Growing Profit: How Small Scale Farmers in Burundi are Building Business

In our Burundi program, many women and men are learning how to read and write for the first time.

Once the literacy and business training is completed, these folks use their new skills to begin saving and lending money as a group. Each savings group creates its own constitution and sets its own interest rates and penalty fees.

Francois in Makamba was so impressed by his wife's transformation that he decided to join a savings group himself.

"My wife joined this association, and when she had saved enough, she leased a plot of land and asked me to cultivate rice with her. She encouraged me to join this association. I thought, 'What is she doing?' But I came along and saw what it was about and joined. Before, I didn't have 1,000 Burundian Francs ($0.64) to spare, but I managed to save and now I have a loan. I didn't have land, but I have been able to get some."

Land ownership has opened a whole new realm of opportunities for Francois. He is able to plant, grow, and harvest food for his family as well as sale in the market. Increased income means a better education for his children and improved health care.

Many other members of the savings group in Makamba are also experiencing growth and opportunity. Above, many of Francois' co-members gather at their local church.

Learn more about Five Talents' programs in Burundi and help an entrepreneur build a brighter future.

Melina at Her Roadside Shop in Tanzania

This photo by Adam Dickens captures Melina at work in her kiosk in Iringa, Tanzania. She is one of thousands of women who participate in weekly group meetings, where members can make savings deposits, borrow money and receive training in core business skills. Five Talents partners in Tanzania with the Mama Bahati Foundation (MBF), a local organization that was registered as an NGO in February 2006.

One of the standout features of Five Talents' programs is the business skills training component.

To find out more about Five Talents' work in Tanzania, please click here.

Photograph courtesy of Adam Dickens

Jeanine: Rural Business Development for Mothers in Burundi

Jeanine is a mother of three from rural Burundi. For years, she struggled to provide an income for her family by selling green vegetables at a local market.

Before joining a savings group, Jeanine admits that "my business was not well planned."

She lacked basic business knowledge and didn't understand savings or credit or how to plan for business development or unexpected events. After joining Five Talents program, Jeanine gained skills in business management and changed her business. Read more of Jeanine's story in her own words:

What was life like before joining a savings group?

"My life situation before joining the program was vulnerable because I was discriminated and rejected by my neighbours. I was suffering from lack of money to buy food, clothing for my children and I was very poor and I feared to be with other persons."

What type of training have you received and how has it affected you?

"[I have] received training about how to do the savings, credit, [and] manage a good business in honouring God. I thank very much the program activities. My family and the community have changed [with] improving relationships, knowledge, Biblical skills and income generating activities. I am the leader in our community about resolving problems and my husband needs my advices before making decisions of household income and expenses; imagine!''

How has your life changed since joining the program?

"My life since joining the program has changed [through] increased household income for my family. I became a business mother."

"Now I sell banana juice and I get benefit in order to satisfy my family's [needs]. Now I can buy high quality clothes for my family. . .school materials. . .and even gifts [for] birthdays and Christmas. . .My family is able to plan for medical fees and [for] ceremonies and social activities in the community. . .My business is progressing and transforming the community."

What are your hopes and dream for the future?

"My hopes and dream for the future is to improve my business and become a shopkeeper. [I want to] continue to involve other women in business activities, and [help them] make decisions about household income and an efficient participation in family life."

Help us empower more women like Jeanine. Learn how you can impact families across Eastern Africa.

PHOTO ESSAY: Making a Difference in Myanmar

Lives are being transformed in Myanmar. The world’s 14th poorest country, local community partners are reporting immense impact from the Irrawaddy River Delta Region to the outskirts of Yangon due to the savings and loan groups, as well as, financial and literacy training. On a recent visit to Myanmar, the program team saw first hand the effects of implementing savings and loan association groups, the thriving partnership with Mothers’ Union and receiving positive feedback from group leaders. Take a tour below of the agricultural community in Myanmar.

A woman carries construction wire as she shops at a Delta General Store in Myanmar. The Delta region of Myanamar comprises almost 20,000 square miles and is populated by 3.5 million people who are mainly farmers. The whole area is low lying (as low as 3 metres above sea level) and was devasted by Cyclone Nargis in 2008 when well over 100,000 people were lost.

