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Like ethical banks, Fairinvestment.co.uk also aids those who need it most through its support of Five Talents UK, a charity which also seeks to help those who need it most through microfinance initiatives.

Vasanti Uikey struggled against extreme poverty to become a successful microentrepreneur. Now, this 45-year-old mother of two has been named the 2008 National Runner-up and the Social Responsibility Category Winner (West and Central) by the Citi Micro Entrepreneur Awards program. She was chosen out of 2,500 nominees for this prestigious award.

Thanks to a $62 loan from Five Talents partner, Community Development Society (CDS) in India, Vasanti now owns a milk distribution center and a grocery store in the Pandhrabodi slum of Nagpur.

PJ profiles Kelli Ross
Director of communications
Five Talents International, Vienna, Va.

What inspired you to work in the nonprofit world?
I began my career as a daily newspaper reporter, but it was in 2005 during my first trip to Africa that I was introduced to the concept of microenterprise development. That trip has literally changed my life.

Maybe God has called you to help entrepreneurs in need start a business. My sister-in-law recently introduced the family to Five Talents, a group who grant micro-loans for people to start businesses. And, by helping create business, they also help create more jobs. In fact, one of their Micro-preneurs recently won an award.

I chose to give to Five Talents because of they address more than the economic/systemic issues of poverty by working also for spiritual development. Also, they make online giving easy via credit card!

Therefore, since a ‘bibledude’ (and dudette) should be ‘engaging in culture,’ then we should be regularly searching for ways that we can impact the world around us. And if you’ve been following the ‘children of microfinance‘ series, you’ll know that there is some great opportunity to help microfinance in the war on global poverty. Five Talents is a great Christian organization that is leading the way in this area...

children of microfinance: esther in indonesia – This is one of my favorites because it started a series by a guest blogger who works for an organization that is fighting poverty around the world using microfinance. These stories really touch your heart, and show the power of the efforts to change lives in the name of Jesus.

For three consecutive years, a Five Talents International volunteer has been awarded the Women in Technology Lifetime Achievement Award. The most recent recipient is Elizabeth Lewis, partner with Cooley Godward Kronish LLP in Reston. Lewis provides volunteer legal advice and has hosted receptions for Five Talents.

"It is a privilege to support Five Talents because it is truly the gift that keeps on giving," Lewis said. "Donations are used to provide loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries to start businesses with an opportunity to create an ongoing income stream which supports the entrepreneur, family members and employees. Then, the loan is paid back and the money can be loaned again."

Bussau challenged the conventional thinking that poverty is inevitable and hopeless. Instead he adopted a view that there are many creative and talented people among the poor and they do not have to be perpetual dependents.

“Each of us has the capacity to be incredibly productive and those who realize this are the ones who make the difference in the world,” says Bussau. “For me the challenge is to find ways to release that incredible potential in human beings, to enable that creative force and drive to be expressed.”

Fernando is proud to walk to school in his brand new shirt and shoes. “My teacher said that I look really handsome — I love her a lot!”

María, Fernando’s mom, started a knitting business in Tarija, Bolivia, with the help of a Five Talents’ partner, Semillas de Bendición (Seeds of Blessing), in order to provide her four children with nutritious food and clothing. The first loan she received was for $14.