Promoting better health, diet and hygiene

Lendwithcare’s partners typically accompany loans with a range of other services. These include offering savings accounts, insurance and money transfer as well as providing training in basic bookkeeping, financial literacy and marketing. 

Delivery of a workshop to FACES customers by Laura Sarango 

However, they also focus on the general well being of borrowers. Recognising that poor health can adversely impact on the ability of borrowers to work, care for their families and develop their small businesses, lendwithcare’s partner in Ecuador, Fundacion de Apoyo Comunitario y Social del Ecuador(FACES) raises awareness of health, diet and hygiene issues.

FACES decided that since many of its clients, women in particular, only possessed a few years of formal schooling and were sometimes only semi-literate, in addition to disseminating information through specially designed pictorial leaflets, it would also invite clients to regular workshops where health and related issues can be discussed in a relaxed environment.

At least once a month Laura Sarango, who works as social responsibility assessor for FACES, holds a workshop entitled ‘Healthy habits’ in one of the many rural communities where FACES works in southern Ecuador. Generally, around twenty borrowers aged between 25 and 60 years old attend the workshops and around four-fifths of participants are women. The workshop begins by asking participants to list the most common illnesses that affect them and their families; it discusses their symptoms and causes, and then goes on to discuss their prevention and cure.

Laura explains “many of the most common illnesses such as diarrhoea, which is more frequent among children, can easily be prevented through better hygiene practices such as washing hands and also food before cooking and eating, keeping rubbish bins covered and making water safe before drinking it”. However, she goes on to mention, “because of the increased incidence of chronic illnesses in recent years, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and prostate and breast cancer, we encourage all participants to visit their local health centres and take advantage of free check-ups”.  The workshops are participative and all those attending are encouraged to share their own experiences and ask questions. So far, almost five hundred people have benefitted from attending the voluntary two-hour workshops. The workshops are not restricted to borrowers; indeed borrowers often invited friends, neighbours and relatives to attend as well.

Many of the participants are small-scale farmers or at least have small plots of land surrounding their homes. They are reminded of the importance of growing and consuming their own vegetables and fruits. Laura comments “occasionally, I come across farmers growing only cash crops or selling all that they produce and buying basic foods such as maize and beans, even when it would be much cheaper to grow these items very easily themselves”. She adds that one of the most frustrating aspects is when she lays out refreshments for the participants, “I deliberately offer both healthy and cheap options such as fruit, vegetables and fresh juices as well as unhealthy expensive options such as fizzy colas, cakes and French fries. Unfortunately most participants choose the latter although I go on to explain to them the economic and nutrition benefits of favouring the former”. As well as discussing what constitutes a balanced diet and the types and quantities of food participants should eat, Laura also focuses on children’s diet and ensuring that they have a good breakfast before going to school. She remarks “we found that although children are generally eating well in rural areas, in urban areas they are often simply having a glass of milk for breakfast and then snacking on sweets during the day at school”.  Laura invariably remains behind after the workshops have finished, as some participants prefer to ask questions on sensitive issues such as reproductive health privately.

The workshops have proved to be very popular and the aim is to eventually cover all of the parishes in southern Ecuador where FACES is operational.

By Dr Ajaz Ahmed Khan, Lendwithcare Microfinance Advisor

Making loans & changing lives for three years

Three years ago CARE International UK launched its innovative peer-to-peer lending platform, lendwithcare.org with the aim of helping people in developing countries work their own way out of poverty and to promote financial inclusion among low-income sectors of the population. Through the lendwithcare website, lenders can make small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries to help them start or expand a small business.  

Since launch and with the fantastic support of The Co-operative (who put together and designed this infographic) and our wonderful lenders we are proud to say we have have achieved so much ...

Muddy Bricks and Trainers

Thank God I didn’t buy new shoes!

All the roads in the “centre” of town are paved, and although crumbling at the sides where the pedestrians walk, there is not much drama walking around. The road outside my guesthouse which leads me to one of these wonderfully, albeit crumbling paved roads, is no such vision of convenience. The road outside my guesthouse is a soil track that every day is worked upon to try and turn it into a concrete one. Every day I win/attempt to win small battles with this road. Being soil, it gets everywhere so, there is not much point in hoping I’ll arrive either at work or at home without also carrying one, maybe two coats of terracotta dust with me. 

