Freedom From Hunger

<p>Women living in rural poverty must overcome numerous hardships to earn money and feed their children. Many live on $1/day or less, have suffered malnutrition their entire lives, and cannot read or write. Yet they do their best with what they have. And what they have in abundance is determination.</p> <p><br />When a woman joins a <em>Credit with Education</em> program in her village, she links arms with other women she probably knows well. Together, the women receive loans and jointly guarantee repayment. Each woman saves a little money each week. They support and encourage one another to do their best. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>At regular meetings, the women's group gathers to make repayments and deposit their savings. The women also participate in a lively and joyful learning session led by a local staff person who speaks their language and knows their culture and customs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Freedom from Hunger created a curriculum for <em>Credit with Education</em> that directly addresses women's most pressing needs. The learning sessions are dialogue-based, incorporating new information with the knowledge and experience of the group members. The women don't need to read or write to learn. In story, role-play, demonstration, discussion and song, they explore new ideas, share what they know, and help each other find the courage to try new things that improve their lives.</p>

<p>Freedom from Hunger launched <em>Credit with Education</em> in 1989 with 50 women in Mali and 50 women in Thailand. In the following years, we designed multiple education topics for health, nutrition, business and money management, using our research on the root causes of hunger and poverty and the effectiveness of various adult learning techniques. Next, we field-tested, redesigned and finalized the education content, methods and materials and then conducted multi-year evaluations to measure impact. </p> <p>In a number of rigorous, scientifically conducted research studies in Bolivia, Ghana, Mali, Peru and Thailand, Freedom from Hunger and independent investigators have documented that women participating in <em>Credit with Education</em>, when compared to similar women not participating, have more income and assets, a greater sense of personal empowerment to make decisions, and better nourished and healthier children. And their whole families have better access to good-quality food throughout the year. Moreover, participating women also manage their businesses better and earn more money (especially during slow seasons) as compared with non-participants.</p>

<p>Freedom from Hunger has known for decades that when women come together regularly, many things are possible. The regular meetings women attend to deposit savings and take loans are a platform for learning, encouragement and building self-confidence. The dynamic of solidarity guarantees steady participation, repayment of loans and even the collective courage to try new things.<strong></strong></p>The groups also engage in Freedom from Hunger learning sessions on various topics, such as how to grow savings and how to fight and manage malaria. This education is dialog-based and does not require that women know how to read or write to participate. It fosters a sense of sisterhood among the women so that learning is shared and behavior change is mutually supported by the group members.

<div>Client interviews and&nbsp;tracking the numbers of&nbsp;people served through microfinance institutions that Freedom from Hunger partners with around the world.</div>

