Mother's Day is almost here, but it's not too late to express your thanks and love to the special women in your life, while also empowering mothers in Five Talents' microsavings and microcredit programs.
Here are a couple of ways that you can make Mother's Day extra-special this year:
Submit a photograph of your mom, grandmother or aunt to be published on Five Talents' "Talented Moms" Pinterest board. Every photo is a $5 donation to Five Talents! Once we post the photo, you can share the Pinterest board with your loved one. She'll be delighted to see herself among the ranks of the world's most "Talented Moms"! To submit a photo, e-mail it to
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or tweet it to @FiveTalents along with the hash tag "#TalentedMoms".
Send your mom, grandmother, aunt or wife a Five Talents "Love Always Hopes" eCard that will empower a woman in the country of your choice -- Peru, Bolivia, Myanmar, Indonesia, Burundi or South Sudan.
Click on the icons below to jump to stories and a video about Five Talents' program in and around Jakarta, Indonesia.
Five Talents partners in Indonesia with GERHATI. The organization was founded in 2002 by Five Talents, the Anglican Diocese of Singapore and the expatriate Anglican community of All Saints Church in Jakarta.
GERHATI offers two loan products to its clients. The first is the Trust Bank Loan Program. Loan sizes range from $53 to $214. The second loan product, Small Business Loan Program, is available to existing GERHATI clients who improve their business, are diligent in repayment, and finish the Trust Bank Loan Program. These loans can go as high as $500.
This short Five Talents USA video ad is featured in Episode 70 of Anglican.tv's current affairs Web show "Anglican Unscripted." A generous donor covered the cost of the 15-second spot, which features footage from our work in Indonesia, South Sudan, Burundi and Bolivia.
When Tina lost her factory job in Jakarta, Indonesia, her children, Putri and Willy, also lost the funds they needed to cover school fees for books and uniforms.
Tina, 40, needed to act fast. But her options were limited. While her husband continued his work as a driver in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, Tina opened a small salon. Unfortunately, it was one of many in the neighborhood. While she was skilled in cutting and styling hair, her business did not survive, in part due to the cutthroat competition on her street.
So Tina took Putri and Willy with her to Cileungsi, a suburb of Bogor, which is about 60 km south of Jakarta. She once again set up a salon, and once again, it failed to generate any income.
Many people might have despaired if they found themselves in Tina's shoes, but she did not give up. Her children's future depended on her finding a way to make money.
It was around this time that she learned about Five Talents' local partner in Indonesia, GERHATI. The project in Indonesia maintains three core programs that provide financial support, training, and technical assistance to poor entrepreneurs.
One thing that distinguishes Five Talents from other microfinance organizations is our focus on under-served communities. We don't work in places laden with traditional banks and large for-profit microfinance institutions. We focus on the poor who live well off the beaten path and who have little or no access even to basic financial services.
Our partner on the ground, GERHATI, which Five Talents helped to found in 2005, recently sent us photos of their efforts to aid local Bekasi residents. These pictures offer a glimpse into an under-served community that's desperately in need of basic financial services and training that can empower micro-entrepreneurs and equip them for success.
GERHATI staff put together bags of food and essential goods for people in flooded Bekasi.
In this photo taken by David Middleton for Five Talents, a woman tends to her food business on a side street in Bekasi, just outside of Jakarta, Indonesia.
This photo taken by David Middleton for Five Talents captures a typical alley road in the Bekasi neighborhood outside of Jakarta, on the Indonesian island of Java.
Five Talents partners in the country with GERHATI, an organization that was co-founded by Five Talents, the Anglican Diocese of Singapore and the expatriate Anglican community of All Saints Church in Jakarta.
Over the next three weeks, you'll have to decide on gifts for a select group of friends and family members.
Fortunately, we've got a gift idea that we think you'll love: Instead of buying them a Starbucks gift card, or a tree ornament, send your loved ones a Five Talents e-card.
Here's how it works:
Visit our eGift Catalog and pick from among the 10 e-card options. Prices range from $25 to $50. Every e-card features beautiful photography that captures an aspect of Five Talents' work in a particular country. Your purchase will count as a donation for that particular country and program.
At the end of your transaction, you will be prompted to enter the e-mail addresses of either 5 individuals (for every $25 e-card) or 10 individuals (for every $50 e-card). Each person will receive an e-card explaining that a gift was made in his or her honor towards Five Talents' work in, for example, savings group formation in South Sudan (see the above e-card image of the "One Nation" savings group in South Sudan).
Your e-card purchases are tax-deductible, and they are a great way to spread holiday cheer and share the joy of giving with your loved ones.
With every e-card purchase, you are contributing to the transformation of lives in some of the most under-served communities in the world.
When Tina lost her factory job in Jakarta, Indonesia, her children, Putri and Willy, also lost the funds they needed to cover school fees for books and uniforms.
