Scott Clifton of FARMS International says impoverished businesspeople have three options to obtain seed money. The first is to build savings. 

“That’s certainly a good option, but in many cases it would take a decade or two decades to be able to save enough to start a business,” Clifton says. 

In the absence of savings, loans are in order. The logical source for them is banks. 

“Which aren’t an option,” Clifton says, “because if you’re poor you don’t have collateral. You don’t have anything that the bank can sign off against in case the business doesn’t succeed.” 

As a result, many poor people turn to loan sharks, who burden their clients with extortionary interest rates ranging from 60 to 300 percent annual interest. 

“And so it’s just impossible to get out of poverty when you’re in that type of situation,” Clifton says. 

That’s where partnership with a microfinance institution can play a key role. Through financial trainings, zero-interest loans, and savings initiatives, believers are offered a chance to help their families thrive. Beyond practical assistance, FARMS offers its clients a commitment to operate from Biblical principles. 

“We think it’s very important to focus on personal dignity: that someone is empowered, that we’re not replacing the efforts that they should be giving, that we’re not robbing them of their rights to put to use their God-given skills, gifts, and abilities.” 

Courtesy of Pixabay

The team at FARMS works exclusively with believers, basing their decision on Galatians 6:10, which encourages goodwill toward everyone but especially those in the household of faith. 

“If we have family members who are struggling, we should try to help them, and we really believe that these are our family members: our brothers and sisters in Christ,” Clifton says. 

Working among believers produces a secondary impact into the community, he says. As Christian businesspeople are shown love through the work of FARMS, they engage their neighbors with the same Biblical perspective. 

 “As they’ve been helped, they’ll turn around and help others, and we’ve seen that time and time again,” Clifton says. 

Principles like stewardship, tithing, and money management are incorporated into the work of FARMS. In some of the areas where this ministry works, believers are persecuted and even martyred for their faith. While the suffering is hard to endure, Clifton says it’s also inspiring to see such faith and passion in the hearts of fellow Christians. 

“And that’s something that I find very humbling to work alongside,” he says. 

Please pray for the work of FARMS International and similar microfinance organizations. Pray that Christian businesspeople would be helped practically and spiritually and that they would use their resources to bless those around them.

Featured image courtesy of Pexels via Pixabay

Rowena Mendoza
(Photo courtesy Haggai0

Philippines (MNN) — James 1:22 tells us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” It’s pretty clear the mandate and expectation is faith in action.

It’s also safe to say we all need someone to show us what this looks like as a lifestyle. For Rowena Mendoza, that mentor was the Haggai Institute.

“Before going to Haggai, I was already a leader. But after Haggai, [it was] like I was given a shot to make me go faster, see things clearer, communicate better,” Mendoza shares.

“You could probably liken it to a car driving at 50 miles-an-hour;  then I go to Haggai, and now I’m going 150 miles-an-hour.”

Faith in action: 50 mph

Mendoza leads a ministry in the Philippines that helps people climb out of poverty.

“The foundation of what we do is microfinance,” she shares. But the group doesn’t just hand out loans.

“Microfinance alone will not take the poor out of poverty. It has to be coupled with…the other dimensions of life.”

That holistic approach includes teaching people about Christ and the salvation He offers.

For example, Mendoza’s ministry holds a “Values Training” course for each person who comes to them for financial help.

(Photo courtesy Wholistic Transformation Resource Center)

“In that 6-month period, they meet every week and they share the Word of God, they pray together, and then they learn other things,” says Mendoza.

“Ultimately, the goal is to build their values, help them appreciate how the Word of God connects with the credit that they’re going to get. [That way] when they get the credit, they value it so much that they already know they need to pay it back, they need to steward it well.”

The end result? People apply what they’ve learned, both practically and spiritually.

“The changes — people going to church, people conducting their own Bible studies — that happens quite successfully,” says Mendoza.

Faith in action: 150 mph

Receiving training from the Haggai Institute helped Mendoza bring her ministry to a higher level of success.

Women’s training session.
(Photo courtesy Haggai)

“Whatever I’m good at, I’ve managed to get even better at,” she shares.

By helping Haggai train existing leaders, you can start a “ripple effect” for God’s Kingdom around the world.

“If God’s power is already pouring upon you, [Haggai] just opens the floodgates so that you can do much more. But even more than that, it helps you bring others along on your journey.”

Visit Haggai’s Web site here to see how you can get involved.

Only four people staff the mini-branch of the Opportunity
International Bank of Malawi (OIBM), which opened in March 2007. It is already in high demand: over 3,000
people have already opened savings accounts, some of them from cities as many
as 100 kilometers away. It also offers
loans and insurance to clients. 