Red chillies are laid out to dry in the sun, then ground in a mortar and pestle for use in preparing traditional Burmese noodle and vegetable dishes. Crops such as chillies, potatoes, various leaf vegetables combine with various fruit trees such as mango, papaya, banana, etc. provide families with food for themselves and also for sale in local markets of Pantanaw.

Women harvest Betal Palm leaves and bamboo in traditional Burmese shade houses in Dyung Daw Galey.
The proximity to Irrawady River banks and the inevitable floods each year prohibits growing rice or participation in rice banks.
Bamboo is cut, stacked and sold for the purposes of constructing the shade houses.

Savings and Loan group leaders gather for a photo before their annual meeting in Chaung Tha.
Five Talents and Mothers’ Union conduct training and interviews with the group leaders
discussing the value of the financial inclusion programs and their hopes and aspirations for the future.

Beside the banks of the Irrawaddy river is the village of Dyung Daw Galey.
The village is under constant threat from the river which, each year, erodes more of the village land into the river.
River floods in this region are a major challenge as they remove acres of land surrounding the village each year.
All of the houses in the village have been relocated as far as possible from the river bank as many houses and the village church have already been taken by the river.
The village itself, is under up to 5 feet of water for 5 months of the year due to the river breaking it’s banks
and flooding throughout the entire living area. Houses are built on poles to maintain a safe height for the occupants.

Fish are laid out to dry in a rural Myanmar village before being used to prepare traditional Burmese fish paste.
Fish comprises a large part of the dietary needs of the local people. Rice is the main staple.

Members of the Moses group in Dyung Daw Galey participate in the growing and harvest of their main crop of Betel Palm leaves,
for which there is a ready market in the nearest large town of Pantanaw.

The Palm Leaves are grown in specially constructed shade houses to enable ideal growing conditions.

Help us support more entrepreneurs in Myanmar. Make a donation to Five Talents today.

Building a Better Business and Marriage: Sumarti's Story

Sumarti, a mother of five in Indonesia, runs a small canteen selling local food, pancakes and ice pops, turning her favorite hobby into a micro-business. "What I like to do in my life is cooking. It is something I will do until I grow old," she said.

Since joining a loan group in Jakarta, she has used micro-business loans of $85 to slowly develop and expand her business. She has also participated in business skills training workshops.

One of the best parts of the Five Talents program for Sumarti was a seminar on how to be a wise woman. Her marriage had been in trouble, and her husband, who was out of work, was often short-tempered.

"At the time when my husband had been out of work and easily lost his temper, we were thinking of going for a divorce. I remember my children and they were the reason why I had to bear with the situation. I had to keep my patience and to hold on. The loan from Gerhati did help me during difficult times; it kept me going."

"I got help from that seminar. It reminded me to be in a position that would sustain my relationship and get along with my husband," Sumarti said.

Today, her marriage is stronger than ever before. And having learned some valuable lessons, she has been able to mentor other women and help them through their own marital troubles. "I have gone through ups and downs in this life," Sumarti said.

"I help others by sharing my life with them."

Learn more about Five Talents work in Indonesia to empower entrepreneurs.

Children Bring Parable of the Five Talents to Life at ‘Market Day’ Event

We were delighted to learn that Wilson Memorial Union Church in Watchung, New Jersey organized a Market Day for 4th-6th graders who had used the Five Talents Sunday School Curriculum. Can you believe it? They raised over $350!

"As the Minister of our church, I have to say I've never seen a program create as much excitement with the kids themselves as this one," said Reverend Barbara Peters. "I only wish I had experienced something similar during my time in Sunday School when I was young. And, our congregation was so supportive of all the children's efforts. It was memorable for them too!"

Here, Kim Nunn, who organized the Market Day and used the Sunday School curriculum, shares how it helped the children to apply the Bible to their lives and inspired them to raise money for women and men in Five Talents' micro-enterprise development programs:

Q: We understand that the Market Day your church organized was inspired by the Five Talents Sunday School curriculum. Can you explain how the event came about?

A: We were looking for more from our Sunday School curriculum and really wanted to get the kids "hands-on" in a multi-week program that would take their Bible lessons to a new level and show how they can apply the Bible in their lives. The stories for the upcoming weeks all included the theme of "poverty," so we chose that theme. I began looking for help online to build a program and found Five Talents! It was perfectly linked with what we wanted – and so flexible. It was perfect! I particularly loved that Five Talents does not just go in and provide people in need with a temporary gift of food or money, but rather teaches them to develop a business that can sustain them and their family for years to come.

