by S. Geraldine Lancaster

At the launch of the UN Year of Microcredit in 2005, the Secretary General Kofi Annan, encapsulated the goals and ideals of microfinancing in his introductory statement.

He declared:

“Let us be clear: microfinance is not charity. It is a way to extend the same rights and services to low income households that are available to everyone else. It is a recognition that poor people are the solution, not the problem. It is a way to build on their ideas, energy and vision. It is a way to grow productive enterprises, and so allow communities to prosper,”

That same year Oikocredit (Sisters of Charity have shares in this church based investment model) held a Sunday Prayer Service, by way of honouring the UN designation. The homolist at the service drew his reflection from Biblical texts related to loans rather than donations given to poor people.

He reflected:

“Making a loan means offering a deal on an equal footing. The recipients are the partners, and not just getting a handout. They receive money, work for it, and pay it back. Anyone who gives credit gives an advance not just in money but above all, in trust. That way they show respect to other people, and restore their often damaged dignity, along with faith in themselves and the possibility of a better future.”

The following facts may enlarge the understanding of Microcredit, established to be an alternative investment/credit way of loaning money to people who could not access money from traditional banking institutions.

Muhammod Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, founder of the Grameen Banks in Bangladesh, has been honoured for his success story and the promotion of microcredit throughout the world.

Today there are more than 3000 organizations worldwide providing microcrdit loans.

Loans are given to people excluded from the traditional financial structures.

Small loans given to women in the developing world allow them to purchase a chicken to lay eggs to feed the children, then sell some and buy another chicken ... and so it grows ....

A loan for a tractor allows a farmer to develop land and provide food and then income ... it grows.

A larger loan allows a group of peasant people to develop a Fair Trade Coffee cooperative ... it grows.

The 3000 Microcredit organizations are structured in different ways to provide loans to individuals and groups. Some organizations are local, others only work with people in the developing world, and some are larger and work internationally. Creativity and need come into play in the formation of the models. However,there is always need to comply with strict regulation.

Most Microcredit organizations offer support and personal assistance to the recipients of loans. Skills are imparted and personal relationship are developed. The whole person’s development is a prime consideration. The result is a mutual learning experience ... it grows.

It is heartening to highlight the fact that more than 99% of the loans along with the modest interest are repaid. What a day of celebration when that happens!!! What transformation takes place! What about the Biblical trust!

Microcredit Summits bring together the many microfiancing organizations. More than a decade ago the Summit set a goal that by the year 2015 microcredit financing will reach 75 million of the world’s poorest people.

Microcredit organizations are numerous because investors are choosing to put their trust in these alternative,ethical loan structures, placing people before profits, while abandoning the traditional banking system which in many cases, put profits before people.

There is indeed promise and hope that the Summit’s goal for the year 2015 will be reached.

In September of 2010 world leaders will gather for a High Level Plenary (HLP) at the United Nations to do a ten-year review of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  The MDGs are time-bound targets agreed to by all the member nations in 2000 to reduce extreme poverty by one-half by the year 2015. The eight goals are:  1) Eradicate Hunger and Poverty; 2) Achieve Universal Primary Education; 3) Promote Gender Equality and Empower women; 4) Reduce Child Mortality; 5) Improve Maternal Health; 6) Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases; 7) Ensure Environmental Sustainability; and 8) Develop a Global Partnership for Development.

Although some progress has been made a great deal remains to be done if these goals are to be achieved by 2015.  The Sisters of Charity Federation signed on to a letter with 100 other civil society organizations through the Global Call to Action Against Poverty calling for a Millennium Development Breakthrough Plan to be achieved at the UN Summit with clear and concrete results for the 1.4 billion people who continue to live in poverty.

Click here to Take Action

 “Climate change affects us all, but it does not affect us all equally. The poorest and most vulnerable-those who have done the least to contribute to global warming-are bearing the brunt of the impact today” – Ban Ki-Moon

Click here (or on the photo) for a list of climate change resources.

We Sisters of Charity (Halifax), called to be prophetic women in a world wounded by violence and stripped of hope, are committed to make the love of God visible in our world by serving persons who are poor, especially those who through shame conceal their necessities.

We stand together in a time when we hear the silent cries of victims of human trafficking, especially those women and children taken for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. We commit ourselves to work to eradicate this global human rights violation and to affirm the dignity of all human beings.

(adopted June 30, 2008)

• cancellation of international debts of nations which are unable to meet the basic needs of their people or to reach a level of development that ensures a decent quality of life.
• debt relief that benefits ordinary people and enables their participation in the process of determining the conditions of relief, as well as the future development of their national and local economies.
• debt relief that does not include reforms which continue or reinforce poverty or environmental deterioration.
• international mechanisms that prevent recurring, destructive cycles of indebtedness.

Over the last few years, the Global Concerns Resource Team has embarked on a series of endeavors to educate and deepen our knowledge of the intrinsic connection we have to our Earth and to each other.

Click here to read Sister Margaret Coppenrath's Ecological Footprint article (Charity Alive, Feb. 2008).

“In September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, world leaders agreed to a set of time-bound and measurable goals for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.  Placed at the heart of the global agenda, they are now called the Millennium Development Goals.” -- United Nations Department of Public Information, 2000.
In Charity Alive we will highlight each of the eight goals to be achieved by 2015, as agreed by the leaders of 189 countries.

Sisters Alice Mailman, Elaine Biollo and Katie Hamm attended the Vincentian Family Gathering in New Orleans in April. The theme for this years’ gathering was Solidarity in Action.  Here are a few stories of hope from the gathering. (Charity Alive, June 2008)