UK Team: What do you like most about working for the Thika Community Development Trust (TCDT)?
Lillian: Having been with TCDT for over three years now, there is nothing as fascinating and fulfilling as getting to witness success stories of our clients’ transformation in all spheres and specifically at the home fronts.  Getting to see especially women gaining financial independence as to make key decisions at the home and business fronts has added to my joy of looking forward to a new day whether at the office or in the field.

Our members too, have encouraged me by their positive support over the years and have all nicknamed us ‘Mwalimu’ or Teacher. This is change that can be seen, is felt and experienced. I am also very lucky to work in a Christian environment. This has been made possible by the mentorship of our very able Director whooccasionally organizes staff training sessions, as well as the warmth and support we offer each other as a team in the office.

UK Team: What’s the biggest challenge you face in 2012?
Lillian: There is the overwhelming number of Parish Vicars streaming in the office requesting we start new Trust (savings) Groups in their parishes. This means establishing new groups that require a lot of dedication to ensure a firm foundation for their sustained growth.  This is in addition to other regions of the country that are also requesting for our attention. The translation of some of the groups into FSAs (a registered form of community bank) also calls for closer and advanced monitoring as they handle larger portfolio volumes while offering key lessons to those that will be following. This is one area that I must ensure delivers tangible results.

I am the one directly in charge of the establishment of savings groups and training as well as extension services. However, these are challenges brought about by the exponential growth of the programme and we are all grateful for them as we remain steadfast in praying for sustained vigour and capacities as well as the continued strong partnership that we have had with Five Talents internationally to be able to decisively handle them.

UK Team: How many clients do I see in a typical day or week?
Lillian: 60% of my working time is spent in the office dealing with matters administrative, but I spent at least 2 days in a week in the field. While in the office I handle on average five clients in a day who are majorly Parish Vicars and representatives of the Groups. When out in the field I meet on average 70 clients/ two groups in a week.

UK Team: What do you do to relax and have fun with your family?
Lillian: My husband and I are trained environmentalists, so we love doing nature walks and visits to parks and other places where we feel one on one with ‘nature and ourselves’. When I have a free weekend, I dedicate it all to my young family especially after church for outings, and sometimes we just relax in the house and catch a movie. Occasionally when we can, we travel upcountry to catch up with the extended family.

Coming from Luxembourg and looking for a work experience within the microfinance sector, I was aware that London was a microfinance hub in Europe. I was therefore delighted when the opportunity arose to intern with Five Talents, whom I knew to have a good reputation, particularly in their mission to reach the most vulnerable communities. I am extremely pleased I came across this motivated and committed team.

My four month placement, was partly financed by a scholarship from the Leonardo da Vinci programme at the European Commission, and enabled me to obtain a clear overview of the sector.  Furthermore I used my free time to attend additional courses to supplement my technical knowledge.

The Five Talents team provided me with the necessary tools and resources required so that I could undertake the different tasks assigned to me on a day-to-day basis. This ranged from design work, researching new ways to enhance our financial and social indicators for our projects and also analysing some of the programme data.

I would really encourage anyone looking for some pro bono or volunteer work to contact this amazing and dedicated team.

By the end of my placement I made a lot of contacts in the microfinance sector which I hope to pursue going forward. My time with Five Talents has only made me more passionate about the use of microfinance as a tool for alleviating poverty in a sustainable manner. My next goal is to obtain more on-the-field experience and I hope this internship will provide me with a great platform to secure a job in this amazingly upcoming sector.

Sami Masri, Five Talents Intern

I am often asked ‘How Christian are you?’. Well, I hope you find the answer in our 10 principles reproduced below.

In short, we are motivated by our faith and work with others of like mind. This leads us to honour and serve  all peoples – irrespective of tribe or religion.  The global network of Anglican churches provides an excellent springboard or supervisor for microfinance programmes, being respectful of local culture and trusted by their communities.  In addition, the church is often present in rural and challenging areas of the world neglected by other organisations.

