Partners:

• World Concern
• The Mothers’ Union
• The Episcopal Church of Sudan, Diocese of Wau

Program Type and Services:

• “Savings-Led”

The program offers microcredit through Financial Services Associations (FSAs) and Accumulated Savings and Credit Associations (ASCAs). ASCA groups determine the terms for the loans from their savings; rates of interest, length and any fees or penalties, making them extremely able to meet local demand and to react to local conditions quickly.

Training and resource examples:

• Adult literacy and education
• Business development training: planning, marketing, pricing
• Social capital development among entrepreneurs
• Biblical values in the marketplace training
• Household budgeting and saving

The Community

This area is currently un-served by any other microfinance program, enterprise development program or bank. It contains a population of more than 500,000 people.  With the independence of South Sudan, there is an expectation of enormous economic growth because the region is endowed with great natural resources. There is also a great opportunity for the local population to engage in diverse business opportunities.

At the same time, the region still faces plenty of risks despite the formal separation of Sudan and South Sudan. Infrequent fighting continues in some disputed border areas. Inter-clan conflicts could also adversely affect the program. The area experiences conflicts between host and pastoral communities due to competition for pasture land and water.

The Program

This innovative microfinance program is in the village of Lietnhom in South Sudan, an area that is transitioning from the ravages of more than 20 years of war. Years after the peace agreement, hundreds of thousands were still internally displaced and others who had found a home were looking to rebuild their shattered lives.

Working with a consortium of partners including the Episcopal Church of Sudan, Five Talents is assisting a village banking project in Wau in the state of Western Bahr el Ghazal, which was started in September 2005. This is one of the first projects of this type in South Sudan.

The target of this project is the Dinka community in Bahr el Ghazal. The project will empower mainly women by offering credit, literacy and numeracy skills to develop their small scale businesses and increase their competency. In the area, most households are headed by women as men are engaged in the armed forces. Currently, women survive by doing petty merchandise, beer brewing, keeping cows, and living off what they grow.

Five Talents is also working with Mothers' Union in Khartoum, Sudan, to nurture a literacy and financial education program.

The Need

Five Talents hopes this program will be a model that can be expanded and replicated into other parts of the Wau Diocese and across South Sudan, if funding is found. We plan to reach a total of 5,470 clients in Sudan and South Sudan in 2012. Please join us in praying for these needs today.

2012 Funding Request:

• $154,410 for the Sudan Consortium (cost per member: $32.51)
• $50,446.80 for the Mothers' Union Partnership (cost per member: $70.07)

Help us empower the citizens of Sudan with the capacity to improve their lives by supporting this Five Talents International program. You will be fighting poverty, creating jobs and transforming lives!

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