FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 10, 2011

Five Talents International
P.O. Box 331
Vienna, VA 22183
www.fivetalents.org

Contact: Kelli Ross, Director of Communications, (703) 242-6016 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Archbishop of Canterbury calls Five Talents ‘A Gift to the Anglican Communion’

London, England — The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, attended a lunchtime session during the Church of England General Synod meeting in London on Tuesday. He spoke of Five Talents as a gift to the Anglican Communion saying:

“This really is a gift. It has been a privilege to be involved with this [Five Talents], to hear the good news that it brings and to see the excellent modeling of the development work ethic. This is a deeply creative and constructive way forward. I am delighted to be involved with Five Talents and so pleased to see so many people join in this event to hear more about what is going on currently.”

Tom Sanderson, Five Talents UK Director, told the meeting that Five Talents is now serving more than 27,000 people with business training, small savings and loan programs. This enables people to run their own small informal businesses from which they can meet their household needs and improve their living standards.

Five Talents was commended as a long-term response to the ravages of poverty that debilitate communities in developing countries at the 1998 Lambeth Conference, a global meeting of Anglican leaders in Canterbury, England. It now has offices in the US and UK with program delivery partners in 12 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Each microcredit program is closely aligned with the local Anglican Province, with work currently stretching across 11 Provinces and 26 Dioceses.

The Bishop of Birmingham, Rt. Rev. David Urquhart, chaired the session and spoke of his admiration for the work of Five Talents.

For more information and to donate, visit www.FiveTalents.org.