Elk Grove Action Group Minutes
Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Location: Jack & Lisa Williams Residence 9055 Richborough Way
Attendees: Dale Bell, Laurie Bell, Mark Nemmers, Cara Valentino, Dan Redfearn, Bill Scherrer, Bertha Scherrer, Robert Coleman, Mary Jane Peterson, Jeanne Nelson, Julie Green, Jack Williams, and Lisa Williams

1. Microcredit Bank – The group discussed three directions

A. OEF – Help, International have had great difficulty getting reports from OEF (El Salvador) and Acidico (Guatemala). It is not a matter of confidence in the organization but in their reporting. HELP does not have time to address this issue. Jennifer Boehme, Help Director, suggested we go through Kiva (check them online at kiva.org) to fund banks. Our group consensus, however, was that they liked funding a complete bank. Kiva loan recipients are part of a bank and these loans supplement their loans, but are very small (around $25).

B. Bwafano is a microcredit bank in Zambia. Our associate that traveled to Lusaka, Susanne, says it is a good organization but not very organized in its reporting method and needs mentoring. 90-95% repayment rate but didn’t know if this was rate on last payment or the entire time.

C. Mothers Without Borders - Mike Headlee heads the micro credit banks currently and loans to individuals. He spends a great deal of time with business training. The loans are large ($500 to $1000). Mike is leaving to serve a mission for his church in March and will turning the microcredit business over to two individuals. He may be able to check on the program every quarter. This program is fairly new so no track record is available.

GROUP DECISION: The group decided to hold off on microcredit loans to Zambia until they are confident in the NGO they will be working with.
We will contact the president of the board at OEF, Ildiko de Tesak, who speaks English, and try to remedy the reporting problem. We will offer to take over the task of receiving and translating reports and still have HELP transfer our donations. We will contact Jennifer to see if Help is agreeable to this arrangement. Another solution is have OEF register with Kiva.

2. The Lusaka University Hospital Neonatal Center – Providing Supplies

A. Jack met with Charity, the head of the neonatal center, during his visit last year. Because of the shocking conditions he saw, he asked Charity to send us a wish list, which she did. I forwarded this list to members of the EG Action Group a few months ago.

B. We contacted Cathy Headlee, head of Mothers Without Borders for advise on shipping supplies or funds. Her organization won’t be shipping again until late 2009. If we pay shipping cost of $10,000, she can fill a container (40x8x8) and have it shipped this year. She can obtain much material for free or at great discounts.

C. Things to consider: Mothers Without Borders can ship $160,000 worth of donated supplies in a bin. This will leverage our money; Buying a refrigerator here is cheaper than buying one in Zambia. A fridge in Lusaka can cost $1500 and only last a couple years; Shipping it by Mothers would be duty-free, saving us an additional 27%.

GROUP DECISION: The group would like to help but don’t want to contribute the entire $10,000 for the container. They suggest asking Cathy if there is some other group that might help with the cost.

3. Teen Center

A. During Jack’s visit to Zambia, he met with Mr. Safali, who wants to build a teen center in Zambia where teens can use computer, television, and board games for entertainment and education.

B. Cost is $16,000 but the business will be built in stages. Teens will pay for use of the center. This will be a business loan that will be paid back.

C. Things to Consider: With low employment rate in Zambia, teens need constructive ways to occupy their time; Some university MBA programs require their graduates to provide mentoring so we may be able to provide Mr. Safali this help without any cost to us; Other NGO’s in Africa have funded similar computer center businesses in Africa; Some organizations require the borrower’s to come up with 10% of the cost.

GROUP DECISION: This project is low on our priority at this time.

The newest reports can now be downloaded:
Scholarship Recipients (Feb 2007)
Star Stories (Mar 2007)
Banco Dos (Mar 2007)

The newest bank reports can be downloaded for the Guatemala ACIDICO Bank and the El Salvador Las Garcitas Bank.

January 30, 2007 Elk Grove Action Group General Meeting Minutes

Location: Jack & Lisa Williams’ residence at 9055 Richborough Way, Elk Grove, CA
Attendees: Christine Codina, John and Nancy Carrier, Bill & Marilyn Meeker, Elizabeth Atkins, Bob & Grace, Randy Bacchus, Bertha & Bill Scherrer, Dan Redfearn, Jack and Lisa Williams

1. Jack welcomes everyone.
2. Two banks were funded since our last meeting on October 10. One bank was organized by OEF in El Salvador, the Las Caditas Bank, and the other (Bank 1) by ACIDICO in Guatemala. We also received a $2500 donation from Bank of the West for a third bank.
3. Jack has been asked to go to Zambia at the request of Cathy Headly, the founder of Mothers Without Borders. This group focuses on mothers with AIDS and on orphaned children of AIDS victims. Cathy wants to help the mothers secure loans to help them provide for their families. Jack will leave on February 25th. One component of the AIDS problem is single mothers resort to prostitution to provide for their children. Microcredit loans will provide them with a healthier alternative, to build a business.
4. While in Zambia, Jack will connect with various NGOs (non-government organizations) to select a partner to organize and manage the banks. When speaking with organizations, Cathy Headly suggested we not talk money. Instead, focus on what they have to offer and as well as their weaknesses. HELP, International has offered to follow up with two senior staff members who will help oversee the banks in Zambia.
5. Dan Redfearn suggested we be more assertive in seeking new members to the group. He suggested emailing the link to our website (www.elkgroveactiongroup.org) to friends and associates. Another suggestion was to share the DVD “Small Fortunes.”
6. Reports on the newest banks in El Salvador and Guatemala were passed out. Also included was a financial report on all our banks in El Salvador. This is the first time we’ve worked with Acidico in Guatemala and we were very pleased with the feedback. We have requested a report on the 15th after the end of each quarter.
7. We have not received a report on the four El Salvadoran students receiving college scholarships. Jack will ask Jen Boehme, HELP director, to follow up on them.
8. HELP, International is losing their Spanish translator so we may do our own translating for the next report. John Carrier volunteered his daughter, who teaches Spanish at local colleges. Any reports from Zambia would be in English.
9. Donations were collected from anyone desiring to do so at this time. The common consensus was to donate to Acidico since our first bank in Guatemala went so well.