Q: Would you recommend the curriculum to other churches or Sunday School programs? If so, why?

A: I would absolutely recommend this program to all Sunday School programs! Many curriculum options out there cover the Bible stories and reinforce with games, crafts, and activities, but nothing makes the Bible story "real" to them like a program, such as Five Talents. That is what really sparks the kids' interest – to touch them personally and enable them to make a "real" impact in this world. Also, in many programs, younger children are able to take part in activities like food pantry collections, coat sorting, and making medical kits. These are wonderful but lack the direct feeling of impact that Five Talents makes possible through the videos and stories of the actual people you are helping!

Q: The photos of the children using their talents to help micro-entrepreneurs are simply wonderful. Why do you think they had so much fun putting this together? Did any of the children mention "lessons learned" or takeaways from the experience?

A: Oh yes! Our children have never been so excited about coming to Sunday School, and attendance is up! We often talk about using our talents that God has given us to "make the world a better place," and I don't think they have had such a direct feeling of being able to do that as they did with the Market Day project. The opening lesson placing them in a "role" of poverty was very successful in making it "real," and they even connected with the people they were portraying. Having them create their own business plan and come up with a "product or service" helped them understand what the folks you help go through, and they really got into it and "felt it". They all came up with their own great products and services. Some of them even worked on them at home! The Church purchased all of the materials they needed to keep track of the budget and make it less work for the families outside of Sunday School. We linked the "Market Day" sale with the holiday season and our Advent Workshop and Potluck Supper, which was perfect and really helped their sales. The kids really ran the sale, managed the money, and monitored the products on their own. The boys who did the Puppet Show even sold advanced tickets and put a donation box outside the Sanctuary during the show. So clever! We were so impressed with them all and saw the "reward" they felt on their faces. If you could see their faces when we would watch the videos – they would ask, "Are those the actual people we are helping"?

Abby created and sold these lovely gift boxes. "It was nice to know that something I made could help someone else make something with their hands for themselves," she told Kim, adding, "I can't believe so many people wanted to buy my boxes!"

This is the "Hot Cocoa" table run by Nick, Doyle, Thomas, Calvin, and Robert.

Meredith and Melanie selling many "rainbow loom" items they – along with Jenna (not pictured) – made themselves. "What I liked most about this project was the fact that we were able to make people happy and help them," said Melanie.

Ben and Aaron came up with the idea of a "Twas the Night Before Christmas" puppet show that filled the pews! They sold $1 tickets in advance and had a donation box outside the sanctuary. "It feels really good that we made such a big impact," said Ben.

Taylor selling her live Terrariums. She came up with the idea herself and made them during Sunday School classes with the help of friends.

Rose Says 'Thank You' to Five Talents

Rose sells garments and shoes at a market stall. To purchase much of the stock in her stall, she took out a loan of 20,000 KES (US $200). While this may not seem like a lot of money, it is a colossal figure for many small business owners in Kenya, especially for those who lack access to banks and financial services.

Rose estimates it will take her about 10 months to repay the loan. Members of her savings trust group, encourage her during their weekly meetings. Group members share advice, discuss their businesses, and help market one another's work. They also learn vital skills in business management and development.

Without the loan, Rose says that she would not have been able to open the market stall and provide a livelihood for herself and her young son.

When you support Five Talents, you help entrepreneurs like Rose build a brighter future for their families through training, mentorship, savings, and community development.

Make a gift to Five Talents today and create a better tomorrow for entrepreneurs and their families.

Losing a Job to Start a Business: Tina's Story

When Tina lost her factory job in Jakarta, Indonesia, her children, Putri and Willy, also lost the funds they needed to cover school fees for books and uniforms. Tina, 40, needed to act fast.

While her husband continued his work as a driver in Jakarta, Indonesia's capital, Tina opened a small salon. Unfortunately, it was one of many in the neighborhood. While she was skilled in cutting and styling hair, her business did not survive, in part due to the cutthroat competition on her street.

So Tina took Putri and Willy with her to Cileungsi, a suburb of Bogor, which is about 60 km south of Jakarta. She once again set up a salon, and once again, it failed to generate any income. It was around this time that she learned about Five Talents' local partner in Indonesia, GERHATI. The project in Indonesia maintains three core programs that provide financial support, training, and technical assistance to poor entrepreneurs.