Even though it is located in one of the poorest countries in
the world, the bank averages 18 account openings and 30 transactions per
day. 70 percent of its clients are
women. They no longer have to make
expensive, risky trips to the main branch of the bank in Limbe, because the
mini-branch is located right in the area where they live and work. 

Almost 100 percent of the bank's loans are repaid on
time. Tabia Chibale, who runs a small
business making and selling necklaces, plans to pay off her loan before the end
of its eight-month term. If she does,
she will be able to take out a larger loan and expand her business. 

"It's a great bank," she said. "I have 100% [higher] profit
now than before."

The mother of three girls, Chibale travels to Zimbabwe twice
every month to purchase raw materials for her business. 

Mrs. Jabalasa, who buys and sells potatoes, believes her
money is safer in the bank than it was when she hid it in her home. She recently opened her very first savings
account after learning about the bank from friends. 

Malawi
is an extremely poor country, with 76 percent of the population living on less
than one dollar per day. Almost 14
million people live in Malawi,
and tens of thousands of them die of HIV/AIDS every year, according to the
CIA. Opportunity International has over
17,000 active loan clients in the country. 

Opportunity International-U.S. strives to reach the world's
poorest people through its micro-enterprise development programs. 

At the end of the year, over 1.1 million people had received
micro-loans from the ministry, which works through indigenous partner
organizations to provide small business loans, other financial services,
training, and counsel to the poor all over the world.

"The stories we tell are about transformation –
transformation of individuals, families, and entire communities, and it all
starts with the multitude of financial services we are bringing to people who
desperately need them," says Christopher A. Crane, CEO of Opportunity
International. 

He is especially pleased with the progress made by the
"multiplier effect" in 2007. Every $100
donated to Opportunity International now makes $274 available to finance
entrepreneurial projects undertaken by the world's poor. This multiplication is made possible by
savings accounts that Opportunity International manages for its clients. 

Donations are combined with the money in the savings
accounts to finance more micro-loans for the poor, who use the loans to build
successful businesses. They then invest
their profits in a savings account, making funds available to finance more
loans. Since 98 percent of the loans are
repaid, every donation to Opportunity International goes to work repeatedly to
finance entrepreneurship in poor communities.    

Loan clients join Trust Groups, which are groups of people
who guarantee one another's loans.  They
also meet weekly for training from loan officers. 84 percent of loan recipients are women.  Opportunity International also provides
micro-insurance and innovative banking solutions to people who would not
normally have access to banking services. 

The story of One Hen is inspired
by the life story of Opportunity International's Dr. Kwabena Darko, chairman of
the Ghana board and member of the Opportunity International Board.

Book author Katie Smith Milway*
says, "It occurred to me that microfinance is just a terrific entry point
for kids into the world international development because it creates change
that any child that has run a lemonade stand can understand."

One Hen tells the story of
Kojo, a boy from Ghana who turns a small loan into a thriving farm and a
livelihood for many.

After his father died, Kojo had
to quit school to help his mother collect firewood to sell at the market. When
his mother receives a loan from some village families, she gives a little money
to her son.

With this tiny loan, Kojo buys a
hen. A year later, Kojo has built up a flock of 25 hens. With his earnings, Kojo
is able to return to school. Soon Kojo's farm grows to become the largest in
the region.

In addition to the book, Opportunity International has an interactive website, OneHen.org where
kids can be part of a virtual market. "Kids can actually invest the beads
they earn in entrepreneurs who are depicted in this virtual market, see their
stories progress as they are financed, and then, for every bead a child gives
online, it's going to trigger a small donation."  

The site, which goes fully live
on May 9th, includes information for
parents to donate money, as well as curriculum and downloadable exercises for
teachers and librarians provided by publisher Kids Can Press, which brings the
book's teachings to life.

Kids learn that with one small loan, an
entrepreneur in a developing nation has the ability to build a business
and a future for her or his family.  

In doing so, they begin to share
the hope of Christ. "I do think that building compassion and building
these kinds of values in kids is helping them touch a part of Christ that they
won't touch, at least North American kids, who are 'haves,' won't touch,
without really reaching out to 'have nots.'"

*About the author: Katie has coordinated community development programs in Africa and
Latin America for Food for the Hungry, consulted on village banking in
West Africa with World Vision and was a delegate to the 1992 Earth
Summit.

Her first children’s book was Cappuccina Goes to Town. One Hen is her second book for children.

In the meantime, the violence doesn't appear to have let up, resulting in more displaced families. There's almost no agency left unaffected. 

