Micro-loans

I have just finished reading "Half the Sky - Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" and one of their suggestions to make a real difference in the lives of women is to invest in micro-loans. The idea is that by providing small business loans, people living in poverty are given a chance not only to survive, but to thrive. It is not a hand-out, but rather an opportunity to give these people a place to start where otherwise there would be none. I contacted MCC and though they do a few micro-loans, they don't have many set up and so they directed me to MEDA (Mennonite Development Economic Associates).

Within MEDA Trust (www.medatrust.org), you can decide how much money you would like to loan and to what type of business. They work within Afghanistan and Nicaragua, and currently there is an extra bonus! The Afghanistan Challenge (www.afghanistanchallenge.ca) is currently partnering a number of organizations, including MEDA, and with every dollar you donate towards a micro-loan through MEDA, the Canadian government is matching dollar for dollar. But that's not even the best part! - within an 18 month time period, your donation may be loaned out numerous times. You may feel that $50 is not much, but if it's used twice then it's really $100 and if it's used three times then it's really $150! When the loan that you are sponsoring is paid off, you can then direct your money to another loan - talk about multiplication!

I want to challenge you to make a lasting difference, especially in the lives of women living in poverty in Afghanistan and Nicaragua - each dollar, now multiplied, can go so very far in truly changing their lives and the circumstances they live in. I urge you - take a risk - step out and do it. . .do it now!