Every one of us has heard the saying, “Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime.” That is the power of microfinancing.
Jan Janzen Ministries is a ministry that is focused on outreach. This is not about feeling good with our own spirituality, staying warm and well-fed, or creating our own financial freedom, while the vast majority of the world deals with their own “bad luck”.
We can make a difference and part of making that difference is educating ourselves about what is really happening in the world, both the problems and solutions that are working.
From what I have studied over the last 18 months, microfinancing is an integral part of the solution. It’s a time-tested and sustainable approach to seeding entrepreneurship in developing nations through grants of peer-guaranteed small loans (sometimes as little as $50), often called “microfinancings”.
• “Microentrepreneurs” dramatically improve their family’s standard of living and may create as many as 3-5 new jobs per loan.
• Microfinancing works. Repayment rates on microfinance portfolios generally exceed 92% within one year and it is not uncommon to have repayment rates as high as 97-99% with many Micro Finance Institutions.
• An eight year study in Bangladesh showed that among the poorest people
with no opportunity for credit of any type, only 4 percent pulled themselves
above the poverty line. However, among individuals and families with access to micro-credit from Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank, 48% rose above the
poverty line.
I could tell you about thousands of success stories, stories that would make you cry, smile and definitely appreciate your own life so much more. But here is a very practical, real-life account of the power of microfinancing.
Ayahualuco is a small town in the Mexican state of Veracruz. Each year the majority of the community migrates to a nearby coffee-growing region to harvest coffee. During this time, entire families including small children work from dawn until dusk picking coffee. They live in temporary migrant camps and the children miss three months of school.
In 1997, Coffee Kids began a micro-credit program focusing on creating a culture of savers in Ayahualuco with 100 women organized into five groups and no money in savings. As of 2006, the number of groups had expanded to 132 involving 3,460 women, men and children and the total saved is over $700,000.
This money is used for community improvements, low-interest loans, scholarships, and micro-enterprise. Through this project women and their families have generated additional income for their homes, gained personal confidence and have learned about diversification and investment strategies to better face the dependency on the coffee harvest.
Imagine the difference that has made in the lives of those women, men and children. Imagine doing that time and time again all over the world. It’s possible and it’s happening. Can you help? Absolutely.
Start by watching this movie prepared for Jan Janzen Ministries by a wonderful woman in South Africa, who saw my vision, and worked with my team to create this movie. It’s less than 2 minutes and it will help you see the power of microfinancing.
Then decide how you can contribute. It may be by sharing the concept of
microfinancing with others so send along this newsletter and movie to others. You may wish to send Coffee Kids or another microfinancing organization a donation. A small donation of even $25 can go a long ways to making a difference.
Before I left for South Africa in 2004, one of my fellow ministerial students handed me $20, her Starbucks coffee money for the week, with a blessing that it would be used well. After spending several weeks in the very poor village of Umzumbe, I gave the elementary school principle that $20 to pay for a young boy’s education for the year. The mother was badly beaten by her husband, the child’s clothing in tatters and with no money for the mandatory uniform or school fees, there was no hope of breaking the poverty cycle. Twenty dollars made a huge difference and the tears of gratitude that poured from that woman will forever haunt me. Twenty dollars was all it took.
Please watch the movie now and then make a decision to make a difference.
Together, with your help, we can change the world.
Have an amazing month of light and love.
Blessings,
P.S. If you are an entrepreneur that hasn’t yet signed up for the Spiritual
Entrepreneur monthly newsletter, please do so now at
www.spiritualentrepreneurinfo.com
P.P.S. If you haven’t purchased your copy of the book, Devil with a Briefcase: 101 Success Secrets for the Spiritual Entrepreneur, you may wish to do so now. 10% of the cost of the book goes to support microfinancing.
This information is copyrighted. Please feel free to pass along, use as part of your spiritual newsletters but please keep all information including contact information intact. Thank you for your respect and integrity in this matter.
Jan Janzen is a non-denominational minister, author and entrepreneur. Her book Devil with a Briefcase: 101 Success Secrets for the Spiritual Entrepreneur along with her CD series for the Spiritual Entrepreneur and other resources for the entrepreneur with ethics are available at
www.spiritualentrepreneurinfo.com. For more information on Jan’s ministry and her support of microfinance projects around the world, please visit www.janjanzenministries.com
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