Microfinance week: Nest

The final installment of this week is an organization called Nest; "a nonprofit organization that empowers female artists and artisans around the world. Using a unique combination of interest-free microfinance loans, mentoring from established designers, as well as a market in which to sell their crafts, Nest helps its loan recipients create successful small businesses. Nest instills pride of ownership, preserves ancient artistic traditions and successfully moves women from poverty to self-sufficiency." A important aspect of their model is their interest-free loans, which is different from many microloaning operations which charge exorbitant rates on their loans that I disapprove of and try not to support those organizations.

It helps preserve the traditions of handmade products from women worldwide and uses a system of bartering to repay their loans. This idea connects microfinance with fair trade practices. Their approach allows them to "act as a collaborators with women artisans rather than simply consumers or importers. By knowing where our product comes from and supporting those who create it we are able to use the arts as an avenue to reduce poverty."

In addition to the funding for the women's businesses, Nest also teaches the "loan recipients basic business skills, product development, financial literacy, marketing, appealing to a Western consumer, environmentally-sensitive production, professional presentation and pricing—all essential skills for craft-specific businesses." They help them with the merchandising of their products and work to create a marketplace and contacts for them to sell their crafts out of. I like their focus on creating connections for their loan recipients to be able to wholesale their products.

And even if you do not support them with a donation, you can still support their work by shopping in their store. They have one store of the artisans work and another store of US based designers selling their work. Purchases at either help support Nest's work with Guatemalan women.

Nest Overview from Nest on Vimeo.

This week I was running a contest, the microfinance organization whose post received the most comments will receive $25. If you like the microbartering system of Nest, then comment below. Originally, I was going to close voting Saturday at noon PST, but I think that some people were waiting to vote until they read all the options. Voting is extended through Saturday and I will announce the winner Sunday morning. So get to voting and we shall see who the winner is. :-)

Microfinance week: Friendship Bridge

So, today's organization is Friendship Bridge, a microloaning organization which offers loans and non-formal education to Guatemalan women. They believe that:

- "Microcredit helps impoverished women reach economic independence.
- Education for women and children is an important tool for development.
- Health education enhances personal, family and community well being.
- Respect for the spiritual and cultural roots of communities is fundamental.
- Participatory techniques incorporate each client’s voice.
- Women are leaders for change in their families and communities.
- Effective programs are created through listening"

I like that they have a well encompassed vision of their work, not only do they want to educate, but they want to make sure the women and their families are healthy. Charities which work with the local communities and listen to their concerns has always been one of the aspects I most admire. Additionally, I think a well run charity can help an area more by valuing the history of the region and respecting the communities beliefs, instead of imposing their missionary/religious beliefs which is all too common with some organizations.

"Friendship Bridge borrowers typically start or expand small businesses such as weaving, embroidery, raising livestock or poultry, basket making, roadside vending, or growing fruits and vegetables for sale at the local markets. Profits from these businesses boost overall household income. As loans are repaid, they are re-loaned. The reinvestment of loan funds multiplies the impact of each dollar loaned."

Overall, another well run organization, whose mission statement, I truly admire and respect. If you agree and want me to donate to them, comment below. We are having a bit of a contest this week, rules found here. The post with the most comments will receive $25 for that organization, you can vote multiple times so if you are torn between different organizations, just vote for both. But you only have until Saturday at noon, so make sure you vote before then...

Microfinance week: Vittana

I think, this might be my favorite organization of the week. Vittana is a global student microloaning organization, which is organized through peer to peer lending. You put money into your account, then you find a student to loan money too, after the student graduates they begin repaying their loan, once you receive the money back the process starts all over again. While looking the company up, I came across a short article in the Economist talking about student loans, microfinance, and Vittana, and if the Economist thinks this is a good idea that is good enough for me.

In many countries, their is no access to student loans because they are risky and their is no government program either. A student might be accepted to school, but unable to pay so they will not have the chance to learn and contribute, which is just not acceptable. That is why I think this organization is so wonderful, it is helping a person achieve a livelihood. They tend to target second year students with a record of attendance or children of those benefiting from other microloans as they will have a family history of repaying the loan to lower the risk. The Vittana community has lent $516,452 and has an excellent repayment rate of approximately 97%.

"When you invest $25 in a student on Vittana, we promise you that your full $25 loan is given to the student. Neither Vittana nor our local microfinance partner subtracts any fees or any other surcharges in any form from your loan. Vittana also charges no interest or fees in any other form from the student or local microfinance partner. After making a loan to a student, you have the opportunity to donate as much (or as little) as you want to Vittana itself. This donation is completely optional — you are under no obligation whatsoever." -How it works

This week, we are running a bit of a contest. Whichever organization's blog post for the week has the most posts is the microfinance organization that I will donate $25 to. So far this week, Vittana is my favorite, but what do y'all think?

