Fighting poverty - one person at a time

The numbers of those in deep poverty can seem to be overwhelming and often it seems like the problem is too big to be addressed. However, I have a friend, Craig Cole, who is the executive director of "Five Talents" based in Virginia. Five Talents’ mission is to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives by empowering the poor in developing countries using innovative savings and microcredit programs, business training and spiritual development.

Five talents has been in operation since 1999 and has many success stories. One of the most recent ones involved A small town in southern Sudan named "Liethnom" which is part of the Anglican Diocese of Wau. This area has 500,000 people, and until Five Talents came on the scene, no bank to provide small business loans. There is now "The Lietnhom Community Bank" which was established by local people with financial and business experience by Five Talents in conjunction with World Concern, the Economics Trust Fund of the Navigators, Stromme Foundation and integra Foundation. The bank loans out money to residents to start their own small businesses. Some recent stories:

Anyuon grew up in extreme poverty and hunger. Often his father would be forced to sell one of the family's cows in order to buy food entrenching them in deeper poverty. Thanks to a loan from Five Talents Anyouon and his wife now have a small family business. His 8 year old daughter recently told Craig: "My mom and dad have bought many goods for our shop. These days they buy milk and meat for us. They get money from the business they are doing."

Through this program Anyuon and his wife have learned to read and write as well as gain basic math skills. They have used their loans to expand and diversify their small business. With this income they p[lan to send their children to school so that their lives will be improved as well.

Other success stories: Two new village and savings loan groups have formed in the town of Luanyeker. This is the results of the Lietnhom program duplication itself . Each group has 20 women.

Another story is about a mother named Ahok, who used a $75 loan to start a food business in Lietnhom. Thanks to the income from the business she is now able to send all five of her children to school, including 10 year old Akot.

"When I finish school, I would like to be a doctor." Akot said. "I will also start a business like my mother and when I get money I will build a house for my mom."

It doesn't take a lot of money to help these families become self-reliant. Donations to Five Talents goes directly to these micro-business projects in many places in the world.

Please consider giving a donation to:

Five Talents
P.O. Box 331
Vienna, VA 22183

This will help fight poverty one person and family at a time