<div>SOPHIA'S STORY<br /></div> <div>At 32 years old, Sophia has accumulated quite a bit of wisdom to complement the determination that comes naturally to her. She was born and raised in San Martin Porras in the district of Huancavelica, a poor rural community in the mountains of Peru.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Sophia operates four different microenterprises, each helping her meet the needs of her family. She sells school supplies in the fall. On Mother's Day, an important holiday in Peru, Sophia sells gifts. For All Saints Day, she sells costumes, ribbons, and trinkets. At Christmas time, she sells girls' dresses. But at harvest time she returns to the fields. This is the work that Sophia has known for most of her life.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Management of all this work is difficult. "If we're going to a nearby village to sell, we leave at 4 a.m.," Sophia explains. "During the school season, I need to arrive early to get a spot and get my items out to display. I work all day long and return home around 8 or 9 at night. After we close for the night, we buy things until eleven at night to complete the merchandise we'll need for the next day." Her mother takes Sophia's children to school and her 15-year-old daughter helps out as much as she can. On the weekends, Sophia takes her children to the market with her. In spite of her hard work, she cannot always count on success. "Sometimes," she tells me, "there is no business. We just come home with no money."</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Sophia supports her entire family on the money she earns. She has two daughters, ages 15 and 4, as well as a son, age 13. She lives with both her parents, who also depend on her. The responsibility can weigh heavily on her. "If their shoes are falling apart, I buy new shoes," she tells me. And she always finds money for school fees.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On this point, Sophia has great pride. "I always send them to school," she says.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>With Sophia's first&nbsp;Credit with Education loan of 400 soles ($128), she purchased goods for her school-supply business&#8212;her most successful. She joined the program because "The loan officer said it would be easy to get credit and that I do not need collateral," said Sophia. "It's easier this way."</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>In her credit group, Sophia has learned&nbsp;about preventing childhood illnesses. She talks about the value of this training. "My child got sick in the stomach&#8212;it's common because of the water. We tried to cure her with herbs. We cure coughs with herbs. We rubbed her chest, but when she didn't get better, we took her to the hospital. Not long ago, we had to take the youngest to the hospital because she got very sick. Her tonsils were inflamed and she had bronchitis and stomach infection and was dehydrated."</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Growing her businesses to earn money for such emergencies is a primary motivation for Sophia. Sophia says her daughter's medicine cost 100 soles ($32). "That day I had to use up all my money because the baby's health comes first. I was then without money," Sophia explains.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>With her loans, the chance to save money for emergencies, the training she receives on how to manage her businesses, and the other lifeskills training offered through Credit with Education, Sophia hopes for better times. Living on the margin of survival has taken a toll on everyone in her family. Too often, there was no choice but to look for a handout. "There is a feeding center where they give free lunches," says Sophia as she considers her past. "On bad days, lunch was the only meal we would eat."</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>But Sophia looks resolutely toward her new future. "I want to have a more stable business with a fixed location. I want a better house. And more than anything else, I want my kids to study. I'd like to give them what they should have and not just what I have."</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Sophia's father says he is proud of his daughter's accomplishments and confident that she will achieve her dreams. "She's a support to me," he says. "I can no longer work and she paid for me to have an operation."</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Sophia chimes in, "I'm happy to be able to support my parents while they're alive on this earth."</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Sophia is one of&nbsp;over&nbsp;2 million women in 16 of the poorest countries across the globe moving beyond a subsistence life through <em>Credit with Education</em>&#8230;women who are empowered because they can feed and educate their children, save for the future, and become self-reliant.</div>

<p>Microfinance is an important contributor to the common goal of ending world poverty. But even the best microfinance programs can be undermined by the illness of borrowers or their family members, causing late repayment or even default. This is especially true for very poor, rural communities, where people are exposed to more health risks and have few options for health care. These same poor, rural communities are the ones Freedom from Hunger is determined to reach and serve with value-added microfinance.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Freedom from Hunger launched the Microfinance and Health Protection (MAHP) initiative in 2006 to help our in-country partners create and sustain key health protection services that complement their microfinance services by safeguarding family health and protecting clients and their families from the shocks of major health expenses.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Made possible in large part by the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, MAHP builds on Credit with&nbsp;Education,&nbsp;which combines credit and savings services with education on health and other topics of vital interest to poor communities. Women who participate in <em>Credit with Education</em> programs come together every week or two to borrow money or repay loans and deposit savings. At these same meetings, or in separate community-wide meetings, women engage in learning sessions on topics such as breastfeeding, child health and nutrition, family planning, women's health and also business management and household money management.<br /><strong><br /></strong>MAHP complements this education by enabling microfinance institutions to offer financial products and other services that improve access to actual healthcare services and medicines. For example, in Bolivia, a woman may learn about women's health through education at a weekly meeting, and then through the local MAHP program she also has access to regular check-ups to prevent problems or diagnose them early. If treatment is needed, she has access to health loans, health savings, or linkages to health microinsurance to pay for the services.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Five prominent and profitable microfinance institutions-Bandhan in India, CARD in the Philippines, CRECER in Bolivia, PADME in Benin and RCPB (a federation of credit unions) in Burkina Faso-have successfully partnered with Freedom from Hunger's technical advisors, trainers and researchers to develop their own experiments in providing health protection products and services for their poor women clients. Together we have explored and demonstrated the value of a variety of health protection options to address the common needs of microfinance clients and their families.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Freedom from Hunger and its partners are discovering that offering these health protection options not only protects the health and household incomes of poor families (the cost of paying for treatment can be a major setback for very poor families), it also improves their ability to repay loans on time and increases their loyalty to the microfinance institution, enabling it to better sustain and grow its operations. Some of these service innovations generate income for the microfinance institution (e.g., health loans) and others are subsidized as "marketing" costs (e.g., health education and linkages to health providers).</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Women participating in MAHP recognize the value of these additional services. As one of the RCPB's clients said, "When you go to the market in the morning, you never know what will happen. But when you have the health savings and can get a health loan, you have the security of knowing that if something does happen, you will be protected." The leaders of our partner microfinance institutions are also convinced of the advantages that health protection brings to clients as well as to their social missions and financial bottom lines. As the initial demonstration of the MAHP innovations draws to a close, the successful MAHP products and services are being extended to thousands of additional clients.</p>

