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Rescue
of ECLOF Peru
Rev. David Limo Pajar reports on the crisis
with which he had to deal from the first day of his appointment
as President of ECLOF Peru.
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ECLOF
Philippines expands
Almost three years ago, ECLOF Philippines
began a new outreach programme. The work is now coming
to fruition and two new branch offices recently opened
in extremely poor communities.
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ECLOF
Peru responds to fire disaster
On 29 December last year, many Peruvians were
in the streets of their capital, Lima, taking advantage
of end-of-year sales or making last minute purchases for
the New Year. Street vendors were selling fireworks for
the forthcoming celebration when suddenly one stand caught
fire; the fire spread rapidly out of control. The result
was appalling.
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Meet
ECLOF clients
Education and income
Thanks to a US$29,000 ECLOF loan, the Calamba Evangelical
Church in the Philippines has a new church education
centre, which has turned into an income generating project
as well.
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New
Directors
ECLOF Sri Lanka recently appointed Gamini Samarasinghe
as its new Executive Officer. Gamini has worked in the
banking industry for some 35 years, 30 of which he spent
with a government bank that focused on rural development
and the co-operative movement. |
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Books
and publications
Global Trade Ethics - An Illustrated Overview
By Rev. Dr Christoph Stückelberger
The globalization of world trade arouses strong and
mixed responses. Some hope it will lead to increased wealth
and the elimination of poverty. Others have great fears
about relentless international competition, increased
marginalisation and an increase in poverty.
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Capacity
building
Community banking
Directors and senior staff of national ECLOF committees
have attended a five-day exposure programme on community
banking in India. It was organised by ECLOF Geneva and
run by the DHAN (Development of Humane Action) Foundation,
an Indian professional development organisation.
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Tanzania
workshop
A two-day national workshop last December
provided an opportunity for ECLOF Tanzania to review its
operation and the environment in which it works, as well
as to consider wider issues.
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Colombian
farmers continue despite violence
For the last 40 years, insurgent groups in
Colombia have fought a succession of governments. The
violence continues today and takes place largely in rural
areas away from the cities. |
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Director's
message
In his article, Making microfinance
work (see below left), Howard Brady says, "Programme
managers realise they have an obligation to run their
credit programmes to the highest standards. The public
has entrusted many microcredit institutions to help solve
a societal problem, viz. poverty. |
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Home
help
In Cameroon, the majority of people cannot
afford decent housing because they are not considered
creditworthy, and so are denied access to financing. The
average monthly income in Cameroon is equivalent to US$35;
over 90% of the people live in deplorable conditions and
are also unable to meet the cost of other basic needs.
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Top
marks for school
The Niño Jesús de Praga (Baby
Jesus of Prague) Parochial School is run by the Niño
de Praga Parochial Missionary Order of nuns. The school
is located in the town of Tarma, high up in the Andes
in the Huinco Valley and about 240km from Lima, the Peruvian
capital. Almost 90% of the population of Tarma work in
agriculture.
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ECLOF
family backs minimum standards
Last year, the ECLOF International secretariat
distributed its new "Minimum Standards of Performance".
This followed the publication of ECLOF's "Global
Policy Guidelines". National ECLOF committees have
been studying both documents closely. ECLOF Kenya reports
on its experience.
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International
church condemnation of Zimbabwe elections
An international ecumenical team from the
World Council of Churches (WCC) and the All Africa Conference
of Churches (AACC) has judged the Zimbabwean presidential
elections held in March to have been unfair.
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Global
solidarity
Australia returns capital
ECLOF Australia, which has been operating as a committee
of the Australian Council of Churches, has returned ECLOF
capital so it can be used in other countries, in line
with the policy of ECLOF international solidarity.
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Making
microfinance work
By Howard Brady
Like many that have ended up in the world of microfinance,
I have a background in finance. I was an external auditor
for PricewaterhouseCoopers and BDO Seidman prior to being
lured away from high finance to microfinance. As you can
imagine, this background influences how I relate to microfinance
institutions (MFIs).
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Ecumenical
team rejects "science fiction"
To claim that an international economic and
financial system based on 'market forces' will address
the fundamental challenges of financing for development
is a form of 'science fiction', according to an ecumenical
team that attended the United Nations International Conference
on Financing for Development, at Monterrey, Mexico in
March.
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ECLOF
at HIV/AIDS campaign launch
Dr Priscilla Daniel, ECLOF Programme Secretary
in Geneva, led a discussion on HIV/AIDS and microfinance
at the launch by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance of a
plan of action for tackling HIV/AIDS.
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Working
for unity and peace in Colombia
Violence and distrust have become a part of
daily life for many Colombians. For the people whom ECLOF
serves, the struggle to make a living has been made much
more difficult by demands for allegiance and support from
both sides involved in the armed conflict going on in
the country.
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Readers'
letters
HIV/AIDS
Dear New Horizons
In spite of awareness of HIV/AIDS, the situation in Zimbabwe
affects both clients and ECLOF staff and is causing a
slow down in our activities.
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MFIs
and Business Development Services
By ADA/CEREM-LUX
Linking business development services (BDS) and microfinance
services is increasingly important, although experience
shows it is difficult to achieve.
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News
from NECs
Director joins new foundation
Mr Martín Villafuerte Kanemoto, Executive
Director of ECLOF Peru, has been elected to the board
of a new Latin American financial organization.
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