Tina joined the program and, before long, was able to take out a loan and invest in a business that GERHATI helped her to develop. With the microloan, she bought a small food cart and positioned it outside of a large school in her neighborhood. She stocked it with instant noodles, sodas, snacks, and sausages.

So far, Tina has been averaging a monthly profit of 200,000 Indonesian rupiahs, or $20. Most importantly, she is earning enough to cover her children's school expenses, which include the cost of uniforms ($60 a year), books ($10 per semester) and after-school care ($10 a month). Tina is also paying back her loan, while her husband's salary is used to pay for electricity, rent and daily needs.

Tina says that she wants her children to get the most out of school, so she does not ask them to do any housework. Her only request beyond studying hard? "Pray every day," she tells them.

Help more women like Tina escape poverty and build a brighter future. Your donation to Five Talents supports entrepreneurs with business skills training, savings group formation, mentorship, and financial services.

Beating Loan Sharks with Community Savings: Chandra's Story

Chandra has been a member of a Five Talents savings group in Indonesia for over five years.

 After losing her low-paying job at a local factory, Chandra struggled to support her three children. "I got laid off. I still remember at that time our family could not depend on my husband as he did not have regular income. I had no choice but to buy a sewing machine and started to receive anyone who wants to have their clothes altered."

Chandra worked hard to develop her business. Through Five Talents local partner, GERHATI, she received business development training including simple lessons in bookkeeping, marketing, creating a business plan, product development, and promotion.

As a member of a small savings group, Chandra also gained access to business capital through loans. While traditional lenders in the area charge interest rates of up to 800%, GERHATI's small groups offer business loans and cover the lending costs through value added training and skills development, paid for by the groups themselves.

As Chandra's business grew she dreamed of sending her eldest daughter to college. "We are not the rich who can bequeath things to children. I can only give her education."

With her most recent loan, Chandra purchased two refrigerators and began selling ice cubes. The expanded business has brought new income and opened new opportunities. "This job enables me to send my first child to college", she says with a smile.

Chandra is now the treasurer of her savings group and her husband testifies:

"I'm proud of my wife. She is wise and she teaches children to be spiritually strong and to work hard. We are glad that my daughter is graduating soon."

Five Talents is helping many like Chandra to access savings groups, loans and business training. Members gain knowledge and resources to start new businesses and build income.

Learn more about Five Talents' programs in Indonesia.

Micro-Enterprise Development in Indonesia: A Conversation with Five Talents Program Director Suzanne Middleton

Each of Five Talents' microfinance programs are tailored to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Here, Five Talents Program Director Suzanne Middleton explains how micro-lending, training and mentoring are transforming lives in Indonesia, where Five Talents partners with The GERHATI Foundation.

What makes the Indonesia program unique among our other programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America?
The Indonesia program is different to other Five Talents programs in two main ways. One, Five Talents was responsible for the development of this program from the very beginning, when the first request came from the Indonesian Anglican church for a micro-enterprise development program among the communities they serve. From board development and training to management and staff hiring and training, Five Talents has been the key partner from the start. Two, GERHATI's outreach is to predominantly Muslim communities. In fact, over 95 percent of the program recipients are Muslim.

If we were to take a walk through one of the communities served by Five Talents in Indonesia, what might we see, in terms of living conditions? What does the family unit look like in such communities?
Many of the communities suffer from poor or non-existent sanitation services, such as sewers or storm water drains. Access to clean water is often difficult and expensive. Many families – which, on average, consist of three to four children – make do with water from polluted water ways, and many suffer sicknesses as a result. Communities are often marked by uncollected rubbish, which pollutes the water ways and areas surrounding houses, attracting rats and other health hazards. Poorer communities are usually in areas prone to flooding, which occurs sometimes multiple times each year.

We talk a lot about the importance of Five Talents' local partnerships with indigenous organizations. Can you explain why such partners are critical to the success of the programs?
Helping indigenous communities and churches to help themselves and achieve meaningful empowerment and self-determination is at the core of the Five Talents mission. Assessing what key indigenous people want to achieve for their communities and country is crucial to working out the best methods of helping them achieve this. Partnering with a local organization enables Five Talents to align values and objectives to a well-governed and well-managed program that knows precisely what it wants to achieve and who to target. A strong local organization is well-grounded in its own environment and is there to stay.

