Articles Ready for Publication

Stories of women whose lives have been transformed through microloans, available for reprinting:

Dividends of Hope

Feeding the Hungry. Sheltering the Homeless. Clothing the Poor.

These are practical, effective ways to aid the poor. But how can we enable needy people to provide for themselves and their families? How can we help them build their sense of self-worth? How can we economically strengthen the struggling communities where these people live and work?

World Vision's WILFund (Women’s International Loan Fund) project tackles these issues -- supported by donors willing to assist hardworking women who want to create a better future for their children.

Through World Vision, WILFund disburses low-interest loans to impoverished female entrepreneurs in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America who possess business skills and experience, but lack the capital to start or expand a small venture. The UN states that women bear the greatest burdens of poverty and generally have more restricted opportunities for overcoming poverty. Sadly, women are often discriminated against when they try to launch a business -- still considered a man’s domain in many cultures. These women cannot get obtain credit from local commercial banks because they lack collateral and have no credit rating. And loans from money lenders -- often the only option available to them -- are risky because of the incredibly high interest rate they charge. WILFund gives these women the chance they wouldn't have otherwise.

It's been proven that when women have the chance to earn a higher income, they share the benefits with their families as they improve their standard of living and help their communities experience economic growth. They ensure their children stay in school, buy more nutritious food, seek necessary health care, and give their families tangible hope for a better future. These benefits extend into the community, and even across continents. And it all starts with one loan from WILFund.

Giving Women a "Hand-up"

Aura Cecilia Hernandez de Guevara, a 46-year-old Nicaraguan mother of four, is one businesswoman who succeeded, thanks to a "hand-up" from one of World Vision’s microlending institutions. Her story illustrates why WILFund was created.

In 1996, Aura opened a sewing shop in Masaya, a city south of the capital Managua, in partnership with seven other unemployed women. Aura says the women had nothing but their "willingness to work and four borrowed, broken-down sewing machines." However, their enthusiasm outlasted their capital. The business was struggling when the women heard about World Vision’s fund and applied for a loan. With the $400 they received, they purchased materials, repaired their machines, and started stitching their way to success.

Today, Diriana Embroidery employs 12 workers, including two disabled women. Their finely embroidered garments are popular in Nicaragua and sell quickly in other parts of Central America. Aura recently shipped 150 items to Chile, a new market she hopes to capture. Training and counsel from World Vision staff in accounting and management boosted the group’s business and their self-confidence.

Aura and her colleagues proved to be a good credit risk. They faithfully repaid five loans they received from World Vision’s fund, despite suffering significant loss after Hurricane Mitch struck their community in 1998. Instead of moping, the women mopped up and refocused their goals: to expand their premises, purchase modern machinery to increase production, offer new product designs, and expand their markets.

The women earn average salaries by local standards ($40 a month for shop assistants; $120 a month for machine operators). Aura says the income has greatly improved their living standards. "We are eating well and paying for our children’s education. We are also saving so we will have an emergency back-up or money to invest."

Helping Others

Creating new jobs for other local women remains one of Aura’s top priorities. "Aura has become known in her community for her entrepreneurial spirit, her dedication, and for helping others in need," reports a World Vision worker in Nicaragua. In her spare time, she teaches sewing to community youth.

Aura's business venture has attracted international interest. She was invited to address delegates at the 1999 World Trade Organization conference in Seattle, USA, speaking as a panelist on small business lending in Central and South America.

Aura is proud of her success and thankful for World Vision’s assistance. "It's unbelievable to me that our shop now has industrial sewing machines bought with our earnings from three years," she says. "Small businesses need support programs like World Vision's loan fund."

With WILFund, many more women like Aura are experiencing a new kind of hope. They’re finding their voices for the first time, and it’s turning their lives around.

With loans made possible by WILFund and the job training that goes along with each loan, thousands of women are starting new businesses, purchasing supplies and equipment, expanding operations, marketing their goods and services, and hiring additional staff. And Like Aura, they’re not just earning a better living for their families. They're helping fight poverty as they create an impact that extends beyond their families, into their communities and into the future.

Breaking Free from Poverty’s Cruel Grasp

Village Life

Investing in women and enabling them to choose a better life for their families is a sure way to contribute to a region's economic growth and stability. It’s been proven that women are more likely to spend any extra income they earn on improving living conditions for their families. According to the UN, investing in women is key to fighting poverty: "Promoting equal access for women to income-generating activities, land, water, credit and other resources is essential to poverty reduction." WILFund, a program of World Vision, stands for Women’s International Loan Fund. WILFund empowers women in developing countries by granting them business loans.

