Sekepe
There is a famous Chinese proverb: “Give a man a fish; feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish; feed him for a lifetime”.
But we would add, “Teach a man or woman to fish and give them a loan to buy a boat and a net and you feed a family and village for a lifetime.”
The Focus
Sekepe is the Sesotho word for fishing boat. Sesotho is one of the official languages of South Africa as well as the official language of the country of Lesotho. Sekepe exists to bring the Kingdom of God to those on the bottom of society. Our effort will seek to provide microfinancing enabling the poor in Africa and around the globe to buy a ‘boat and starting a fishing business’. Our target will be African women who are HIV-positive but will not be limited to this group.
Why microfinancing?
Microfinancing is a way to help people rise above their poverty. It creates a vehicle for dignity and sustainability. As small loans are provided to those who can’t get loans, it enables them to launch out and provide for their family and be a ‘boat’ for others in the community. Most micro-loans are in the $50-150 and the interest paid is around 5%. When the poor pay back their loans, it creates resources to continue to loan money to others in need.
Two Methods of Microfinancing
Direct loans – One person submits a business plan and receives a loan. They are personally responsible for paying back the loan and interest.
Trust Groups – Trust groups were designed for women in the lowest levels of poverty once considered too poor to benefit microcredit. In Trust Groups, individual clients are not asked to stand alone against the risks of starting or building a small business. Instead, a group of 12-40 local entrepreneurs – mostly women – joins together, elects leaders and applies for a single loan as a group. Meeting weekly for sessions ranging from business practices to family relations to leadership training, Trust Group members grow together as they develop new skills.
Why Women, why Africa and why Women who are HIV positive?
Over and over those who have been involved in Microfinancing have seen women pay back loans at a rate of 95-98% while men average 50%. We believe this is because women are typically more concerned with the needs of the family. They are more likely to see it as a loan and not a handout. They are less likely to spend the loan on a get-rich-scheme or waste the money on prostitution or getting drunk. Women living in extreme poverty are concerned that their children are being fed and that the family the necessary incomes to survive.
Our primary desire is not the financial success of the loan. Our desire is to see sustainability, to see women and children who are often the most oppressed people in world to have hope. We desire to see over microfinancing serve as a catalyst to see transformation of a community.
Sub-Saharan Africa is more heavily affected by HIV and AIDS than any other region of the world. An estimated 22 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2007. In just the past year, the AIDS epidemic in Africa has claimed the lives of an estimated 1.5 million people… Without AIDS, the total number of orphans in sub-Saharan Africa would have declined between 1990 and 2010. AIDS, however, will push the number of orphans in the region from 9 million to more than 10 million by 2010.
With antiretroviral drug treatment, HIV-positive people can maintain their health and often lead relatively normal lives. Sadly, few people in Africa have access to this treatment. A study in 2002 in South Africa revealed that only one third of respondents who had revealed their HIV-positive status were met with a positive response in their communities.
We believe that by targeting women with AIDS we can help stem the tide. By having the training and ability to start a business, these women will have the means to purchase the antiretroviral drugs and provide for the basic needs of their family. Through being able to afford the treatment, they can maintain their health and thus fewer children become orphaned. Even if they have full blown AIDs, by providing microfinancing for a business, these women can leave a trust fund for the families they leave behind.
This is a Sekepe.
Our 2009 potential investments are…
- A Trust group of disabled men ane women in Nellmapius (a township near Pretoria, South Africa) who want to start a car wash.
- Another women in Nellmapius who wants to open a nail salon.
- Two Trust groups of HIV+ women. One in Nellmapius, South Africa and another in Zambia.
- Potentially other opportunities in Myanmar and Mexico.
(Visit http://sekepe.blogspot.com/ for future stories and updates.)
Click here to download an application for a Sekepe loan
If you are interested in learning more about Sekepe or investing, contact me at andy@globalassociates.org. Or visit the give page of Global Associates and click ‘Sekepe’.