We will be having our first meeting of the year on Tuesday, January 30 at 7:30 pm at our home.
The address is 9055 Richborough Way, Elk Grove 95624.

We will be discussing the reports from our recent El Salvador and Guatemala banks.

We hope you can make it. I will post the reports and minutes on our website for those that can't be there.

Thank you again for your generous support.

Muhammed Yunus will be on the Opray Winfrey show on Dec. 4th and will receive the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10th.

View the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony and lecture from Oslo live December 10 at www.nobelprize.org

Broadcast live: 1 pm Oslo time, 8 am Atlantic, 7 am Eastern, 6 am Central, 5 am Mountain, 4 am Pacific

The on-demand video will be available any time afterward at www.muhammadyunus.org

Small Fortunes Third Nationwide PBS Broadcast

In honor of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on December 10th, PBS will be making available to its local stations the documentary Small Fortunes: Microcredit and the Future of Poverty featuring this year’s winner, Muhammad Yunus, on 5 December 2006 from 2-3 pm ET. This is the third nationwide PBS broadcast of the film—the first occurring in October 2005, the second in June 2006.

Elk Grove Action Group Meeting
Minutes – October 18, 2006

Attendees: Bill Scherrer, Greg Drennan, Elizabeth Atkins, Cara Valentino, Randy Bacchus, Jack and Lisa Williams

1. Welcome and Introductions
2. Discussion on Muhammad Yunus’s honor as Nobel Peace Prize winner
3. Microcredit Bank report
· Those present received a bank member profiles of the El Salvadoran bank started earlier this year
· Individuals can access this report by logging onto www.elkgroveactiongroup.com
· Our first bank in Guatemala is in process of being formed through ACIDICO, a native non-profit organization
4. Jack and Lisa plan to travel to El Salvador and Guatemala next summer
· Anyone interested in traveling are encouraged to contact us
5. The group agreed we want to stay involved in supporting education among children of bank participants
6. Group decided it was time to begin another bank
· Money was collected by those present who wanted to donate
7. Discussion on how to increase our membership
· Booths at local fairs such as Harvest Festival or Western Festival
· Jack and Lisa will contact the Sacramento Bee and the Elk Grove Citizen regarding our tie to Muhammad Yunus and microcredit banks

You can download the most recent OEF Bank Report from here

1. Focused Service

Perhaps you, like us, want to become involved in humanitarian service but just don’t know where to begin. Or perhaps you feel that your small contribution won’t really matter. Starting an action group helps alleviate both these concerns. The Elk Grove Action Group gives us a place to educate ourselves, bounce ideas off each other, and pool our resources.

The key to a successful action group is finding a common goal that excites all the participants. For us, microfinance is exciting because of several vital elements:

• Our donations are loaned out, repaid, and loaned out again, thus multiplying its effect
• A microfinance loan allows recipients to maintain their dignity
• The recipients learn skills that build their ability to overcome poverty
• The microfinance system is flexible such that it can adapt to the business opportunities in any country

Here is what one couple in our group said:

“The idea of micro-banks in particular really interested us. We also read Muhammad Yunus’ book on micro banking and were impressed by his success in helping poor people with low-interest loans…. The idea that such small sums of money could change and upgrade the life style of a family was very appealing to us. We have gained much satisfaction from contributing to help others become self-sufficient by increasing their ability to grow their small businesses.”  

-Melvin & Julia Laraway-

Our group has branched out and done other small projects such as purchasing school kits for elementary school and high school children. Last year we provided twelve college scholarships. We also funded a chicken program whereby recipients were given chicks and taught how to raise them as a family business. However, our main focus is microcredit banks.

During our first few meetings, the Elk Grove Action Group decided it was important for us to know where our money went and how it was used. Therefore, we realized we needed to find a small non-government organization (NGO) that was willing to give us this feedback. We selected HELP, International, based in Provo, Utah. They operated our first three microfinance banks in Honduras. Later, they connected us with OEF, an NGO based in El Salvador. We have had wonderful experiences working with this organization. Attached is an example of one of the reports on our banks. Also attached are reports from recipients of our backpacks and college scholarships. This is what keeps us going.

2. Regular Meetings

We all live busy lives so meetings need to be short, organized and action oriented. A typical Elk Grove Action Group meeting lasts one hour. We chat for a few minutes, share information, and decide what our next step will be. When we first started in January 2001, we met once a month. Now we meet when we feel there is enough reason to warrant a meeting. Our meetings now occur one to three months apart.

Watch us on the PBS documentary, "Small Fortunes" on Thursday, October 27, 2005

Small Fortunes is a one-hour documentary describing the impact that microcredit is having throughout the world through the stories of twelve microentrepreneurs living in Bangladesh, India, Kenya, Peru, The Philippines, and the United States. Microcredit luminaries and experts describe how microcredit is a powerful tool in fighting poverty and provide insights into the issues confronting the microcredit movement.

More Information:
http://www.small-fortunes.com/
http://www.pbs.org/kbyu/smallfortunes/
PBS Air Dates