Our partners are always striving to meet the needs of the women and men in the program. What are some of the ways that the Indonesia program has been evolving to meet members' needs?
GERHATI strives to "unlock" the natural gifts and strengths that people have through skills training and provision of a forum that enables them to discover, with each other in groups, the many different ways, individually and corporately, that will enhance their income, knowledge and general quality of life. Basic skills, such as numeracy, literacy, hygiene, book keeping, etc., can be taught by trainers who also encourage dialogue and discussions that help the group learn to work together.

In your mind, what's the measure of success for a program like this? What do you look for when evaluating the program's positive impact on individual group members and on the community at large?
One of the biggest indicators of success is the expression of hope for the future by the individuals and groups that our partner GERHATI works with. When people, after participating in the program for only a few months, begin to see new opportunities and possibilities for their families in terms of education, new business ventures and income opportunities and healthier living, then we can feel assured that the program is on the right track and its mission and vision is being achieved.

Denise in Burundi: 'I Feel Empowered and Confident'

The power of giving is truly remarkable.

I recently returned from a trip to Burundi, where donations from folks like you have been put to work, forming savings groups, providing loan capital for micro-businesses and training micro-entrepreneurs in core business skills.

To be sure, the need in the communities I visited was palpable. But the power of your generosity – and God's blessing on your donations – is far, far greater.

Without supporters like you, many of the huts I visited would not have roofs or windows. Fewer meals would be served. Fewer children would be learning to read and write. Hope would be virtually non-existent.

I think of Lea, who had hardly a penny to her name when she joined a savings group. After attending regular meetings, receiving training, and taking out a small loan, she launched a tiny enterprise selling tomatoes.

"Now, we eat two times a day while we were eating once or less a day before," she told us. "We are able to provide school materials to our children. While I had no income, now I am financially autonomous. And with my profits, I can even provide some gifts."

Isn't that amazing? Lea, who was directly touched by the support of Five Talents donors, is now giving out of her own profits, small though they may be.

Indeed, the needs of folks who join our programs are great. But the power of your gift is greater.

Without you, micro-businesses would not be turning a profit and helping to fund the education of children.

Without you, women would not feel – often for the first time in their lives – that they have value, that God loves them, that they have skills and gifts and something to offer their families.

Denise's story, if you heard her tell it, might just bring you to tears. Ostracized in her community, she literally had no clothes or home when she first joined the program.

But other women in her savings group saw her need and surrounded her, encouraged her and helped her to get back on her feet. She learned from them and slowly began to re-build her life.

"Being in a savings and credit association has contributed to my changing social status," she said. "I feel empowered and confident. Now, I am the one to provide food and take care of my children, to build a dwelling, and to buy clothes for myself and my children. I've also gained new relationships through the group."

These are just two of the scores of stories I heard when I was in Burundi, where we estimate 40,000 women and men are still waiting to join our program.

That's not a typo: 40,000 people in Burundi – one of the world's most impoverished countries – are in great need of financial services, training and support.

Tens of thousands more wait to join our programs in communities across South Sudan, Myanmar, Bolivia and Indonesia.

We simply cannot meet this challenge without your support.

Although the need is great, the collective generosity of people like you is far greater.

A donation made today will change the life-course of a savings group member and their dependents.

Your gift will provide business skills training workshops, micro-business loans, and savings group formation – all before the end of our current fiscal year.

As we celebrate the birth of the greatest Gift the world has ever seen, Christ Our Lord, let us each prayerfully consider how we can give out of our own great wealth.

No matter where you find yourself this holiday season – whether at home in front of a familiar tree strung with lights and ornaments, or enjoying a well-deserved vacation – please know that your generosity has the power to lift up women like Lea and Denise, along with their families, from the pit of poverty and despair.

Sumiyati: Indonesian Entrepreneur at Work

Sumiyati's micro-enterprise involves making wedding accessories and renting bridal gowns. She has been in business for 13 years, and her success has made her a respected member in her community outside of Jakarta. As a loan group leader, she hosts regular group meetings in her home and helps to mentor other women who are just starting their own micro-enterprises. Sumiyati is just one of thousands of entrepreneurs in Indonesia who have learned skills and gained access to savings and loans through Five Talents.

