In the News

A group of women in southern Sudan who have set up their own Body Shop-style business producing and selling women’s cosmetics are suggesting that the fragrances can keep men faithful.

The women, who are members of the Anglican microfinance initiative Five Talents, joked with one of the charity’s trustees, Shona Passfield, that one particular product was so good women who bought it would no longer have to worry about their husbands cheating on them.

A group of women in southern Sudan who have set up their own Body Shop-style business producing and selling women’s cosmetics are suggesting that the fragrances can keep men faithful.

The women, who are members of the Anglican microfinance initiative Five Talents, joked with one of the charity’s trustees, Shona Passfield, that one particular product was so good women who bought it would no longer have to worry about their husbands cheating on them.

A group of women in southern Sudan who have set up their own Body Shop-style business producing and selling women's cosmetics are suggesting that the fragrances can keep men faithful.

The women, who are members of the Anglican microfinance initiative Five Talents, joked with one of the charity's trustees, Shona Passfield, that one particular product was so good women who bought it would no longer have to worry about their husbands cheating on them.

Bob Larson is the President of Reynolds Food Packaging, an industry leader in the production and sale of a full range of stock and custom products for the foodservice, supermarket, food processor and agricultural markets. He was also recently elected to the Board of Directors for Five Talents International, an organization that is fighting global poverty through microfinance and education.

Bob Larson is the President of Reynolds Food Packaging, an industry leader in the production and sale of a full range of stock and custom products for the foodservice, supermarket, food processor and agricultural markets. He was also recently elected to the Board of Directors for Five Talents International, an organization that is fighting global poverty through microfinance and education.

Since 2009, Larson has supported Five Talents by fundraising and speaking on behalf of the organization in the Chicago area. In May of 2009, he traveled with Five Talents to Kenya and Uganda as part of a Business as Mission team, where he taught business skills seminars to entrepreneurs. I had the pleasure of traveling with Bob on that trip, and recently had the opportunity to catch up with him to talk about the high calling of his work and fighting poverty.

On this Podcast:

• What are the promotor, provider, and partner models in microfinance?
• How can the local church and a local MFI have a mutually beneficial relationship?
• Why is it important for microfinance institutions to show hard data to their donors rather than just stories?

During the Summer of 2009 I had the pleasure of going on a mission trip to Kenya and Uganda with Five Talents International (FTI). It was a Business as Mission Trip that where we taught basic Christian business skills to client and potential clients of the local microfinance programs supported by FTI. These guys are doing some amazing work in the fight against global poverty, and the results that they're seeing in Sudan are nothing short of incredible. With some big changes coming to Sudan, FTI is committed to continued economic development there. My friend Craig Cole provides some updates to what's happening there and asks Christians to help...

Vienna, Virginia - One month from today, on Jan. 9, the country of Sudan will vote on a referendum that, if passed, will effectively create two new countries: North Sudan and South Sudan. This referendum is one of the provisions of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended Sudan's most recent civil war.

There is deep uncertainty about what will happen if the South votes to separate. Will the war start again after five years of relative peace?

Volunteering also allows local philanthropists to share their expertise. April Young, a businesswoman who lives in Falls Church, has traveled to Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania to teach classes on how to start and operate a small business with Five Talents International, a Vienna-based nonprofit that focuses on savings and microcredit programs.

The church works with Five Talents International, an Episcopal organization that teaches business skills and provides micro-financing to entrepreneurs in developing countries. Bill Baker, who has volunteered in both Kenya and Uganda, said the seminars teach simple strategies, such as keeping business and family finances separate in order to track profits accurately.