Finca.org in Haiti – Small Loans, Big Changes
I had the privilege of visiting Haiti this fourth of July, I couldn’t think of a more humbling way to spend the day. It was a fantastic reminder of the opportunities we have as a result of our freedoms in the United States. Zoe Saldana visited the country to support its core non-profit initiative and I was lucky to be in tow. We arrived and visited 3 FINCA “clients” throughout the day. One woman lost her home in the earthquake and has relocated to a makeshift tent in the median of the road in front of her clothing store near where her home used to be. Her business is flourishing thanks to having funds for inventory by way of her loan. She is living in the median of the street in a tent… where there is a will there’s a way. The people of Haiti seemed to be quite resilient in my opinion, despite their circumstances.
Thanks to charitable donations, Finca is making small loans that are life changing to business owners and entrepreneurs around the world trying to better their quality of life. Its called village banking and it works something like this; a group applies for a loan together, say 10 people. The average size of each clients loan is around $250, and if one person in the group cannot repay then the other 9 are responsible for those payments. On average, the loans are repaid in four months and then the person can reapply. A donation of this size could be loaned 3 times in one year and have a big impact. It was wonderful to see actual funds getting to the people on the ground in Haiti through this organization. What I truly appreciated is that they train the entire group in their meetings (yes, I am hungry, but please teach me to fish). All business owners need to understand how to use leverage to accelerate growth (aka: good debt, yes there is such a thing!). The Finca reps along with the group leaders educate each client on how to use their loans, be financially responsible and even create a habit of saving.
Most of the donations to larger charities have not made it to the people on the ground there, this is one charity that is a direct channel and has my support!
Britt