Learn more about Five Talents' programs in Indonesia.

You Might Not Realize It, But Global Poverty Is on the Decline

Realistically, what can each of us do to help end extreme poverty?

A lot more than we sometimes realize.

Recently, a Barna Group survey found that 84% of Americans – roughly eight out of every ten – are unaware that global poverty has been on the decline. In fact, over the last 30 years, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty has decreased from 52% to 21%.

Various factors have contributed to this decline, such as economic development and international aid and investment. Donations from people like yourself to organizations like Five Talents have also been critical to this decline.

The simple truth is that ending global poverty, and transforming lives, starts with you and with me.

A donation, a conversation in which you advocate for the poor in an under-served community, even a Facebook "Share" that compels a friend to learn more about the issue – such actions make a real contribution to the fight against global poverty.

Each year, around 75,000 people participate in Five Talents' programs.

What exactly do your donations, advocacy and prayers accomplish? It varies, of course, from community to community, but in Indonesia, for example, the typical person who joins a loan group organized by Five Talents partner The Gerhati Foundation will:

• Receive a micro-business loan;
• Be trained in the effective use of the loan;
• Receive budget skills and business training;
• Be part of a compulsory savings program;
• Increase her household income over several loan and training cycles;
• Have access to a free medical clinic for her entire family.

The hope, the empowerment and, ultimately, the transformation resulting from these financial and training services begins not in the slums of Jakarta, or on the streets of Tarija, Bolivia, or in the mountains of Burundi, but with folks like you -- in Washington D.C., Pittsburgh, PA, Littleton, Colorado, or wherever you are.

Make a donation today and join with us in helping to end extreme poverty.

Why we Work in Myanmar

Have you ever wondered why Five Talents works where it does?

Since the organization's founding in 1998, Five Talents has focused on serving communities that are off the beaten path. They are often post-conflict, rural and far from the nearest bank.

These communities have under-served populations stuck in poverty. Starting a savings group, offering micro-business loans and organizing training workshops -- these are services that such communities need desperately if fathers and mothers, husbands and wives are going to see real transformation in their lives and in the lives of their children.

For an example of why we go where we go, look no further than our Myanmar program, which was launched in 2011.

This infographic highlights the need for financial inclusion in the country:

The figures come from a recent report by UNDP, CENFRI and Finmark Trust titled Making Access Possible (MAP) Myanmar.

"Access to an appropriate portfolio of financial services can improve the welfare of the underserved population by helping them conduct their financial lives more efficiently, increase income, manage risks and build up wealth over time," reads the report, which was based on surveys and interviews of people in over 5,000 households.

Five Talents is beginning to help meet this need through its partnership with Mothers' Union. The early stages of this partnership has focused on establishing savings and loan groups in the mostly rural and undeveloped Irrawaddy River Delta region, and in the hot and humid outskirts of Yangon.

Some of these groups are creating joint agricultural enterprises – an innovative approach that has proven to be remarkably effective.

Local community leaders in the country, the world's 14th poorest, see the program as transformative – not just at the individual level, but also at the church and community levels. While change is taking shape across Myanmar, Five Talents programs continue to expand reaching refugees, rural farmers, and other marginalized groups across the country.

A Roof Over My Head: How Microfinance Changed Mary's Life

Mary's husband passed away years ago. Like many widows in the villages of Buye, Mary struggled to maintain her home and meet her daily physical needs.

Friends from church prayed with Mary. They also invited her to join a Five Talents program providing training in financial literacy and business skills. Mary learned biblical principles of financial management. She also heard stories from friends who had developed successful small businesses.

Mary was encouraged to identify her God-given talents, explore her available assets and resources, and put them to wise use. Mary learned the discipline of saving and joined a small savings group.

With the encouragement of friends in her group, Mary used her first loan to buy and sell avocadoes. Her business grew over time. By developing a sustainable business Mary was able to provide a steady income for herself. She also saved and was able to use her profits to install a new roof for her home.

Helping widows like Mary is why we are here.

Five Talents continues to help women and men across Burundi and in low-income communities around the world.

Make a gift to Five Talents today and empower an entrepreneur. Sign up for our newsletter and receive more stories of transformation.

Micro-Savings and Business Skills Training Give Sabina’s Confidence a Boost

If you ask Sabina to describe how her life has changed since joining a savings group, you had better listen up and have a pen handy. The Bolivian woman barely pauses to think before the stories start flowing out of her.

