Update on micro credit projects

Thailand, December 14 2009


A warm "Mingalaba" to all my friends!


We have recently returned to Thailand after a long and beautiful journey through Burma, with time spent delivering your generous donations and establishing new projects across the country!


Micro credits have proved to be an overwhelming success!


Word has spread swiftly through towns and villages, leading to the number of loans being approved more than doubling in less than seven months. We couldn't have hoped for more!



Micro credits have allowed the local people to implement simple but effective business ideas, providing not only much needed income, but also a sense of pride and empowerment. We now have almost 200 families across Burma, benefiting from loans, creating them all a more stable present and a brighter future.


Further to the loans, all the children of those participating in the scheme are offered the opportunity to win a financial reward if they gain top grades in school, thus encouraging excellence in education.


There are too many tales to tell, but we have selected some special stories and my friend has done a great job writing them down. At the end of the email you can find these success stories!

Most importantly we would like to express our thanks to the people of Burma, who have dedicated themselves to making this scheme a success, choosing applicants, ensuring 100% repayment, meticulous accounting, auditing and more.


We are so very proud of their achievement - we couldn't have done it without them!


With Christmas coming and the New Year fast approaching it is time to promote our 2010 calendar!


Our goal for the new year is to establish a large network in one of the poorest areas of Burma - it will be a huge undertaking and to succeed we will need your help!


$100 is the average size of one loan, and makes the difference between a family just surviving, to a family flourishing. One calendar builds a block towards providing this - and so we think makes for a perfect Christmas gift!


It would be wonderful if you could forward this letter to friends and family you think would be interested in supporting this goal!


Finally our deep thanks and warmest wishes to you all - without your generous support, none of this would exist!

Looking forward to hearing from you all soon,


With love,


San
(Ei Shwe Zin)




ps: My friend Lorna made pictures at the calendar release expo in Amsterdam: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lornagoulden/sets/72157622281822045/
Thanks Lorna!

And here the stories, thanks Sara!




Micro Credit Christmas Stories




Kyi Kyi: Sewing It All Together

Reaching her mid twenties and still unmarried, Kyi Kyi decided that she wanted to pursue a life beyond the small town where she grew up.

Having completed high school a number of years previous, she decided to resume her studies, this time in an external learning program specializing in Law.

To help meet the additional school fees, Kyi Kyi rented a sewing machine and utilizing the skills she had learned from her mother, spent free time producing curtains, sheets and other household items for neighboring families.

Her enterprise was a success, but the cost of rental was high and had no long term benefits. With this in mind she applied for a micro credit of 100,000 Kyat. The loan allowed her to buy herself two second hand machines, each with a separate function that allowed her to broaden the range of products she was able to produce.


The hard work paid off, and her smart scheme enabled her to finance her education and repay the loan.

Today Kyi Kyi has recognized her dream and is living in the city, working in a law firm. Before leaving home, she passed on the machines to her sister, who works as a teacher, but learning from her siblings success, supplements her income by continuing the sewing business.


Mo Kyaw: A Cut Above

Mo Kyaw’s mother died of Tuberculosis twenty years ago when he was only 12 years old. With his father also sick and unable to work, responsibility fell to him to remain at home and look after his family, rather than going to the city to pursue further studies.

As the years passed his young sisters grew up and left home to live far away and start a new life with their husbands. With fewer burdens, Mo Kyaw realized he wanted to create something to ensure his own prosperous future.

Throughout his life he had been very close to his grandfather, who was a local barber and had never had a son of his own. He had spent many years watching his grandfather at work, and slowly learned the trade, one that had been handed down from generation to generation and now, finally, to him.

After being awarded a micro credit loan of 100,000 Kyat, Mo Kyaw was able to rent a small space and buy a second hand chair and mirror with which to start his own shop. With a flair for hair and showing great skill with his scissors, his shop soon became a popular spot for his peers to visit and updates their looks.

Today, with the loan repaid and a flourishing venture, Mo Kyaw is looking forward to taking on an assistant and growing his business a few steps further.


Daw Ma Sein: A Tale of Two Pigs

Daw Ma Sein lives in a small town in Northern Burma and until recently her husband was the family’s sole provider. He earns a small but stable income as a Tri-Shaw driver, transporting people and goods round the town and neighboring villages.

The couple has three sons, the youngest of whom survived polio as a toddler, but was left with severe physical and mental handicaps that require constant care and attention.

Despite their relatively poor background, Daw Ma Sein wanted her children to have the best possible start in life, and on completing high school, encouraged her eldest son to apply for a place at University in Mandalay.

Needing to provide additional funds for a maturing family, whilst still needing to be at home to tend to her youngest son, she decided to apply for a micro credit loan.

Daw Ma Sein was awarded 60,000 Kyat with which she purchased two young pigs and built a small barn for them on her land. Reaching maturity, the male pig was sold for 100,000 Kyat whilst the female gave birth to six healthy piglets half of which were sold at birth and the other half reared to adulthood and then sold for a higher price.

From a simple idea and with the help of a micro credit, the family now has a long term additional source of income; enough to pay back the loan, support her son’s education and provide a better standard of day to day living.


San San Aye: Cooking Up a Storm

San San Aye was happy, hard working wife and mother, when three years ago, her husband died, leaving her widowed and with four children to support.

Fortunately, the family had by this time established a popular noodle shop in the center of the local market. Using the restaurant profits she was able to continue to send the younger children to school and her eldest son to Russia to study engineering at a military academy.

As her younger daughters matured and left school, times became more difficult, as more income was needed if she was to provide them with the same opportunities as her son.

With an astute business mind, she knew that she wanted to continue what she did best, and there was room for another restaurant in the town.

San San Aye applied for a micro credit loan and was awarded 100,000 Kyat. With this she set about renting a new premises, purchased kitchen equipment, food stuffs and new cutlery, bowls and cups. With little work available locally, one of her daughters was keen to manage the new business, having learned the trade from her mother.


The plan was a success and now with two flourishing shops, the family was able to repay the loan and with additional profits the youngest daughter was able to take up a long distance university studies.