My challenges lie in whatever task to build the road the day brings; giant heaps of soil piled so high, and so wide it’s like walking around roundabouts; large, deep holes the width of the road so I’ve got to use my spidey fingers to cling onto a wall for fear of falling in; but worst of all, is when they work with water. It averages every other day, usually when I’m on my way home, and sees the road swimming. Water plus soil turns the surface into clay which I get the privilege of walking through. Squelch, squelch, squelch, all the way home. 

Needless to say, I’ll be throwing my trainers away after my time here. Two weeks in, nine to go. I got straight to work which I am really enjoying. I'm not getting any complaints and I’ve even been asked by the finance manager to help him with a private project; setting up a school for very poor children in the area. The job of creating and implementing the procedures for lendwithcare have not taken as long as everyone anticipated which I am happy about, as it means most of my time will be spent monitoring, and training the officer we hire to takeover from me.

Week one I visited some of our clients in Chipata. On the Tuesday morning I was given a motorbike helmet. I stood with a deadpan expression and everyone laughed as I asked them to tell my family and friends that I love them were anything to happen to me. On the back of the bike I went and once we had turned our second corner, driven over our second “speed bump” I relaxed, thighs fully clenched, into the ride. I was expecting a 20 minute journey so 60 minutes later, as we arrived at the client meeting, I clambered down from the bike and stumbled over to meet the Safwa group…my thighs were a little shaky.

What a welcome to their life! First thing I did was use their toilet - a drop hole similar to ones I used as a child in the mountains in Cyprus - and watched as if in slow motion my sunglasses unhooked themselves from my t-shirt and fell down the hole...oops! Everyone thought this was quite funny and a wonderful way to introduce myself. They were all so happy and excited to meet me, and I too with them. They laughed as I repeated their greeting to them: mulibwanji. At first I thought they were laughing at the mzungu trying to speak their language – apparently not! I was not meant to repeat, but instead reply nilibwinomulibwanj. How was I supposed to know!

House construction

After a prayer, the loan officer I had travelled with started the meeting; a repayment and an ‘importance of savings’ meeting. At the end he translated some questions I had for the women; what impact the loans had made, for them and their family; what the consensus was among the community about women becoming the breadwinners. All very positive answers. These loans had clearly changed their lives and they wanted to be sure that I felt their gratitude. They even sang a song about me to which we all clapped and danced to. I felt so honoured by their welcome and kept reiterating that MicroLoan, and already some lendwithcare lenders, may have given them their loans, but they were the ones working each day to see their businesses succeed.

My favourite, if it’s ok to say I had a favourite, was the group’s treasurer; it seemed as though her eyes could tell a thousand stories but still looked young, and hopeful. Throughout my time with them she was smiling at me. She initiated the song they sang and kept engaging with me. She was generating enough profit from her business to allow her to start building a second house for her family; for her son when he grows up. Clearly the proud mother, she took me to see the work in progress and in only a short period of time the foundations had been laid, and the outer walls were being built.

My second visit was not as successful as my first and although I did not meet any clients, I did learn quite a lot. The women had not turned up for the meeting – a common problem as many of them are busy working. My driver/rider this time round was much more talkative – something I was a bit worried about; whenever he spoke to me on the bike we would end up swerving left and right. We passed “briefcase businessmen” traveling the quiet roads to Malawi with sacks and sacks of mealie meal to which he gave me a detailed lesson on the mealie meal market. Mealie meal is white maize flour that is eaten religiously as nshima. Nshima can be eaten like porridge for breakfast or as the highlight at dinner time. When made up it looks a bit like mashed potato but is the consistency of putty. It is eaten with almost every meal, with hands, torn off like bread and dipped into sauces. I’ve made some myself and it is yummy! Mealie meal costs twice as much in Malawi, as it does in Zambia. Being so close to the border, it is quite common to see these trucks, laden with their sacks of mealie meal, travelling the quieter roads to get to Malawi’s markets.

I was also taught how they make bricks. It is a predominantly male job and sees soil wetted, and moulded into a rectangular brick shape and then then lain out to dry (covered with leaves if it get too hot to prevent cracking). Once they are dry, they are arranged into a large pile (so that it looks almost like a small room), covered with mud and a fire is lit inside. This turns the mound into an oven. This sets the bricks and their colour changes…to a lighter terracotta. And voila! Bricks to build your house. It is very common to see these mud covered piles in every small congregation of houses/ mud huts with thatched roofing. They stand next to houses, and are only distinguishable by their dark, mud coating. Otherwise they are the same size as the houses.

So now that you are all experts on the local cuisine and the construction industry I will say bye bye as I'm worried I may have lost some of you to this essay, and I need to go back to cleaning the mud from my shoes!!!