Before joining a savings group, Sabina had knitted clothes for sale in Argentina. But when demand fell and prices dropped, her micro-enterprise no longer made financial sense. She had a strong skill, but where could she focus it? A thought hit her when she learned of a need for a knitting teacher.

"I could never have imagined being a teacher, but I encouraged myself to apply as a knitting teacher in a school, and they accepted me," Sabina said. "Now, I am helping many poor children to knit sweaters and scarves for themselves. I have always spoken like a teacher to other people, and now when people call me 'teacher,' I feel very good and special, and I have even more desire to teach."

Before joining a savings group, Sabina was reluctant to leave her home and talk to others. She lacked confidence. And she had little say in financial affairs at home, where she and her husband have raised seven children.

"I was very quiet and suspicious of people. I was also very timid," Sabina recalled. "I eventually joined a group because of my friend. She always told me that it is important to save for emergencies and to have capital for a business. At first, I didn't want to join the group, but she insisted that I try it, so I joined and began to save small amounts."

A year later, and to her great surprise, Sabina was nominated to be the group's president. "The other women in the savings group [had begun to] put a lot of confidence in me. When I was named president, this made me feel very happy."

With the income generated by her teaching and occasional knitting projects, Sabina continues to build up her savings.

"I am saving a lot because I know that the pre-military fees for my son will be very costly, and also my daughter leaves for her bachelor's degree this year," she said.

Her success in business and her development as a person has also caught the attention of her children and husband.

"Before, I had to depend on my husband," she said. "Now, I also give my opinion in my home, and my husband entrusts more responsibilities to me. I offer more ideas in the house, and I'm finding that I am more patient and happy with my children."

Your support of Five Talents' programs make stories like Sabina's possible. Click here to make a donation of $10, $25 or $50 and provide more women and men access to savings groups, micro-business loans and business skills training.

Photo Essay: Inside a Savings Group Meeting in Burundi

This week, a small group of Five Talents advocates and supporters are in Burundi to visit with some of the women and men who have joined savings groups and are receiving training in basic business skills, thanks to Five Talents' local partner in the country, Mothers' Union Burundi.

Here, photographer Ross Oscar Knight captures a few moments before, after and during a savings group meeting that he and others on the trip were able to observe.

Many of Five Talents and Mothers' Union's savings groups in Burundi hold their meetings in community churches like this one.

At every meeting, group members add to their savings. It is from this collective savings that group members may, in turn, access micro-business loans to support and expand their income-generating activities, such as buying salt in bulk and selling it to members of their community. The size of the microloans and the interest charged on the loans are agreed upon by the individual groups, which adopt a group "constitution."

One of the benefits of Five Talents' group savings model is that members have peers who can encourage them, advise them and support them both emotionally and spiritually. Every group member also receives training in core business skills, like accounting and marketing. Many of the women and men who are part of these groups, never had the opportunity for an education. Before joining the savings groups, these women and men are taught how to read and write as well as how to do math for small businesses. This training is coordinated by Five Talents' partner Mothers' Union.

For every savings group member served, up to seven people in their household benefit: financial management skills are passed on to children and spouses; living conditions improve when savings group members use their profits to install a new roof; parents are able to send their children to school.

Want to find out more about Five Talents' micro-savings, lending and training program in Burundi? Click here to learn about the difference you can make.

All photography by Ross Oscar Knight for Five Talents

Financial Inclusion and Training Fuel Growth of Edo's Micro-Enterprises in Indonesia

The transformation you unlock when you give to Five Talents looks a little different in each community. For Edo in Indonesia, the transformation involved an expansion of her micro-enterprise and an escape from unhealthy living conditions.

Edo has built a micro-business around selling clothing, small electronics and – most recently – homemade fish crackers.

Business skills training and a series of micro-loans from Five Talents and our partner organization in Jakarta, The Gerhati Foundation, helped Edo to grow her profits, which she and her husband used to construct a humble new home.

Today, they have a roof over their head, a solid brick wall around them, and a safe, dry space full of hope for the future.

"I did not have the courage to own a house before -- even the small one," she said. "With Gerhati and Five Talents, we have built a small house bit by bit from what we earn."

The program, she said, gave her the support and determination she needed to make her dream a reality.