Microfinance week: Microloan Foundation

The UK based MicroLoan Foundation is another microfinance organization that does great work across the globe. Their mission is "Giving a hand up, not a hand out to women in Africa." Which really goes well with my thoughts on charity, I prefer organizations which help people to improve their lives instead of merely giving them temporary aid. So, I already like this organization and that is just on the front page.

Unlike some direct microloaning programs, you do not choose individuals to loan your money to, instead you donate to them and they will automatically reinvest funds when they are repaid. One of the nice aspects is that you donate you money and allow the organization to be in charge of the funds and you do not need to continue monitoring it like you do with direct lending.

The MicroLoan Foundation works by loaning to groups of women and "each group has its business ideas appraised and receives eight training sessions covering topics such as book keeping and cash flow." The groups meet with to make sure they all stay on target to repay their loans and get business advice, as well as with a loan officer. "And here's the real beauty in MicroLoan - because we offer a hand up not a hand out, when the women repay their microloans, we give it to another woman....when she repays it we give to another....and so on...your donations keep on helping women in Africa over and over again" -How we work.

Here is a video made by the organization, you all know how I love these. I feel sometimes that words spoken directly by those impacted by a charity can have so much more affect than 1000 flowery words written by me on this blog.



Don't forget, this week is a challenge, whichever blog post gets the most votes for the week is the microfinance company that I will give $25 to. So if you like MicroLoanFoundation, comment below. :-) P.S. Was distracted by the State of the Union and its coverage, sorry for the late posting today.

Water

In many area's of the globe access to clean drinking water is one of the most important issues. Which is why today I am giving to The Water Project.

• "Nearly 1 billion people don't have safe water to drink.
• A child dies every 15 seconds from a lack of clean water.
• 1 in 4 children who die before age 5 worldwide, die of a water related disease.
• Children often walk miles every day to collect dirty water to drink.
• You can change that for only $10 per person!"

Drinking dirty water can be very bad for people's health. It is vitally important in order for a community to thrive that it have access to clean and safe drinking water. I hope you will help.

Children's Smiles

One of the sweetest things in our world is children's laughter and their smile. I know I have spent too much time watching a video of a laughing baby on YouTube. In fact I will share that with you now. :-)



Every time I watch it I can help but smile and giggle along with that little child, especially when he starts laughing before ripping the paper - he knows what is about to happen. It puts me in a better frame of mind every time. Which is why today I today I decided to support Operation Smile, every child deserves to have a beautiful smile and they help with this.

The organizations goal is to help those who are born with a cleft condition that makes it hard for many of them to eat, speak, socialize, or smile. It requires surgery to fix it and in many places the parents can't afford that surgery, which is where Operation Smile comes in, they help these children live a normal life by giving them the ability to smile naturally. "Since 1982, Operation Smile — through the help of dedicated medical volunteers — has provided free surgeries to children around the world. As one of the most prominent children’s charities in the world and with a presence in over 50 countries, we are able to heal children’s smiles and bring hope for a better future."

I'm a bit of a sucker for charities that work with and for children, if you hadn't noticed already, and this one really is a great organization and has received many awards in honor of their service around the globe. Because I missed a post, I went ahead and wrote a second post for y'all today...let me know what you think of this organization.

Help Vs. Charity

This last week, I had an interesting comment on my Prosthetics in India post relating to the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti - a charity who manufactures and provides prostheses for disadvantaged individuals in India. They are one of the most impressive organizations I have seen recently, very impressed by them; if you haven't read the post yet, you should read it or check out the website.

One of the aspects which I appreciated was their philosophy on helping. One aspect of which was: "HELP NOT CHARITY - while the assistance is being given free it is ensured that BMVSS, its donors and its beneficiaries recognize such assistance as help and not Charity. Psychologically it is recognized that assistance given as charity demeans both the giver and the taker. The recipient particularly looses his self-respect. The constant effort of BMVSS is that the support given is treated as one provided to a brethren rather than a charity to a poor person."

 

I got the following comment relating to this point from Maureen "Yes, help not charity! Thanks for putting into words what I had been thinking." My quick reply was "I use the word charity a lot on this blog, but I get so frustrated by that. Because it takes a way a person's autonomy. It implies they could do nothing without our help, but that's not so, the important thing is how much they can do with a bit of assistance. None of us would get anywhere without some help from someone along the way..." 

 

But I keep have been thinking about this a bit more and wondering how this impacts my blog. How do I go about donating money to organizations without supporting organizations who merely give food. Do I emphasize the helping aspect and stay away from the word charity?

