Zambia: February 2009
Four PEER Servants volunteers from Charlotte (Jim Martin, Ken Lloyd, Dick Wilson, and Bob Roth) joined PEER Servants President Todd Engelsen to provide the next round of training to our prospective Zambian partner, CEMFIN (Christian Empowering Microfinance). CEMFIN is taking steps to launch their microfinance program in Lusaka later in 2009. The seven day trip focused on training the board members in how to effectively govern a Christian microfinance program and the new CEO and CFO in the first steps of how to effectively manage a Christian microfinance program. We also worked with the CEMFIN board and management to take the next steps in filing their MFI application with the Bank of Zambia. The trip helped CEMFIN make significant progress on their path to making their first loans while being a time where each of the five team members were tremendously blessed and strengthened by our Zambian hosts.
You can also check out the Recent Trips Blog to see if there is any further news about this trip.
South Africa: February 2009
One of our biggest current projects is called our “Strategic Training Initiative” (STI). This is where we are taking the experience of our largest and highest impact microfinance partner, The Center for Community Transformation (CCT) in the Philippines, and helping our other, much smaller microfinance partners learn from their story. We kicked off STI in February 2009 with a team of four PEER Servants volunteers and staff (Joseph Tucker Edmonds, Jesse Ratichek, Patrice Harduar, and Todd Engelsen) joining three CCT staff (Beth Veñegas, Miraflor Ligaya, and David Campanero) in South Africa to work with the Aloga Financial Services board and staff. It was a time of vision casting, training, relationship building, and strategic planning. We also visited and celebrated with some very impressive Aloga clients and enjoyed time together appreciating the beauty and rich cultural heritage of South Africa. From South Africa, Jesse Ratichek and the three CCT associates traveled on to Nigeria to focus on similar initiatives with our Nigerian microfinance partner, Good Seed Enterprise Development.
You can also check out the Recent Trips Blog to see if there is any further news about this trip.
Philippines: November 2009
PEER Servants volunteers Heather and Jeff Takle joined Board Chairman David Ryder and President Todd Engelsen on an inspiring November 2009 trip to visit The Center for Community Transformation (CCT), our microfinance partner in the Philippines. Heather and Jeff worked on developing case studies to capture many of CCT's best practices - these case studies will be used by much smaller indigenous MFIs around the world to map out their own path to becoming higher impact organizations. It was the first exposure to Christian microfinance for David Ryder -- he returned with a one-word impression: ""Amazing!"" We rejoice over the impact CCT is having in being a means through which God's Kingdom is being extended to even the poorest of the poor in the Philippines. And beyond.
You can also check out the Recent Trips Blog to see if there is any further news about this trip.