The program has also brought Edo closer to her community: "I got help from neighbors and friends, as well, during the building progress. I believe this help came from God."

The challenges that Edo faces with her business are fairly typical. For example, she shares that "it takes quite an enormous amount of capital to be able to sell electronic goods." And finding raw materials for her homemade fish crackers can sometimes be difficult.

Edo also allows customers to take out a line of credit with her in order to make purchases. Sometimes, she says, customers are unable to pay off their debt.

Still, she has become a trusted resource in the community. "I have been around for quite a long time so I have known my neighbors for some time," she said.

Edo, who is on her fifth loan cycle, has drawn especially close to other group members. In fact, it was from one of them that she learned about the fish cracker business.

"When I joined the group, one of them asked if I could help her sell fish crackers. I started by selling them to some kiosks I happen to know about. It's something new to me, and it's going quite well at the moment."

Such is the life of a micro-entrepreneur like Edo.

She sell clothes that she hand-picks from bulk markets. She pedals electronic items that might appeal to people in her community. And she works with a friend to produce and distribute fish crackers.

Every little bit of business contributes to the construction of her home – and to other dreams that now suddenly seem achievable.

"There is a vacant lot next to my house," Edo said. "Hopefully I can set up a kiosk -- even a small one -- and sell more items, like rice and top-up credit vouchers for mobile phones."

Make a donation to Five Talents today and help more women like Edo build a better life for themselves and their family.

Five Talents’ Microsavings and Microfinance Programs Help Parents Send Kids ‘Back to School’

Children across the country are beginning the academic year. There's the requisite trip to the store for school supplies. The nice, new outfits. The big, yellow buses.

 In many of the communities where Five Talents works, the situation is quite different. There's no school bus, because there are often no roads – only dirt paths. Classrooms have no electricity. What's worse, many children never even have a chance to attend school. Their parents simply can't afford the uniforms, pencils and notebooks.

However, because of Five Talents, this is changing.

Our savings, microcredit and business skills training programs help moms and dads establish a sustainable micro-enterprise that can provide for their family and pay for their children's education.

The success of our programs – and these parents' micro-enterprises – trickles down into the family.

We have moms and dads joining our programs not only to improve their finances, but because they want their children to go to school – to learn to read and write, add and subtract.

Outside of Jakarta, Tina (pictured above with her children) is running a business selling snacks and drinks near a school campus. Before Five Talents and our partner in Indonesia, GERHATI, helped her launch this business, the former factory worker was unable to pay her children's school fees. But now she's earning enough to cover the cost of uniforms ($60 a year), books ($10 per semester) and after-school care ($10 a month).

Tina says that she wants her children to get the most out of school, so she does not ask them to do any housework. Her only request beyond studying hard? "Pray every day," she tells them.

In rural Peru, Francisca (on left) wakes her children every morning with a simple breakfast of oats, chuño and corn. "We have to eat very well because we have to go to the city on foot," she said.

With no other transportation options, journeys like this to school and work are the norm for Francisca and her family.

With the help of an initial loan of 500 soles ($167) from Five Talents, Francisca was able to put her children in school and launch a second micro-enterprise selling fruit in bulk.

Virginia in Burundi (pictured below) couldn't afford to send any of her five children to school before joining the local Five Talents literacy, financial education and microsavings program. But after building up savings and taking out a small loan of 20,0000 Burundian francs ($14), she began to sell cassava leaves, bananas and vegetables to two restaurants.

"I have gained much profit," she said. "With that profit, I have improved my family life conditions and sent two children to school."

On their first day of school, they wore shoes and uniform and carried a ruler and some pens in a new book bag. "I am the model in my community. Even my neighbors have joined a saving group after seeing my conditions changed," Virginia said, adding, "Even my children are very smart compared to others."

When moms and dads are empowered to use their God-given talents to provide for their family, children are able to attend school.

With that new pair of shoes, Virginia's children will be able to kick around a soccer ball with classmates. With those pens, they'll learn to write their name and balance a simple math equation. With the food that Francisca provides every morning, her kids will have energy to study hard. With the after-school care that Tina pays for, her kids will get assistance with their homework.

With Five Talents, families are being transformed – and their hopes for the future are being fulfilled.

Make a gift today! We need your support to continue helping women and men build a sustainable living and provide for the needs of their family.