<p align="left">Many microfinance institutions (MFIs)&#8212;particularly those serving the very poor&#8212;have witnessed the effects of all-too-common health shocks on the ability of clients to repay, save and flourish in their microenterprise endeavors.&nbsp; These institutions seek sustainable approaches that help safeguard their clients&#8217; health while also protecting the institutional bottom line. To meet this demand, Freedom from Hunger launched in January 2006 the <a href="http://www.freedomfromhunger.org/programs/mahp.php" target="_blank">Microfinance and Health Protection</a>&nbsp;(MAHP) initiative.&nbsp; Together with five well-established MFIs in Benin (PADME), Bolivia (CRECER), Burkina Faso (RCPB), India (Bandhan) and the Philippines (CARD), Freedom from Hunger sought to design and offer health-related products and services with positive health and economic impacts on clients while also being practical, cost-effective and even profitable for the MFIs.&nbsp; We assisted each MFI to develop its own &#8220;package&#8221; of health protection options, including health education, health financing and health microinsurance, linkages to healthcare providers and distribution of health products.&nbsp; After four years, the health protection services and products of the five MFIs were reaching a combined total of more than 300,000 microfinance clients. </p><div align="left"> </div><p align="left">Freedom from Hunger's technical assistance and training is now helping microfinance institutions in other developing countries around the world to bring this powerful and sustainable combination of health and microfinance to many more women and families in poor communities.</p>

<p align="left">Although default rates are low in microfinance, and there are many reasons for client default and dropout, the most cited reason is health&#8212;the illness of an MFI client herself or a member of her family. Furthermore, microfinance clients commonly resort to using their MFI business loans to pay healthcare expenses. Integrated microfinance and health services lead to improved health amongst MFI clients and families as well as more access to health care providers and products. This gives them greater financial protection and more choices which also improves their ability to use microfinance loans and to save. Hence, Microfinance institutions also benefit, especially since MAHP services can often be provided at very low costs or even at marginal profits. </p>

<div align="left">Qualitative and quantitative data to assess impact of program on client health knowledge, behaviors, financial status, and numbers of total MFI clients reached with health services and products.</div>

<p align="left">Freedom from Hunger and its partners are discovering that offering these health protection options not only protects the health and household incomes of poor families (the cost of paying for treatment can be a major setback for very poor families), it also improves their ability to repay loans on time and increases their loyalty to the microfinance institution, enabling it to better sustain and grow its operations. Some of these service innovations generate income for the microfinance institution (e.g., health loans) and others are subsidized as "marketing" costs (e.g., health education and linkages to health providers).As one of RCPB's clients said, "When you go to the market in the morning, you never know what will happen. But when you have the health savings and can get a health loan, you have the security of knowing that if something does happen, you will be protected." </p>

