Village Micro-Loans

Phanis cares for seven children, including 3 orphans. She used to earn $1 a day. Through Village of Love small business training and repeated application of micro-loans, Phanis now earns $4 a day, sufficient to feed her family. With some educational supplements from Village of Love, all the children are now in school!

The saying goes, “Give a person a fish, and you will give them food for a day; teach a person to fish and you will feed them for a life time.” Micro-loans work on the same principle of empowerment towards self sufficiency!

Your micro-loan donation will feed an entire family on an ongoing basis. It will go into a revolving fund and will be borrowed again and again!

Currently 75 women embracing 400+ children are part of the Village of Love micro-loan program. There are at least 100 more families in the Kibera slum that are caring for orphaned children and who need the kind of empowerment that Village of Love offers. Village of Love’s goal is to include them all, 15 women at a time.

To form another 15 women into a cluster to receive micro-loans and small business training, $3,200 is needed.
 

Evelyne Mwende’s thriving tuckshop after multiple loans, all repaid. In 2014, you can see that Willmina had few products to sell to support 8 biological children and 2 orphaned children. Micro-loans have enabled her since then to expand her income to not only feed the children but to actually purchase her dwelling, which has freed up the rent money for other purposes.

Starter Loan: $80

Second Loan: $160

Advanced Loan: $240

All amounts are welcome.

For profiles of some of the current micro-loan recipients, see MEET THE VILLAGERS

How do the loans work?

1. In preparation for receiving their first micro-loan, new members of the Village of Love attend a workshop where they learn best small business practices and how to apply their loan for maximum benefit.(The picture shows them singing their gratitude!) 2. Those who do not have any business can gain skills to start a business, such as making attractive carry -bags out of used plastic bags. Others can expand the variety of items offered for sale by learning a new skill.3. Within the first three days after a workshop, each entrepreneur receives a visit from a Village of Love volunteer to make sure that the entrepreneur is on track in applying the micro-loan in the best way possible.