“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” – Mother Teresa

I believe the wisdom from Mother Teresa’s quote is most strongly felt within our hearts. When we begin careers or get involved in service it is likely that we believe, doing our best is good enough. Unfortunately, in many cases shortly after our initial enthusiasm, we come face to face with the needs of the community that are beyond our ability. This realization can be both a blessing and a curse. I would contend that the difference in its impact comes from within our own mindset and attitude.

Realizing that the needs of the communities we serve are beyond our abilities can be a curse if we do not develop sufficient faith in ourselves. The realization can be a curse if we feel we have already failed. It can be a curse if it causes us to doubt our efforts and become immobilized.  However, realizing the community we serve needs more than we can offer can also be seen as a blessing.

Realizing the needs of the community are beyond our current ability is a blessing because it calls us to look beyond ourselves. This process helps us to maintain perspective and learn humility. This process reminds us that our efforts are less about being everything to everyone and more about becoming something to someone.  Progress and innovation are the result of the need to develop beyond current capacity. Teamwork and community involvement build relationships that may otherwise fail to develop.

The San Diego Microfinance Alliance and its partners are a wonderful example of this reality. One can imagine that the small group of people that came together to form the alliance realized that they needed more help to serve more people. We can all see the progress, innovation, teamwork, and community involvement that the alliance has created within the San Diego community. The alliance currently has 13 partners committed to perpetuating and sharing the benefits of microfinance. May our work together continue to challenge us to reach new levels of service, education and community development!

Until next time, take care!

Written by Daniel Valcazar II, USD student

Fonkoze, roughly translated, means “Shoulder to Shoulder” in Creole. As its name implies, this microbank has worked closely with the people of Haiti by “building the economic foundations for democracy in Haiti by providing the rural poor with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty.” Fortunately, great minds and hearts quickly connect to generate larger levels of success and support. This has led Fonkoze to develop a partnership with the Grameen Foundation, an important partner with the San Diego Microfinance Alliance.

While San Diego is far from being ”shoulder to shoulder” with Haiti, students from Point Loma Nazarene University and the University of San Diego participated in $2 Challenges to raise awareness and funds for those in Haiti earlier this year. Both of these schools have partnerships with the San Diego Microfinance Alliance and a desire to eliminate poverty through awareness and action. Both schools continue to develop microfinance clubs and events on their respective campuses.

A recent article in the New York Times highlights the importance of microfinance initiatives, particularly in Haiti. It demonstrates how microfinance can succeed where institutional lenders would fail. Microfinance initiatives may not yet have the same level of funds of traditional banking institutions, but they arguably make a larger impact upon the lives of people they serve.

Please check out the article from the New York Times here.

Please also take a moment to learn more about Fonkoze and their efforts in Haiti.

Until next time, take care!

Written by Daniel Valcazar II, USD student

As a collaborative group of microlenders, entrepreneurs, students and business counselors the San Diego Microfinance Alliance understands the key role that microfinance plays in building up a community.  Haiti will certainly need outside support for years to come in the wake of destruction left by the earthquake, dependable access to credit that allows the local economy to prosper will be one of the most important aspects of this rebuilding process. Grameen partners with Fonkoze, an alternative bank in Haiti who helps those who would not qualify for a loan from at traditional banks gain access to credit.

Within the first week of re-opening it’sbranches after the earthquake, Fonkoze delivered more than $1 million in remittances and savings to Haitians. It then worked quickly to bring in an additional $2 million from its account at the City National Bank of New Jersey, working through a unique collaboration of the United Nations, USAID, the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Department of Defense, Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank and City National Bank.

To read an article on Grameen’s Foundation’s work with Fonkoze in Haiti, click here.

For Grameen Foundation’s page on Haiti Relief,  click here.

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