January 2012
At the close of the 2011 calendar year the programs at Beracah were thriving. The Microloan Program saw 51 families join the program with forty-eight loan recipients paying back their first loan on-time and only three defaulting. The 48 families with on time payback have gone on to receive a second loan in early 2012.
Within the Education and Orphan Support program 8 of the children are taking the grade 12 exams and will be graduating from the program. There are an additional 30 students enrolled in High School, 67 students in Middle School, 92 in Basic School and 11 infants who are not yet in school. Currently Beracah has 200 children being supported by the Education and Orphan Support program.
Overall, Bright Hope is very encouraged by the progress that Beracah is making and the way they are able to assess their own progress and make changes. The impact on church development has been excellent. Children are graduating from the orphan program and despite having a few people who defaulted on their loans; the microloan program is doing exactly what it was designed for: raising families out of poverty and enabling them to stand and grow on their own. Next year will mark the first time families will be graduating off of the program bringing hope to the rest of the participating families for what is possible.
October 2011
A Note on the Beracah Board from Carmen Brubacher, Partnership Developer to Zambia:
While attending the workshop for loan officers, I was able to observe the Beracah Board in action and was impressed with their servant hearts. Throughout the workshop it was the Board Members who were organizing and serving meals, running to the market to get supplies and generally making sure that the participants all had what they needed. The Board also visits each of their children on the program once a month, even though Beracah has Care Givers that also visit the children. It is a rare thing to see such service from leaders in Zambia. Beracah has really set a great example of leadership in their area.
June 2011
In May, Beracah organized a Loan Officer training for their volunteers. Six Loan Officers and 22 Care Givers were trained. The training was facilitated by the Micro Loan staff from Samfya Community of Care Providers (SCCP). The three day training focused on a number of topics including: Poverty and the Churches responsibility to the poor, Leadership, Group management, Business proposals, Ledger and record keeping.
One challenge that Beracah has had to face with the administration of the loan program is the geographical size of the project area. The Board designed a three tier management structure. At the Church level, there is a Care Giver. The Care Giver is responsible for visiting the orphans and will now also run the loan groups for his or her church. The next level up is the Zone level, with one Micro Loan Officer coordinating the Care Givers in his/her zone. Each of the 6 Zone Loan Officers reports to a coordinator who handles all the banking for the groups.
February 2011
You've heard about micro-loans, but have you ever wondered what these people actually do with the money? Why are micro-loans such a big deal? How can $33 change anyone's life? I'm glad you asked.
I'd like you to meet Rebecca. She and her husband live in Zambia with their five children. Early this year she received one of those $33 micro-loans from Beracah. And to paint you a picture, here's what she's been doing with it:
$4.80 buys the ingredients to make a day's worth of donuts to sell at the market. Each day she makes $7. Profit: $15 a week. $22 is the cost for a bundle of smoked fish. She buys one a week and sells the lot for $32. Profit: $10 a week. $16 buy four gallons of dried minnows. With her small mark-up she sells them all for $22. Profit: $6 a week.
Within two months Rebecca had paid back her loan and qualified for the next loan of $133. She took half the money and increased her inventory at the market and her husband used the rest to plant a large maize crop.
Rebecca's family moved from living on less than $1 a day to $4 a day! And that's all it takes for her to be able to send the children to school, put food on the table and think about new clothes! Even more, at the end of the day, Rebecca can feel proud of her accomplishment. It was her hard work and not a hand-out that transformed their family.
