own potential for rising above poverty," said Jovy Guanzon, executive director of the Philippine Mecroenterprise Development Fountation, a division of EMI. "We teach them that poverty is just a place, and they can move out of it when they're able to recognize their own true potential."
One supporteer of EMI remarked that "The greatest pandemic of the world is poverty. What a poor and miserable world this would be without kind and thoughtful people to reach out and provide help."
One family in El Salvador uses their $50 loan to make and sell pinatas. One of the EMI representatives took a visiting girl from the USA to visit the pinata "factory" in the home of the Salvadoran family. The visiting girl was reduced to tears by the abject poverty she saw. When she understood what a difference the loans had made to poor families, she was determined to make a contribution. Upon returned to the USA she inspired her high school classmates to raise $50,000 for the program.
The vast majority of the recipients of the loans are women, many of whom are single mothers who lack the education or means to provide adequately for their families.
Loan money to support the program comes entirely from private donors. A donation equaling the cost of one tank of gasoline in the United States can make a significant difference to someone living in poverty.
For more information, go to www.enterprise-mentors.org.
To see the difference between private initiative and government initiative, one only needs to look at various loan programs. We are all familiar with Social Security fraud, SBA Loan fraud, World Bank fraud and waste, etc. However, when private individuals step in, the picture changes drastically.
Let's look at Mike Espinilla who makes glass swans out of old flourescent lighting tubes. In America he would be celebrated as an environmentalist and a unique artist. He works out of his home in Philippines and the proceeds of his Microcredit loan are used to support his family. His loan came from the Philipine affiliate of the St. Louis-based Enterprise Mentors International. There is no government money here. Private individuals give money which Enterprise Mentors loans to needy families in third world countries. The repayment rate is 95.3%. Bankers in any developed nation would drool over a rate that astronomically high.
Loan recipients are expected to pay back their loans and then run their business off of their earnings. The original money is then loaned out again to someone else. "Each family we serve has an average total of five dependents who are beneficiaries. It's not just about money, but about how people discover their own potential for rising above poverty," said Jovy Guanzon, executive director of the Philippine Mecroenterprise Development Fountation, a division of EMI. "We teach them that poverty is just a place, and they can move out of it when they're able to recognize their own true potential."
One supporteer of EMI remarked that "The greatest pandemic of the world is poverty. What a poor and miserable world this would be without kind and thoughtful people to reach out and provide help."
One family in El Salvador uses their $50 loan to make and sell pinatas. One of the EMI representatives took a visiting girl from the USA to visit the pinata "factory" in the home of the Salvadoran family. The visiting girl was reduced to tears by the abject poverty she saw. When she understood what a difference the loans had made to poor families, she was determined to make a contribution. Upon returned to the USA she inspired her high school classmates to raise $50,000 for the program.
The vast majority of the recipients of the loans are women, many of whom are single mothers who lack the education or means to provide adequately for their families.
Loan money to support the program comes entirely from private donors. A donation equaling the cost of one tank of gasoline in the United States can make a significant difference to someone living in poverty.
For more information, go to www.enterprise-mentors.org.