<p>Women who live in very poor, very rural areas face a complex set of obstacles in their fight against poverty. They are much less likely to be literate and much less likely to operate a home-based business that earns more than $1/day. They are no less creditworthy, but their credit needs tend to be small and irregular, so banks cannot afford to provide them with loans. Even microfinance institutions cannot serve them due to the prohibitive costs of transporting staff to their villages.&nbsp;</p> <p>Further setting them back, many women who endure chronic poverty and hunger are reluctant to participate in microcredit programs. Many lack self-confidence, are unsure whether their home-based businesses can generate enough profit to repay a loan, or simply prefer to save rather than borrow. These women want very much to save money, if only a few pennies at a time, but they rarely have a safe place to keep their savings, much less earn a return on their money.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>To overcome these barriers and help these women meet their self-help goals, Freedom from Hunger has co-developed <em>Saving for Change</em> with Oxfam America and Str&#248;mme Foundation of Norway, starting in Mali and now spreading to other West African countries and beyond to Latin America. <em>Saving for Change</em> enables groups of women to deposit savings-often starting with weekly deposits of only 20 cents-and build lump sums for predictable needs. When savings accumulate, the women in the group act as their own bankers, approving small loans to each other from their pooled savings. The interest they charge themselves for the loans goes back into the pool of savings, yielding a healthy return on the deposited savings of each member of the group.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The services of a microfinance institution are not needed because the loan capital comes from the women themselves, the recordkeeping is simple (it is actually done without writing in West Africa), and the women themselves monitor all the transactions. Freedom from Hunger trains and supports local service organizations (NGOs) to train women to start their own groups and manage their own financial needs on an ongoing basis. Over time, the funds grow and allow the members to meet larger and larger financial needs such as healthcare, education, small business start-up and expansion, agriculture and even purchase of food during the hungry season before the next harvest.</p> <p>&nbsp;<br /> Freedom from Hunger has known for decades that when women come together regularly, many things are possible. The regular meetings women attend to deposit savings and take loans are a platform for learning, encouragement and building self-confidence. The dynamic of solidarity guarantees steady participation, repayment of loans and even the collective courage to try new things.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The groups also engage in Freedom from Hunger learning sessions on various topics, such as how to grow savings and how to fight and manage malaria. This education is dialog-based and does not require that women know how to read or write to participate. It fosters a sense of sisterhood among the women so that learning is shared and behavior change is mutually supported by the group members.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>An additional benefit of the <em>Saving for Change</em> model in West Africa is that women members of groups, enthusiastic about the changes they are seeing in their own lives, are helping other women to form new <em>Saving for Change</em> groups in the same or nearby villages. Using picture-based curriculum developed by Freedom from Hunger to train group members to expand the program, <em>Saving for Change</em> groups are now being started by women from existing, successful groups. They are launching a true grassroots movement for change.</p>

<p>Youth living in poverty face many challenges as they transition from economic dependence to facing increased household financial responsibility.&nbsp; Their need to contribute to the household wellbeing is in constant tension with their limited access to financial resources and opportunities. This combination of factors can severely inhibit the ability of youth to break the vicious cycle of trans-generational poverty.&nbsp; But when youth are equipped with financial knowledge, skills and resources, they expand their options and become better able to make positive changes in their lives that can extend to their future lives and families.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In recognition of the needs of the chronically hungry poor early in their lives, Freedom from Hunger, a recognized expert in integrated financial and nonfinancial services for the chronically hungry, launched the Advancing Integrated Microfinance for Youth (AIM Youth) initiative in December 2009 with funding from The MasterCard Foundation.&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In partnership with five microfinance institutions (MFIs) and three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Mali and Ecuador, AIM Youth is developing, testing and documenting financial services integrated with youth learner-centered financial education with the objective to enhance the economic wellbeing of youth living in poverty.&nbsp; </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Four MFIs and three NGOs are participating in the full implementation of the AIM Youth initiative:</p> <p>MFI : </p> <p>Ny&#232;sigiso (Mali)</p> <p>Kondo Jigima (Mali)</p> <p>Cooperativa de Ahorro y Cr&#233;dito San Jos&#233; (Ecuador) </p> <p>Cooperativa de Ahorro y Cr&#233;dito Santa Ana (Ecuador)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>NGO: </p> <p>Plan Ecuador (Ecuador)</p> <p>Tonus (Mali)</p> <p>CAEB (Mali)</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In addition, Freedom from Hunger will conduct market research studies in Senegal, in partnership with the NGO Tostan, and in Burkina Faso, in partnership with the MFI RCPB, to determine the needs and preferences of youth for financial services, drawing from the experience in Mali.</p>