News & UpdatesWomen's Microfinance Initiative Update - July/August 2009
FACT BOOK ON WMI PROGRAM
NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE For the past 18 months WMI has been colleting demographic and other data on the borrowers in the loan program. This summer, WMIs college interns analyzed the information collected and prepared the 50 slide Factbook: Borrower Profile and Loan Impact Data. The Fact Book provides a snapshot of the women the WMI program serves and asses the impact the loans have had on their lives.
SAS, Inc. in Cary NC generously provided, free of charge, software licenses for its JMP analytical product, which the interns used to develop visual presentations of the data. The results were startling. On entering the loan program, 99% percent of borrowers and their families lived in extreme poverty, most subsisting on less than 50 cents a day. After taking out their first loans, borrowers saw a dramatic leap in their monthly income. With 85% of borrowers reporting monthly revenue of $150 or more, the loan program has significantly and immediately improved borrowers earning capacity.
Over two-thirds of
borrowers find it difficult, very difficult or extremely
Borrowers generally live in their own mud-floored homes, in 3 or fewer rooms. Most have farm tools, farm animals, some furniture and a radio.
The majority could not provide shoes for all their children. The cooking fuel is overwhelmingly wood that is gathered, most access water from a contaminated pipe, and candles most frequently provide the only light after sunset. Nearly 100% of borrowers utilize some form of pit latrine. These statistics help paint a portrait of the baseline living conditions of borrowers entering the loan program.
The good news is that the loans have had an overwhelmingly positive impact on the women and their families. Most borrowers had family members helping with their business. With their income, borrowers cement their mud floors, purchase additional farm animals and acquire some furniture. Borrowers savings rate increased. They saved for emergencies, medical care, and to expand their businesses. Borrowers reading and writing skills and personal skills improved: they are more self-confident, organized and determined.
When you have a few minutes to take a look at the Fact Book you will find a wealth of information on the borrowers and the loan program, presented in easy to read graphs and charts. This research is providing direction on where and how to expand the loan program and it has contributed to the limited body of original research on the impact of microfinance programs. The interns did an excellent job managing this project and were ably assisted by statistical consultant Mira Shapiro and WMIs Vie-President, Jane Erickson.
Follow the link to the Fact Book, and the shorter Quick Profile of 20 slides: http://www.wmionline.org/dataanalysis/profile/profile.html
Discovery Communication has donated 15 lap top computers for the Internet Caf project. Discovery is also in the midst of a $5,000 fundraising campaign to electrify the building with solar panels. This is an important pre-requisite as the existing grid is unreliable and so expensive that it is not an option. Solar is also a green technology and the type of example WMI wants to set. With the building electrified, it can be used in the evenings to provide Internet services.
Click here to access 2008 News & Updates
WMI HIGH SCHOOL INTERNSHIP IN BUYOBO SUMMER
2010
Two of this summers interns in Bethesda, Montana Stevenson and Laura Van Oudenaren, researched and developed the itinerary for the trip and will act as chaperones, along with Mr. Mathis. WMI believes this Internship Program will be very popular and plans to expand it to more public and private high schools in the Bethesda area after gathering information from the initial trip.
Interns in Buyobo bring all of their skills and knowledge to perform specific tasks for WMI in the village on a volunteer basis. They bring unprecedented access to a different culture and new ideas. Villagers love to talk to them; the children follow them everywhere; and, borrowers benefit from showing them their businesses and asking questions about how things are done in America. Students with high school degrees from developed countries have well-honed organizational skills that have proven to be a boon for Buyobo college students bring an additional level of sophistication that has helped propel the WMI loan program into developing valuable research and new services. Interns are an extremely cost effective, high return resource and they bring unquantifiable benefits in terms of cultural exchange. WMI wants to expand its ability to harness the energy and input of high school and college interns, starting with this internship next summer.
