Micro Credit Banks
Rebuilding a community is an enormous task. Some communities have lost their entire wage earning population due to genocide and tribal wars, leaving women and children destitute and unable to care for themselves. Along with instruction, accountability, and hope, Omega Foundation provides capital for women to pursue revenue producing ventures and become self-sustaining.
Of all the forces that make for a better world, none is so indispensable, none so powerful as hope. Without hope men are only half alive. With hope they dream, and think, and live.
-Charles Sawyer
Loans
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Each loan applicant submits a business plan detailing a revenue producing enterprise she wishes to pursue, i.e. selling charcoal, bananas, raising goats, sewing, etc. A micro bank is then comprised of a group of 30 or more qualified applicants. Each woman receives a capital loan of approximately $150-$300 (USD) to be repaid plus interest within six months. These micro banks, which are under the direction of a bank overseer are often the "hand up" that allows a family to rise above a dire situation.
How it Works
Once a micro bank is established each woman is responsible to meet the terms of her own loan as well as help and encourage other bank members to fulfill their commitments. Principle plus interest must be repaid within six months . All interest payments are kept within the banking group to service and fund future loans. In addition, each member is required to deposit 10% of her profit into a personal savings account. No second loans are granted until all original loans within the banking group have been repaid. This assures that women will work together, look out for each other, and create a much-needed sense of community, safety, and accountability.