ECLOF believes in a vision of a more equitable world where all people are created equally and with a right to the dignity of leading fulfilled lives. Human dignity is our goal: a world where all can share the God-given benefits of the Earth in security and without fear for the future.
ECLOF has a clear mission to promote social justice and human dignity through microfinance. Microfinance services offer vulnerable and excluded people and groups access to capital resources that enable them to build sustainable livelihoods. This can open up a path from vulnerability to self-reliance.
ECLOF’s relationship with clients must be a partnership of equals, not the one-way relationship between donor and recipient.
Our responsibility is to lend capital on reasonable terms appropriate to the circumstances of our clients. Their duty is to use it well, and then repay it. Both of us do our utmost, in the language of the gospels, to be excellent stewards of the resources we share.
Our highest priority is to reach vulnerable communities, particularly in rural areas, which are excluded from access to formal sources of finance. We support them without regard to gender, race, creed or political persuasion.
We respect the immeasurable value of every human life. Today inequality denies millions of people the chance to enjoy life in its fullness. We will purposefully work to enhance human dignity, so that everyone has access to resources they need to become providers for their families, employees, churches and communities.
We believe that everyone has the right to food, education, health, a secure livelihood and the benefits of community life. We will help our clients to reclaim those rights through earning a living, which can protect them against calamity, and build confidence in their capacity to choose their own futures.
As fellow-citizens of one world, we will walk alongside our clients to listen to their concerns, and work as partners with them as they act to improve their lives. At international level, we will join, as members of the ACT Alliance, with other organisations to call for an end to the global structures and policies that perpetuate poverty and exclusion.
We believe that all men and women have a right to shape their own destinies. In our work we will support vulnerable and marginalised groups. However as women, girls and young people are disproportionately affected by poverty, we will specifically target initiatives that promote their participation and leadership in the economic, social and political decisions which shape their lives.
We will be responsible stewards of the resource entrusted to us, fully accountable and transparent in the way we do business. We will be systematic in evaluating progress, and professional in managing our funds so they grow profitably to the benefit of our clients.
We will join hands across our organisation to create a truly global network committed to one mission, vision and set of values. We are committed to enriching the impact of ECLOF’ work through the sharing of resources, knowledge and experiences. The whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. We will integrate and streamline our operations to make better use of the collective wisdom and resources of our global family, take greater responsibility for our own actions, and grow to meet the increasing needs of our clients.