CHILDRENS LIBRARY 1,000 BOOKS
SHIPPED
This summer, students in the Bethesda area conducted a book drive for WMI and collected over 1,500 volumes. This included nearly 100 atlases generously donated by Pyle Middle School students. Christina Esposito and her girl scout troupe led a band of volunteers, including many Carderock neighbors, as they covered the paperbacks with plastic protectors, created a computer inventory, and inserted library check-out pockets in the back. The first suitcase of 100 books made its way to Buyobo with a WMI supporter this past June, and the women were overjoyed to receive them. This latest shipment will provide an enormous boost to the educational resources available to the children of Buyobo.
The Towards Sustainability Foundation has generously awarded WMI a $12,000 unrestricted grant for 2010 projects and program services. TSF awarded WMI a grant of $8,500 last year to construct the building in Buyobo. WMI is extremely grateful for TSFs confidence in WMIs ability to achieve its mission and goals and appreciates the Foundations ongoing support of our work. We are very pleased to be developing solid relationships with non-profit donors who are interested in our efforts to combat global poverty.
WMI Board of Directors
Women's Microfinance Initiative Update - May/June 2009
WMI ON YOUTUBE BUILDING COMPLETE BETHESDA INTERNS Laura Van Oudenaren (Davidson); Montana Stevenson (UVA); Bryan Norris (Davidson); Liz Scroggs (Tulane); Alex Richardson (Oberlin); David Jaffe (Wheaton College); and, Victoria Stevenson (Tufts), in charge of support services. They have been working steadily since the beginning of June on a very complicated statistical analysis project. Using licenses for the JMP software program that were generously provided free of charge by parent company SAS in Cary, N.C., they are analyzing data from the WMI semi-annual surveys to create a profile of the borrowers in the loan program and to measure the program's impact. The interns are also researching and preparing grant applications and working on WMI's web site and media content. They are all terrific and WMI is benefiting enormously from their willingness to dedicate their time and energy to working on our loan program. BUYOBO INTERNS Tobin and Dani worked on automating the WMI records and provided Olive with Excel spreadsheet training. Olive has been attending computer training school and with Dani and Tobin with her for a month, she made rapid progress. The interns launched the WMI tutoring program with 40 children for an hour each day. They reported that the children were angels and eager for the help with their schoolwork. WMI provided notebooks, pencils and some simple workbooks. The woman paid 1,000 shillings per week for each child - which is about 50 cents. We believe that the improvement programs that WMI launches must be working toward sustainability. The small fee helped support the program and it helped the women put a value and spending priority on education for their children. The tutoring program will continue in the fall. BORROWER PROFILES Namono Lakeri - Purple Group Namono is strong, motivated, and a true business woman. When the rain starts to pour at a group meeting it is she who is suddenly there with a bag of second hand jackets, ready to capitalize on the turn in events and collect those extra shillings that go a long way. In 1996 Namono became a widow, her husband becoming yet another victim of AIDS. For years she struggled to support herself and five children on the small coffee plantation left by her husband, until she was eventually forced to begin selling second hand clothing as well to make ends meet. With the introduction of WMI, Namono took out a much needed 300,000 shilling loan to expand her second hand clothing business to the productive enterprise it is today. Currently all her children are able to go to school, and she even has enough left over to enjoy little luxuries, like milk for tea, which was beyond their reach before. JULY LOAN ROUND LIBRARY PROGRESS The first shipment of 100 books has already landed in Uganda, via the Enid Burki Suitcase Express. It included over 25 youth atlases donated by Pyle Middle School students - and at least 50 more have been collected. This will be an enormous resource for the local school, which will be able to borrow the atlases for lessons. WMI will be able to ship a large quantity of books at the end of July with a family that is relocating to Uganda for the next several years. If you have any books you would like to contribute, you can drop them off at the Carderock Club House: 8200 Hamilton Springs Court in Bethesda or e-mail Kathy at: staudaher@verizon.net . FUEL EFFICIENT STOVES CONGRESSIONAL VISITS Please feel free to contact any board members with your input. Thank you so much for your ongoing interest and support. We are all helping change the face of poverty, one loan at a time. Gratefully, WMI Board of Directors
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