Mano Kamaleson is CEO of Opportunity International Kenya. Operating in Western Kenya, the head office is currently located in Kisumu, and there are five branch offices. Kamaleson says, "We have about eight thousand clients, and about 20% of those clients have been displaced. Our primary concern right now is safety."

Opportunity International has been working microenterprise in with ministry in Kenya since 2006. They provide small microfinance loans — sometimes as little as $50 — as well as banking, insurance and other financial services that allow poor entrepreneurs to start or expand a business, develop a steady income, provide nutritious meals and education for their children, and create jobs for their neighbors.   

As a result, they develop relationships with their clients. When instability affects them, it becomes personal. "Several of our clients have had their businesses burnt to the ground, their homes threatened. There are a few that have actually been killed; [fortunately] none of our staff has been injured." 

Opportunity has taken a three-pronged approach at this time which involves loan restructuring, emergency loans, and an established social network. 

Staff can reschedule client loan repayments without penalty, adjusting them to the climate of their business. This can range from being given a grace period or loan restructuring. If they're able to service their loan, they can continue. But even if their business is not impacted by the violence, there is a need to recognize that they are/will be impacted by the loss of the economy.

Emergency assistance will help many of their clients who have good business experience.  Opportunity will be there to help them get back on their feet, particularly if their business has been burned down or inventory stolen. 

The team is working hard to find out what information and technical assistance would be helpful in their client's recovery and productivity. Opportunity is in the transformation business, not just providing loans but business training, support and assistance to help people work their way out of poverty. 

Kamaleson says the hope of Christ will play a critical role in the recovery in the aftermath.  Their team aims to be a ray of hope in the despair that currently exists. More than ever, their services are needed to create a new hope for Kenya. "Opportunity International is a Christian organization whose primary focus is transformation–the improvement of quality of life, economically, spiritually and socially. So we have our work cut out for us."

Opportunity International is accepting donations to the $1 million Kenya Emergency Fund set up to support their clients who are suffering in the wake of violence and disruption of business in Western Kenya. Click here if you can help.

The partnership includes World Relief, a Baltimore-based
agency that specializes in rebuilding communities in the aftermath of war or
natural disaster. World Relief has operated Urwego Community Banking, the
first and largest micro-finance institution in Rwanda,
since 1997. World Relief Canada and HOPE International have been financial
partners in Urwego for several years. 

The team launched a micro-finance bank for the poor in Rwanda
two months ago. Since then, they've seen
steady progress toward rebuilding and reunification in the community. Opportunity brings their financial and
technology expertise in the operation of the new bank.  

According to the ministry, that is the foundation for
change. Dr. Ephraim Kabaija, former
chief of staff to President of Rwanda Paul Kagame and currently the President's
advisor on rural development, explained the critical need for a bank that
offers savings accounts to the Rwandan people. "Do you know how many
children die in our country every year because their mothers cannot afford the
$2 – $10 needed to buy medicines to treat diarrhea, fever, malaria and other
common illnesses? Do you appreciate how much angst, misery and despair we
could eliminate from our country if every family had $50 in a savings account?"

Over the next 12 to 18 months, UOMB expects to further
expand banking operations across the country using innovative technologies to
enable poor Rwandans easy access to safe and secure financial
transactions. 

Opportunity International provides small loans — sometimes
as little as $50 — and other services that allow poor entrepreneurs to start or
expand a business, develop a steady income, provide for their families and
create jobs for their neighbors. The Urwego Opportunity Micro-finance Bank
(UOMB) of Rwanda underscores the ministry's commitment to Christ's call in
serving the poor.

Now, Compassion international has committed to investing five million dollars into Opportunity's work with microfinance in the areas where they have child sponsorship programs.  This joint effort will help reach families and the community in a more
effective way.

This will allow Opportunity to expand its efforts in Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda. Parents of sponsored children in those places will be sought after to receive loans, insurance,
savings accounts, and training in business. "We see this as a win-win situation
because when a community is getting better and they're able to have jobs, it will have a trickle-down effect. It's going to affect the different families in the Compassion assisted areas. So we see this as we can't lose," said Julie Koshy of Compassion International.

Their combined efforts aimed at children and their parents will have a multiplied effect in
the surrounding communities. Koshy says the help people receive is more than a moral obligation. "It is very crucial that people understand that when they're getting these loans, or when they're getting help from compassion through our church-based program, it is through the love of Christ." 

Last year, Compassion awarded Opportunity International $180,000 to open programs in three
new rural areas of Uganda. Opportunity, from there, gave more than $11.5 million in loans to more than 25,000 people. 

You can sponsor a child with Compassion International or donate to Opportunity International for
future loans to those living in poverty.