I remember when I was younger and learning about the work of Heifer International, the volunteer explained it using the old phrase - Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for life. The idea behind this phrase has always appealed to me. Rather than giving someone food, organizations can help them have a livelihood. Giving them chickens will give their family sustenance from the eggs and they can earn money by selling the extras. Or help someone to become mobile again with protheses and aids so they can work to help support themselves and their family.

Merely giving charity and giving food does not alleviate the problem, it makes them dependent on you. And while it is nice to help someone, wouldn't it be nicer to give someone a chance at self sufficiency? When I think about charities, programs which do this are the ones who truly appeal to me. Ones that work with a community to improve it long term, instead of just bringing aid by now and again.

Maybe we need a different word than charity, one which addresses the idea of helping others, without the connotations of that other person being helpless. If you have suggestions, let me know. And as always, please comment and leave your thoughts.

Thanks all, and while you are enjoying your three day weekend, remember Martin Luther King and all he stood for, as well as how far we still have to go to make his dream fully a reality.

And even more prosthetics!

Yesterday's post was so inspiring to me, I immediately googled other charities doing similar work out of curiosity at how they function. And, of course, I liked some of them, so I have to share them with you. Today I am focusing on Sandy Gall's Afghanistan Appeal, an organization who works to provide prosthetic's and other aids for over 20,000 patients and therapy for over 50,000. The 25 years of warfare that has plagued the area has created many people in need of the a prosthetic limb.

The charity focuses are: "to treat the disabled people of Afghanistan by the provision of prostheses, orthoses and physiotherapy care; to train students in these professions to carry out the work themselves; to prevent further disability and promote better referral in the local community by providing health education and disability awareness information; to upgrade the skills of the technicians already trained with further education and to provide administrative training and management courses for senior staff."

For those of you who do not understand the impact warfare can have on a population, I have included a link to an article discussing the impact of landmines, which are present in Afghanistan as well. To truly understand the horror of landmines, one needs to read about it and see the pictures of victims. Warfare causes so many horrifying issues, even in areas where the fighting is over, there are huge amounts of land that still have landmines from previous wars.

Any cause which helps victims of such a horrible event should be supported. If you know of other organizations  that do work like this, please let me know, I would love to feature them as well.

Uganda orphans

This week has been about supporting young girls and giving to projects at the Global Giving site. Today's post is a project to educate young girls in Uganda who have been orphaned due to war or HIV/AIDS. This project is organized by the Platform for Labour Action, whose focus is on a grassroots effort to reach out to the affected community and working with them to meet their needs.

This project will provide education, lunch, school materials and school uniforms to orphaned girls. Counseling support, nutrition and basic health care will be offered to rehabilitate these children. This project's goal is to enable "displaced and orphaned children will be able to read and write; communicate; develop their intellect; improve socializing skills and realize their right to education. They will have potential to earn income, leave meaningful and positive lives.

This project aims to remove 200 orphans from exploitative situations and provide them with education and nutrition, as well as counseling and health care. Without this project these girls lack access to education and the social instability leads to displacement and exploitative work situations. Many young girls end up turning to forms of prostitution in order to survive, which puts them at risk to STD's and HIV/AIDS, as well as causing many of them to be child mothers.

Its truly a tough place to survive, one of the reasons is that HIV/AIDS has destroyed an entire generation. In many areas of Africa, the predominance of people are elderly or very young children being raised by grandparents or their older siblings. HIV/AIDS has impacted middle aged people the most, which is very hard on the children who do not have parents to care for them. This project will help children who have been orphaned or displaced get their education, and to survive and thrive despite the obstacles they face.

I hope that you have been inspired by these amazing projects that are working to empower young girls around the globe. Knowing that I helped people around the world often helps to make me feel more empowered about my own life. If these children can survive what they have been through, then I too have the strength to be successful. Helping others through volunteering or donating is a great way to feel empowered in your own life.

P.S. I slept badly, so if there are grammatical errors or inconsistencies please blame them on the lack of sleep. On the other hand, if today's post was brilliant, I take full credit for that! :-)

 

Sudan Girls!

After yesterday's post, I have decided that this is the week of young women's empowerment. So today I will be focusing on a project working to empower young women in the Sudan. The project is Inspiring Darfur Girls to Achieve and is run by Relief International, I really like the sound of this project and think it is great that organizations are helping girls located in an area of upheaval, genocide, and warfare. The girls in that area face an existence harsher than many of us in the Global North can fully appreciate.


Inspiring Darfur Girls to Achieve is working on specific issues affecting girls and women in Sudan through education and increasing the status of women, to show them that they can become leaders. The project recognizes that in order to create change in the area, they need to educate women, so they seek to create a program that will support and create female leaders in the Sudan. Education can do so much for women: increase their earning potential, positively impact their community, and create social change.