We don’t have a list of values framed on the wall of our office, but those who encounter us, see that we strive to be clear, transparent, excellent and with a care for the whole person, whether staff member, volunteer or client.

Anna Pienaar

Our Ten Principles for Partnership – Five Talents UK

1. We are motivated by God’s love to provide financial services that empower the enterprising poor to liberate their families from poverty.
2. We are committed to serving the poorest communities, to achieve real and lasting holistic, social impact in the lives our clients and their families.
3. We are committed to excellence in our work and relationships with our partners, to honesty and transparency, to client protection and social responsibility.
4. We do not use financial services or our influence as incentives to conversion.  We believe this is unethical and dishonouring to people as well as to God.
5. We do not use our faith as a ‘dividing line’ in the communities where we work (eg. providing better loan terms or larger loan sizes based on clients’ faith).  Five Talents, and our partners, provide financial services to the poor regardless of ethnicity, political affiliation or religion.
6. We are transparent about our Christian identity in our communication with all of our stakeholders incl. governments, donors, clients and partners.
7. We will work with partners who share the same Christian motivations and foundation, and who are recommended to us by and/or are in partnership with an Anglican Province or Diocese in the areas we are working in, or plan to work in according to our Programme Strategy.
8. We support partner organisations in their decision to hire indigenous staff.  We treat all UK and overseas staff and volunteers, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity or culture with dignity, and grant them the equal professional development opportunities appropriate for their position.
9. We expect our senior leaders to be highly professional and competent and we desire to see spiritual maturity, reflecting Christ-like values in their life and work.
10. We recognise the sensitivities and challenges partners have in contexts of great poverty and where other world religions are in the majority. Each partner will therefore have their own strategy for the appropriate and effective expression of their Christian motivation in their own context.

I was privileged to meet Prof. Muhammad Yunus on 25^th November 2011 in London.  As you know he is the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh and holder of the Nobel Peace Prize.

As a member of the Steering Group for the UK Microfinance Club, I was invited to meet Prof. Yunus, together with several other stakeholders to discuss setting up a new initiative: Grameen UK, to provide microcredit to the poor in the UK.

Prof. Yunus has made links with Glasgow Caledonian University and they have established the Yunus Centre for Social business and Health and the Grameen Scotland Foundation. The pilot microcredit branch will be in Glasgow targeting the estimated 200,000 unbanked population.

I was initially very sceptical about translating the Grameen model to the UK for four main reasons:

1. Banking Sector: The UK has a very advanced banking sector, with extensive financial access through branch networks, ATMs, internet and telephone banking. Do we really have that many unbanked people and do we really want to encourage greater indebtedness?
2. Welfare State: The UK has a very sophisticated welfare state, providing a safety net for the poor. Do people on state benefits really want to engage in micro-enterprises and microcredit?
3. Charity Sector: The UK has a large number of charities addressing social deprivation, inner city problems, youth and long term unemployment, social exclusion etc. – the issues are very complex and can Grameen really succeed where others have tried?
4. Cost-effectiveness: I was uncomfortable with the request to raise £1 million grant income for Grameen UK that will benefit 200 people directly in year 1, when I know that £1 million spent on Five Talents’ programmes in developing countries could equivalently help around 20,000 people or 100 times as many.

Technically, I also had questions about the business plan, particularly the sustainability of a UK microfinance operation.

1. Operational Costs: Wages of the UK loan officers, manager and accountant, together with office and transport costs are much higher than in a developing country setting. How could the income from loan interest payments be sufficient to cover these costs?
2. Interest: The rate of interest, declared to be 15% per annum, is similar to a UK credit card rate. Would borrowers choose this option, when there seem to be many alternatives available.
3. Interest Income: Can Grameen UK attract enough clients, to borrow enough money, to generate sufficient interest income to make it sustainable in the long run?

These are questions that we commonly address at Five Talents with all of our ongoing and new programmes. Even as a registered charity, we assess the sustainability – and shortfall – of our programme operations. If a programme is not sustainable, we need to know why and whether we wish to subsidise that work for ‘missional’ reasons.

