Spirit in Action

The best part about talking to librarians is that they know about books on almost any topic! It was through a librarian friend that I heard about the children’s book One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway and Eugene Fernandes. This beautifully illustrated book tells the inspiring story of a boy in Ghana, named Kojo, who starts a small business with a loan to buy one chicken.

The book, for children and adults alike, clearly shows how micro-finance works to change the lives of a family, community, town and country. On the grassroots level, people in a community pool their savings together to create a small loan fund. As the story explains “None of the twenty families in the village have very much money, but they do have a good idea. Each family promises to save a bit of money so that one family can borrow all the savings to buy something important” (p.7). The families take turns borrowing the money to start or expand their businesses. When they pay back the loan, another family gets a chance to borrow the funds.

SIA small business grant recipient in Kenya with her chickens

This idea is what Spirit in Action calls a “merry-go-round” loan or a micro-savings group. In fact, one of the grant proposals approved at the June 2010 Board meeting helps establish a small-scale chicken project in Malawi, where the profits are added to the micro-savings pot, to be lent to different communities members on a rotating basis.

Giving people a chance to borrow money gives them a chance to make an investment in their future. In the story, which is based on the real life story of Kwabena Darko, Kojo borrows a few coins to buy one chicken. He takes care of the chicken, selling its eggs in the market so that he can pay back the loan and buy more chickens to expand his flock. He and his mom also eat some of the eggs to add more protein to their diets. After a year Kojo has made enough to go to school!

Kojo and his mom also benefit emotionally from the initial loan. “Kojo is proud of his eggs. And his mother is proud of Kojo. Bit by bit, one small hen is making a big difference” (p. 11).

Del Anderson knew just how much a few words of encouragement could bring hope to a person’s life. People who know they are loved and supported are more confident in all their enterprises! That’s why, for SIA, sharing and communicating with all our international partners is an important part of our mission. As Del always reminded people: Don’t let impossibilities intimidate you ~ do let possibilities motivate you.

This women's small poultry business experienced high demand for eggs

If you want to find out about just how successful Kojo is in his chicken enterprise, why not check out One Hen? And then read it to a friend or a child and get them thinking about how one small gift can make a significant difference in our world.

What difference can the gift of one pig make? One of the key components of SIA’s Small Business Fund (SBF) is the concept of “Sharing the Gift”, which encourages groups that receive small business grants from SIA to pay it forward to others in their community.

As Boyd Cothran wrote in the Fall 2009 SIA Newsletter, “We take small amounts and give entrepreneurs in developing countries the opportunity to succeed. We don’t ask that they pay us back but that they use their success to give someone else in their community a chance to get ahead.”

The following story, written by SIA SBF Malawi Coordinator Canaan Gondwe, shows that one small act of generosity can put a new roof over a family’s head.

Winkly Mahowe with a family size of four entered the SIA SBF program in 2007 through the Sharing of the Gift program. The family received one piglet of seven months old in May. It was indeed a small beginning and it was as if there will be small impact. But today, the impact on the family is big and there are celebrations all over for this achievement.

In Malawi, 75% of the households live in houses that are grass-thatched and very small in size. Most people are not well accommodated especially these low-income earners. These houses leak during rainy season. Most of these households can’t afford the iron-roofed house and it really becomes a miracle to attain such a house in this category of people.

After successfully benefiting from the gift, the pig in 2008 gave birth two times in the year and there were 19 piglets (11 female and 8 male). These were sold at three months of age at the cost of MK 5000/each (USD$32). Money realized was MK 95000 (USD$626)! The family bought 38 iron sheets of 12 feet. In the year 2009 the pig farrowed twice again to 16 piglets and they were sold at MK 5000/each and the family realized again MK 80000 (USD$527) and bought 32 iron sheets. Total iron sheets were now 70 and now they have built a house and roofed it.

For a long time, the family was struggling financially to get the iron sheets and through the Sharing of the Gift of SIA they have managed. It is smiles on the family as they no longer stay in a house that does not leak. The family is thankful to the program as they can witness the love of Christ emanating within fellow Malawians.

Here is a state of the field update from SIA Small Business Coordinator Canaan Gondwe in Malawi. Canaan reports on the progress and real change he has seen and experienced in his community through SIA and praises SIA volunteer coordinators for keeping our administrative costs so low!

Man repairs a bicycle in Malawi

Five solid years have elapsed since SBF – Mzimba group was launched. The years have been characterised by business groups showing the entrepreneurial spirit where creativity and innovativeness have taken centre stage. To date 54 business groups have been established and grown to impacting the lives of the youth, HIV Positive people, less privileged, and women headed households (widows). These members are able to survive economically on the incomes and have created jobs for themselves. GOD BLESS SIA.

SIA has revolutionized the lives of poor of the poorest in our community. Many have a praise song in their heart. The participating members are ablbe to see God through the program. What is more intresting to me as a Coordinator is the change that has taken place in these people. IT IS POSITIVE CHANGE, THIS IS TRANSFORMATION AT ITS BEST.

Also what is so good to me is that SIA IS NOT an expensive initiative compared with these other so called Development institutions. They have huge administrative funds for the implementation of community projects, yet SIA has sponsors in the US AND Volunteer coordinators in the community with BIG CHANGES ON PARTICIPATING BUSINESS GROUPS.

In Gods love,

CANAAN GONDWE

MZIMBA, MALAWI

New store in Malawi