With a higher income, a woman is able to offer her family the basic necessities that poverty denies them -- food, health care, education, improved living conditions, and the anticipation for a better future. Her growing business fuels the local economy, creating jobs and opportunities for others in her community. Soon, despair has become a thing of the past, replaced by rekindled hope. Pim Sos is one of these women.



The ordeals of the past and present are etched on the face of 43-year-old Pim Sos -- but somehow she exudes an air of hope. Pim is one of 50 people who have just repaid the first cycle of the loan they received from World Vision's microfinance institution in Cambodia. Pim is the perfect example of why WILFund was created.

Pim lives in the village of Samrong in Cambodia, where one of every four households is run by women. In this small village of just 120 people, life is simple and seemingly impervious to the horrors of recent history under the Pol Pot regime. The beaming smiles of the children are natural and excitement twinkles in their dark-chocolate colored eyes. They radiate hope and contentment -- unaware of their parents' burdens.

Pim gazes with poise out of the bright blue shutters of her home’s only window. Ten people live in Pim’s little wooden ramshackle dwelling, built with her own two hands a decade ago.

From her window she can see a lively game of village volleyball being played. One of the star players is a land-mine survivor who bounds around on his one leg with enthusiasm for his chance to spike the ball. In the flurry of activity, a slender yet muscular young man wanders by. On his left shoulder he carries a long bamboo pole, which sustains the weight of 18 purple, green, and blue canisters. Each holds palm oil he has collected to sell at the markets, for this is not the rice-harvesting season, and one must find a way to earn a crust and survive.

Pim is illiterate and sells food from village to village. Her husband is a construction worker and they have had 12 children, three of which were stillborn. Her children range in age from 3 to 23, but only three are able to attend school.

Tough Times

Pim was an ideal candidate for a World Vision loan, as she is the primary income provider in her home. She desires to educate her children, and is eager to expand her fledgling business and strive to embark on a new life for her family.

But in Pim's culture, women are considered second-class citizens. They’re denied traditional loans because they lack a credit history and collateral. They rarely have the chance to move ahead. The UN states that women bear the greatest burdens of poverty and generally have more restricted opportunities for overcoming poverty. Women are often discriminated against when they try to launch a business -- still considered a man’s domain in many cultures. WILFund gives women like Pim the chance they wouldn't have otherwise.

Before Pim’s loan, she was unable to develop her business, and times were tough. She couldn’t afford to send any of her children to school.

"I remember when in 1990 one of my children was seriously sick with a stomach tumor. He had to go to the hospital for three operations. I had to sell my cow to pay for them."

Pim’s husband was then involved in a car accident, which has left him unable to walk properly. After the accident, he was unconscious for seven days and nights. The hospital stay cost them five million Riel (US$1400).

Ensuring a Better Future

World Vision granted Pim a loan of 160,000 Riel (US$44) to help her with her business. Recently, she proudly repaid nearly a third of her loan.

"My dream is to keep up my business. I want my children to have proper jobs when they grow up. If I keep expanding my stall, I will profit, which I can use to help support the children’s education. That way, they will be able to support my husband and me when we can no longer work."

"My living conditions have improved since World Vision granted me my loan. I hope to borrow further in the future. I will look forward to repaying the loans as I believe when you owe money, it is important to pay the full amount back."

Many women like Pim have benefited from World Vision’s plan to make microfinance a core component of their operations in Cambodia. Since their inception, microloan programs have improved access to primary health care, education, living standards, and more importantly, the capacity and empowerment of community members. WILFund will enable more women to have this opportunity.

WILFund loans give women the chance to put their plans into action and create profit-generating businesses. They make sure their children stay in school, they buy more nutritious food, they seek necessary health care, and they give families tangible hope for a better future.

As Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations notes: "Study after study has shown that there is no effective development strategy in which women do not play a central role. When women are fully involved, the benefits can be seen immediately: families are healthier; they are better fed; their income, savings and reinvestment go up. And what is true of families is true of communities and, eventually, of whole countries." The New York Times, "In Africa, AIDS Has a Woman's Face" (op-ed article), December 29, 2002.