In the News

Opportunity International, the MicroLoan Foundation and Five Talents UK, three of the UK’s most established and other microfinance NGOs will build four new banks in Niassa, said a statement.

Our first meeting for the day was at the Five Talents Uganda national office. The program here was set up a little different than the program in Kenya. In Uganda, the Five Talents organization actually functioned a little more like a lending organization and the provider of the funds for microloans.

The office was very different than what you would think of for a financial institution, but my Western mind was still adjusting to the way of life (and work) in Africa. I was tickled to find out that they worked very hard to set up a special conference room for us to meet in. Little did I know that this special arrangement would be a couple of desks and chairs squeezed into a garage. Like many other things in Africa, it worked for what we needed it to do…

From its headquarters in donated space in Vienna, Five Talents International directs micro-finance programs that help the poor in underdeveloped countries to pull themselves out of poverty.

Meeting us at the airport in Kampala were two people that I’ll never forget… Reverend Jonathan and our driver Chintu (pronounced kin-too). Not only was Chintu our driver, but he was the owner of the transport company that he represented. What I thought was really cool about him is that he was also someone who had benefited from the same microfinance work that we were there to support!

Over 13,000 previously illiterate people, 75% of whom are women, have been given literacy skills, health education, nutritional advice, business and income generation skills. Crucially, by working in partnership with other agencies, such as Five Talents, Mothers’ Union has helped sensitise communities about the CPA, the forthcoming referendum and the elections – enabling community members to be equipped to make informed decisions and participate fully in the process. This progress is at risk should the fragile peace not be protected.

At a Reception in aid of Five Talents on 29 October 2009, Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, welcomed guests to Lambeth Palace and spoke of his support for the work of Five Talents in the context of the church’s particular role and ability to reach grassroots communities with transformative services. The following is the address by Dr. Williams...

Over the years Five Talents has now established itself as a crucially important part of the Anglican scene worldwide and I hope that this evening may help it become even more of a part, a visible part of our Anglican ministry. Here at Lambeth Palace we are trying with the help of Rachel, Helen and others to get our work worldwide as an Anglican Communion on development and aid better co-ordinated - working towards an Anglican Alliance on this. And for me a central part of that vision has to be our capacity in microfinance. Because that is the area where perhaps more any other we see that transforming, maturing effect of the gospel on people that gives them the confidence and the capacity to begin to take charge of where they are and who they are with their neighbours. And the patterns of mutuality and the building up of mutual trust that belong in the world of microcredit and microfinance – these are of course central Christian things.

To shed light on one hopeful model, The Rev. Thomas Anei discussed his success in establishing microfinance in the southern village of Lietnhom. Working with Five Talents International, a Christian nonprofit organization specializing in microfinance, and Sudan's Episcopal Church, Rev. Anei helped set up South Sudan's first community-owned village bank and provides training for local residents to start and manage small businesses. The bank was unharmed by conflict that broke out between local clans in spring 2008, and helped residents to rebuild in the aftermath. It now claims over 500 members.

She walked up to me as I was setting up for my morning session, shook my hand, and simply stated, “I am Alice.” We laughed about that for a moment, but I never realized that this was about to be one of the most powerful moments of this trip for me.

In order to understand what I mean, you’ll have to understand part of the lesson that I was responsible for. I had taught the last lesson of the day in yesterday’s session, and was about to pick up where I left of this morning. I was responsible for teaching the section on finances. Before we finished yesterday I had already started my piece on the importance of separating personal and business money. One of the illustrations that I used was this story about a fictional person named Alice…

I was finally an accomplished missionary! Well, at least in my mind I was. After all, I had just finished my first full sessions with one of the churches in Kenya, and now I was off to another. I knew that this next group that we were about to work with would be different, I just didn’t know how.

For our next two-day session on basic Christian business skills, we had to drive about an hour outside of town into a much more rural community called Kairi. Most of the drive was down poorly paved and/or dirt roads making this commute a bit of a bumpy one.