However, the experience of Grameen America – launched in 2008 – demonstrates that the Grameen model can be adapted to advanced economy settings. They’re successfully working in the Bronx in New York, as well as Omaha and Indianapolis – serving 7,000 members (virtually all women) with group-based microcredit. Average loans are around $1,500 per person, with weekly repayments over 6-12 months with interest at 15% pa. Members have to run a small enterprise and there is a savings component, with training and mentoring delivered in group and centre meetings.

Having spoken to the man, heard his vision, and addressed my doubts, I have come away feeling inspired that once again, Prof. Yunus is taking on a tough challenge and I’m confident it will work. There will be many lessons and adaptations along the way. It will start small and start quickly. So watch out!

With the persistence and generosity of supporters, £40,335 has been given to launch a new work in the post-conflict community of Kitgum, Northern Uganda during 2012.  A big thank you from the Five Talents team.

This is particularly pleasing given the rush to give which overwhelmed the BigGive website and caused considerable aggravation.  On day one, supporters of all charities were met with a website that failed to co-operate and on days three, four and five, the pots of matched funding were exhausted within minutes. The BigGive have acknowledged the problems and apologised.

We are just thrilled that so many of our supporters did manage to give in the limited time-windows and helped raise such a large sum.

The team in Uganda have been wanting to expand into the fragile communities of the north for several years. The microfinance operation based in the south of the country is now self-sustaining, with interest on the loans covering the operating costs. This is terrific and expansion into the north will be a further boost to the team, bringing much needed financial services to communities that are now trying to get back on their feet.

Anthony McKernan

Five Talents participated in the Global Microcredit Summit meeting in Valladolid, Spain, along with 2,000 microfinance practitioners, networks, donors and investors from around the world.  Anna Pienaar, Five Talents UK Programme Manager, hosted an Associated Session on the topic ‘Does Faith Matter?’ along with Dr. Ajaz Ahmed Khan, an expert in Islamic microfinance, and Jafar Sabbah, the Executive Director of the Jerusalem Interest-Free Microfinance Fund.  Anna highlighted the focus of the worldwide church in responding to Jesus’ call to help the poorest, as well as the historical development of microfinance and current reach of Christian microfinance organisations.

Other sessions during the summit focused on the need for microfinance to remain true to its mission to help the poor, through implementing measures to improve social performance.  Speakers included Mohammed Yunus, Sam Daley-Harris, and Queen Sofia of Spain.

The MC Summit Campaign aims to serve 175m of the world’s poorest families with microcredit by 2015 (currently 137 million poor clients are being served, 113 of whom are women). Five Talents is a member of, and supports, the campaign.

Amidst the many microfinance practitioners and other stakeholders from around the world, it was clear that Five Talents is adopting the best practices of microfinance and seeking to adopt the latest industry lessons. It was also clear that Five Talents faces similar challenges in adequately measuring social performance and encouraging and demonstrating how clients are graduating up the poverty ladder.

Five Talents is amongst those in recognising the need for financial literacy and providing training in this area. Among the many approaches to microfinance across the world, the importance of self-managed savings groups and community-owned banks was highlighted.  These methodologies, adopted by many of Five Talents’ partners, enable community members to benefit and protect clients from exploitation.

Five Talents is remaining true to the mission to focus on the poorest underserved communities and partnering with the Anglican church to help reach those communities in an efficient and effective way.

Anna Pienaar, Programme Manager

The joint letter to the Times newspaper, co-signed by Five Talents and published on 8^th November 2011, reads as follows:

“Sir, the Church has always tried to engage with business and finance to benefit society in general, and to meet the needs of the poor and marginalised in particular. Jesus was a businessman for most of his adult life: as the elderly son in a family business he would have been making deals with customers and suppliers. Christian entrepreneurs such as George Cadbury, Joseph Rowntree and Jesse Boot were at the forefront of bringing social change alongside wealth creation in the 19^th century. Many Christians today work within mainstream business, attempting to be “salt and light”. Others run organisations, such as listed below, that are committed to using business and finance to bring social benefits, raise living standards and create jobs. By supporting businesses with a “triple bottom line” (financial, social, environmental) and by helping business leaders to posses money (and use it for good) without being possessed by it, we are part of the broader effort of the Church to reform capitalism by going to the root of the problem: the human heart.”

