WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009 - (Page 21)

tweaking for optimal results elsewhere. Rather than dictate program structure, The Colombia Project encourages partners to share experiences and learn from each other. The Cartagena micro-loans, for example, are organized by neighborhoods, which function as peer groups. Over time, each group will have its own communal bank. Within 3 to 5 years, when bank deposits reach $5,000, the community will no longer need Colombia Project funds since the communal bank will be able to support all of the short term micro-loans. To allow for expansion to additional neighborhoods, however, the Cartagena program will require outside funding for a minimum of 6 years until the loan pool grows to $15,000, a level that will generate sufficient interest revenue to cover salaries and administrative expenses. As The Colombia Projects approaches its 10th anniversary, sustainability is a key concern. Sustainability includes, at minimum, adequate funding for microloans, program administration and program oversight. For our three newest programs, administered by Vincentian nuns, a permanent loan pool of $3,000 to $5,000 should be sufficient to meet the micro-credit needs of their communities, with the interest on those loans adequate to cover administrative expenses. Oversight could be provided by the Colombian religious community. For the Cartagena and Santa Marta sites—where salaries, utilities and rent must also be provided for—sustainability will be more costly and complex. The Colombia Project anticipates that annual fund raising will have to increase by 50% in order to build each existing partners’ loan pools to the sustainability level. Matching funds from corporations and foundations, either in Colombia or the U.S. is one option. Increased support from within the RPCV community is another. There is also the possibility of incorporation within a more established micro-credit program as international organizations return to Colombia. Over time, as our partners become better known within Colombia, opportunities for paid workshops on cooperatives, communal banks, community organizing and microcredit may provide supplemental income. Helene Dudley gilmara Barrios repaid a loan of $390 with interest within 6 months. She used the funds to expand her store in her house. Replication is another possible source of financing. Alba Lucia Varela administers a program in the community of the Santa Marta. Based on its success, the mayor is providing further micro-credit funding. Another partner received European Union funds to replicate Colombia Project loans. Along with funding, the need for project oversight sustainability is critical. In February of this year, there was a step in the right direction when the current Colombian partners met for the first time. They were eager to learn from and help each other. Since the whole purpose of development is to work oneself out of a job, who would be better suited to handle the oversight function than a committee of Colombian administrators with firsthand knowledge of microcredit programs? They are already the ones doing the real work on the ground. The successes of microfinance pioneers Muhammad Yunus and Dr. Paul Farmer are rooted in respect for and empowerment of local community leadership. With the majority of The Colombia Project board over age 60, even ten more years on the current path would be unrealistic at best and “the road to hell” at worst. Helene Ballmann Dudley (Colombia 68-70, Albania/Slovakia 97-99) is the Chairman of The Colombia Project. Learn more at http://www.colombiaproject.org. Online Master of Professional Studies Degree Humanitarian Services Administration • Humanitarian Response H it i R • Disaster Relief • Sustainable Development Be Part of Something Bigger For more information ion contact Donna Campbell phone: 860.486.0184 email: donna.campbell@uconn.edu http://continuingstudies.uconn.edu/ mps/programs/hsa.html Center for Continuing Studies WorldView 21 http://www.colombiaproject.org http://continuingstudies.uconn.edu/mps/programs/hsa.html http://continuingstudies.uconn.edu/mps/programs/hsa.html

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009

WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009
Contents
More Peace Corps Campaign: Better and Bolder!
Africa Rural Connect
Readers Write
You Too Can Be Bill Gates
Taking Peace Corps Back into the Field
Come for the Information, Stay for the Dancing
A “Green” Community Rising
Microfinance Pioneer Receives 2009 Shriver Award
The Colombia Project
A Voice for the Unheard
Hear Ye, Hear Ye: Microfinance Podcasts
Selected Microfinance Resources
Bicycle! Bamenda! Orange!
Luck and Fame
A Step in the Right Direction
Bringing What She Loves
Letter from Botswana: First Tongues of the Kalahari
Letter from Tanzania: Homo Sapien in Africa
In the Beginning (There Was John)
The Peace Corps Community Making a Difference
Community News
Advertiser Index

WorldView Magazine - Summer 2009

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