 So that's today's post, I think that this is an amazing project to support so I hope you enjoyed hearing about it and I would love it if you supported them too.

Unleash the Leader in a Girl!

I came across an organization that seems really great, I hope you agree. I found them at the Global Giving and they caught my eye, I have therefore decided that this is going to be a week dedicated to young girls and women around the world. Today's charity is The Mariposa Girl's Leadership Program in the Dominican Republic and it focuses on empowering young girls in order to create change and promote social justice. They are inspired by the UN's Millenium Development Goals, so they focus on "eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality and empowering women, reducing the child mortality rate, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development." And they believe that the achievement of these goals are "dependent upon the education and empowerment of women and young girls."

Any organization which works to empower young girls has my support. Here is a video from them talking about their work. Very inspiring.

So, if you find them interesting and want to donate to them, you can mail them checks or donate through their Global Giving page.

While we are on the subject, Global Giving is another site you can look for and find wonderful charities, just another resource for y'all.

Work Gift Exchanges

One of our readers shared a way in which they donated to charity with absolutely no effort on there part. I thought I would share it with y'all.

Many offices and workplaces do some sort of a gift exchange. When it happens at your work and people are wondering what is on your wish list, just ask them to donate to your favorite charity in your name. this is a great way to avoid that extra chocolate or sweets that pile up around the holidays and impact a great cause at the same time. And you can choose whatever charity is your favorite; whether you are passionate about human rights, food justice, HIV/AIDS care, access to safe water, women's rights, or any other cause.

The reader who sent me this story asked for her coworker to donate to Heifer International. I've written about them before, they are a great organization in which you "purchase" animals which are donated to families globally which gives those families a livelihood instead of just aid. They really are an amazing organizations which focus on helping entire communities to become self-sufficient. I have loved their work for years.

For twenty dollars you can purchase a flock of chicks, ducks or geese for a family. And $120 purchases a Christmas Basket that will "renew hope and start fresh for a family in need when you give a Christmas Basket. Sheep provide valuable wool and are a vital source of income in impoverished communities. Wool can provide warmth in chilly temperatures and can be sold at market for additional income." And all families that receive a Heifer gift pass on some of their offspring to their community, so a single purchase becomes part of a cycle helping more and more families. 


So choose your favorite charity and know that your Christmas gifts is helping to impact lives.

Holiday consumerism...

Hey all,

Its almost Christmas time, so I am sure many of you are frantically running around purchasing presents for your family and friends. Giving gifts is a great way for showing people that you care and that they are important to you. But i think we should extend that a bit and show people around the world in desperate situation that we care about them as well. While we do not know them, our gifts to help others can impact a life much more than the scarf, chocolate, or  that you purchase for a friend. And personally, giving gifts to charity in the name of someone can be a lovely present, especially for that hard to shop for person or the person who can afford whatever they want already.

The gift I am talking about today is the gift of Winter Child Survival Pack from UNICEF USA. This is a great idea as a gift and can help protect a child from many of the dangers of a winter. And judging by the weather in Europe it is going to be a very rough winter for many people. So with some of our Christmas giving, why not help save someones life and purchase a survival pack.

The packs come with "Micronutrient powders that help a child on the brink of malnutrition get the vitamins and minerals that are most essential for them to grow up healthy. Immunizations from measles and polio that will save a child from two of the most common and painful diseases in the developing world. Water purification tablets to filter out dirt and bacteria from water so that children can drink without fear of getting sick. Your pack contains enough tablets to clean 50,000 liters of water!"

Access to safe water is one of the largest humanitarian issues of our decade and these tablets are a way to protect children who lack access to clean water. This alone could save a child's life, but with the micronutrient powder and immunizations it could really make a difference in a child's life.


This Christmas please consider donating as a gift. My family often donates in each others name to Heifer International, Doctors Sans Borders, and other organizations and those gifts often mean more to me than the scarf's and DVDs I get. A DVD is wonderful, but saving someones life is another thing entirely.


Please help others this holiday season and change someone' life! Thanks!

The Girl Effect.

Thanks to a professor of mine for this link, I found it to be very provocative and thoughtful. And it has a great point. So, today we are helping Girl Effect in order to help them grow into powerful women.

According to their site, merely 2 cents of every aid dollar is given to girls. They want to change that math, lets help them. According to their website: "there are 600 million adolescent girls living in poverty in the developing world. By giving one of these girls a chance, you start the girl effect. When girls have safe places to meet, education, legal protection, health care, and access to training and job skills, they can thrive. And if they thrive, everyone around them thrives, too."

I love it when i find the sites to be interesting and thought provoking, its worth it to explore their website to learn more about the plight facing young girls globally.