JERRY MARSHALL (Transformational Business Network); PETER HELSAM (Transforming business, University of Cambridge); TOM SANDERSON (Five Talents UK); DUNCAN PARKER (Ethical Goods); ANDREW TANSWELL (ThoughStuff International)

This letter to the Editor was stimulated by the anti-capitalist protests at St Paul’s Cathedral and the publication by the St Paul’s Institute of “Perceptions of Ethics in the City Today”.

It seems the Church and Business / Finance community are often uncomfortable companions. I believe that Five Talents helps to link the two: a Christian church-based charity using microfinance, business and enterprise as a tool for poverty alleviation. Many of our supporters are both Christians and finance or business professionals. They appreciate the economic realities of doing business and the opportunity that business provides for sustained improvements in living standards as well as having a strong motivation to help the poor in an ethical and empowering way.

The vocabulary of microfinance shares much of the language of business – words such as risk, credit, portfolio, deposits, defaults, and of course profits. In addition, Five Talents prioritises savings, training, transparency and livelihoods – ready to forgive un-repayable loans – and encouraging generosity and engagement from our supporters.

Five Talents has adopted a charitable model of microfinance where our supporters receive a social return on their “investment” not a financial one. We report on businesses expanded, jobs created and ultimately lives changed by our programmes. This donor-based approach allows Five Talents the luxury of subsidising small MFIs, helping them to scale up, focussing on the most needy communities where commercial microfinance fears to tread.

Our microfinance programmes in Sudan and Burundi are probably the most ‘frontier’ in this sense, working alongside the local church to reach communities (not just the Christians) with credibility and effectiveness. In fact all of the Five Talents programmes are reaching the “smaller, poorer, riskier” criteria – smaller loans to poorer people in more risky places than most other microfinance providers.

Some of the principles of microfinance are relevant to today’s mainstream financial crisis: thorough business planning and credit risk appraisal; avoidance of multiple lending and over-indebtedness; encouragement of savings and emergency planning. Maybe macro-finance could learn a thing or two from micro-finance. And maybe Five Talents can help to bridge the gap between Church and finance.

Tom Sanderson, UK Director

KUAJOK SOUTH SUDAN: So we are sleeping in a cell with no bathroom, no water, no power, the door locks with a padlock from the outside, and from the inside you just slide a bar over. There is a 4 poster bed, with mosquito netting, a hat rack and a plastic coffee table–no chairs. Let’s just say it is rustic, it is hot, and this morning’s ride out was teeth jarring, bone rattling and organ shifting. Wow, this is pretty far out–and YET, there is an internet cafe that for 8 Pounds South Sudanese (about $2) I can get an hour of internet time!

There are many people in here–called a cafe, but they don’t sell food.

So I’ve thought of a BUSINESS PLAN:  Buy a satellite Dish and a generator and you can open an internet café!

As we came here to teach Christian business principles to the locals, we found another great example of a small business.  A boy of 7 or 8, with an antifreeze jug pierced to hold a loop of string hung around his neck.  He cut a door in the back side of the plastic container and from it pulled a few cloths, a brush and some neutral colored shoe polish.  He placed himself just next to the front door of what appears to be one of the only restaurants in town.  While we ate lunch, I watched him shine 5 pairs of shoes, mine included.  Since my topsiders were being worn without socks, he brought me a pair of flip-flops (here called ‘bathroom slippers’) to wear while he shined my shoes.

When he finished, he brought them to his customers, collected his fee (1 South Sudanese Pound—worth about a quarter) and moved on.  He repacked his kit, slung it around his neck and headed to the outdoor pavilions of this same restaurant to find more customers.  In this 30 minute period, if you annualize his income, for working 6 days a week for only one hour, he would earn approximately 1,500 Pounds—almost $400 (about double the average per capita income in this very poor country).