This article was originally posted on the Microloan Foundation blog.

Home Away from Home in Chipata, Zambia

Emma Chase, a Microloan Foundation volunteer, has posted a great snapshot of life in Chipata, Zambia where she is currently helping to set-up the lendwithcare.org partnership.

“We would like to offer you the opportunity to travel to Zambia and help set up our lendwithcare initiative”. I received something to this account a few weeks ago whilst on holiday with my boyfriend. I immediately started grinning like a Cheshire cat, he was a little less enthusiastic. Three months working in Zambia – I was excited!

Emma's 'home away from home'

I’ve been here in Chipata, close to the Zambia/Malawi border for 4 days now and it already feels like a home away from home.

I was picked up by one of the team at MicroLoan Zambia and we drove from the airport in Lilongwe, Malawi for about 3 hours through undulating, terracotta landscape. On our drive we overtook many cyclists that populate the road carrying a variety of objects from bags of cement, bikes for repair, and more loaves of bread than a UK supermarket stores. I was lucky in that as we were approaching Chipata the sun was beginning to set and the light cast a warm glow over the town.  A lovely first impression of where I am to call my home for the next few months.

Work began early the next day. I was introduced to all the staff at the Zambian headquarters and got straight to work with the finance manager to put together a schedule and discuss lendwithcare. Everyone is very excited about the project and keen to make it work. I will begin by spending time in the regional branches, meeting the women entrepreneurs and seeing how the organisation works as a whole. Then will come the task of trying to work lendwithcare into it.

The view from the office

My first weekend was spent getting to know the place – more importantly, where to buy food and figuring out how to cook it! I am pleased to announce that I am the proud owner of a hotplate and kettle and have successfully cooked popcorn! 

Chipata is in the eastern province of Zambia and as you drive from Malawi, it is the first town you get to. It sprawls out from the Great East Road and I am coming to learn that you can get anything off this road; hotels, supermarkets, the hospital. If in doubt, just walk along the road and you will soon reach what you are looking for.  I learned this as I searched for the Saturday market – it’s actually an everyday market but more sellers are there at the weekend. 

Delicious popcorn

Not only did I know I had found it because I saw stalls, but because I saw bucket upon bucket of potatoes, tomatoes, dried beans, and silver, shiny objects that look like jewellery – in fact they are dried kapenta (a type of sardine). They look like pieces of silver until you get up close and see that they are in fact small fish. They are a hugely important staple to the area (Mozambique and Zimbabwe included) as they provide a refrigeration-free protein. I’m yet to try them as I forgot to bring any money out, but I’m looking forward to it!

View from the front door

The compound I am staying in has a little bit of everything; the apartment style rooms I am staying in, a campsite, conference centre where I think I heard a congregation singing and preaching on Saturday, a large bar with pool tables and a covered patio. There is a communal eating room where guests and visitors can sample local food. I am definitely going to ask the chefs if I can watch them cook and get some tips to bring back home. On Sunday evening I joined a group of visitors to watch the football; Zambia vs Zimbabwe - they get almost as excited as the Brits, almost! The only downside I’ve encountered so far are the spiders in my room and bathroom – although my mother says they make very good listeners! – and the way the dust gets everywhere. It’s a very pretty terracotta colour but it is turning me slowly orange.

Back to business;  today has been spent working out the logistics of the role, better understanding the difficulties of the organisation and tomorrow is my first day “in the field.” My mode of transport is a motorbike(!) and I will spend the day with the loan officers; getting to know how they go about their work, and meeting the entrepreneurs. I am quite excited to meet some of the women that MicroLoan work with…who knows, maybe I’ll try my first kapenta.

This article was originally posted on the Microloan Foundation blog.

We did it! £3m of lendwithcare loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries!

The past year has seen phenomenal growth at lendwithcare.org. At that stage we were celebrating £1m of loans made. In March this year we commemorated the doubling of that monumental amount! And I am thrilled to tell you that last week, on 30^thAugust 2013, we smashed through that and our 3 millionth pound was lent by Sharon from Suffolk to Mrs Essowouna Simbama from Togo! Thus far, lendwithcare lenders have:

•        Made over 80,000 loans
•         To fully fund over 5,000 entrepreneurs
•         From seven different developing countries

Supporting more and more entrepreneurs to improve their lives and create a better future for them and for their families.

Astounding, isn’t it?  This achievement is the work of our fantastic lenders – congratulations and thank you for your support!

By Teresa Hall, Lendwithcare Volunteer

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