April 2011
April 2011
Dear Power of Love Friend:
We are celebrating the arrival of spring this year by providing 115 loans to women in Zambia! Microfinance has transformed the lives of many poor mothers and grandmothers in AIDS-stricken Africa and is truly a powerful tool in helping women become self-reliant. On average, POL's loan recipients provide care for four children and three elderly people at home. The 115 microloans we provided this spring go on to benefit and directly improve the lives of approximately 920 individuals.
Power of Love's microloan program is specifically designed for women caring for the HIV-infected and sick in their community. These amazing women battle poverty on a daily basis to care for their grandchildren, family and neighbors. We've seen it happen time and again: once a woman receives a loan, she is able to transform her and her family's life. Many of the women go from breaking stones for a living or cleaning streets to owning their own small business, while others graduate from owning a small roadside stand with a few items to a concrete store and sometimes even more than one business. To read their powerful stories click here
We are proud to say that POL's microloan program has been consistently successful, and is directly the result of POL friends like you, strong local management and on-the-ground leadership (our staff in Lusaka has been trained internationally, but all are Zambian). Loan repayments rates range between 92-94% - extraordinary but especially so given the harsh environment in which these women live and work.
At this time we are raising funds to cover the cost of refresher training for ongoing loans, providing business consultation to the women entrepreneurs, field visits, and monitoring current loans. We need $8,000 to finance the cost of running 115 loans for 12 months (or $6 per loan per month). We'd love for you to get involved and help us continue to aim for success in this crucial program. Please contribute to this program or to any of the other POL programs here or email us at info@poweroflove.org. As always, 100% of your donation will be used for the programs above (no part of your donation is used for overhead expenses)click here.
Your friends at the Power of Love Foundation