It is businesses much like the shoe shine boy that we are here to train folks to start and run.  Low cost businesses that can succeed with very little capital and a little bit of effort and thought.  This young boy, without taking our training, followed our strategies of improving customer service, operating from a good Location, and providing a quality product at a good price.  I wish I could say I trained him!

Kuajok was quite an experience.  The students came from a cross section of community leaders.  We had a Presbyterian pastor, the female head of a Sudanese-based NGO, a Nun from the local Roman Catholic Diocese and other leaders in the community.  The promise these students made to us at the conclusion of our two day training was that they would “teach these things to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2).”

Was it worth it to be out of the USA for 15 days to teach 65 individuals in two small towns in South Sudan?  In God’s economy, if they fulfill the commitment made, it is a great investment and I am delighted to have left my law practice and come to South Sudan to be involved in this next step in growing the church, by assisting them to make a living.

If you speak English, can read a simple curriculum and Love God enough to trust him to care for you, then I encourage you to get involved as a trainer or a sender, or just a supporter.

Those are my impression of my first Five Talents trip.

Tim Purnell

Re-posted by the U.K Office

How Do You Build a Country?

I’m writing this note from the lounge of the Imperial Hotel in Juba, South Sudan, the capital city of the newest country in the world.  South Sudan officially became a separate nation from the Sudan on July 9, 2011, drawing a close (sort of) to a conflict that lasted for over 20 years before a peace treaty was signed in 2005, ultimately leading to South Sudan’s recent independence.  It has been an incredibly long and difficult journey for these amazing people.

South Sudan is home to some of the greatest contrasts I have ever seen in the world.  A country roughly the size of Texas, it has a population “guesstimated” at about 8 million, mostly clustered in the extreme south along the borders with Kenya and Uganda.  Further north, where we have been on this trip, you can fly for long periods without seeing any sign of civilization.  Only the occasional isolated Tukul interrupts the unbroken landscape.  Even the wild animals left during the civil war, apparently because of the fighting.  It is a huge, largely empty country, although it has vast natural resources.

It is also one of the most impoverished nations in the world.  The list of “first place” standings for this country can be really depressing – one of the highest illiteracy and child mortality rates, appalling health statistics, and more.

And yet, aid (particularly relief) is pouring in from around the world.  Juba is like a gold rush town.  Western style (well, sort of) hotels are springing up everywhere, they are busy paving roads and building offices, and the number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating here is staggering. The UN even operates a quasi-airline called UN Humanitarian Air Services just to shuttle NGO people around.  It is a busy place!

For all that activity, however, there is very little visible effort teaching people to earn a living in a sustainable way.  All of those basics are crucial, of course, but it seems to me that any effort that does not acknowledge people’s need ultimately to stand on their own abilities is inadequate.  That is where Five Talents comes in.  Our work here, in conjunction with World Concern and the Mothers’ Union, is aimed at helping people with a hand up, not a handout.  Our hope is that this combination of savings groups and business training will lead our clients to a future that will create jobs, fight poverty, and transform lives.  I think we are helping to make that start here!

As we finished our training session in Kuajok this week, one of the students asked me for my impression of South Sudan.  My answer to him was that I saw a place where the people have literally nothing, and yet the enthusiasm, energy, and optimism is so prevalent in the air that you can literally feel it everywhere.  Combine that attitude with their natural resources, some capital, and a little business training, and it is enough to make me hopeful about their future.  They do indeed have a difficult road ahead, but with God’s grace, I think they can do it!

I am so grateful to have been on this trip, and to have seen a land in the midst of an amazing transformation.  I have travelled with two wonderful teammates, Tim Purnell and Stoddard Lane-Reticker.  I have enjoyed the journey, and have learned much from both of them.  It has been a trip I will not soon forget.

Jim Oakes

Re-posted by the U.K Office