Microfinancing: change to believe in

Posted by admin on Feb 17, 2009 in News | 0 comments

Trinity Western University’s newest student club hopes to stimulate self-sustainability among third-world peoples in a way that distinctly represents the university and its Christian mission.

David Kostelyk, Dan Folkman, Cameron Jonker and Kyle Nagy have collaborated to found the Micro Financing Group as a means of practically combating world poverty by directly financing small, no-interest loans for people in developing countries.

“God has put it on our hearts to do this,” says Kostelyk. He explains that the group is a response to the question of how not only the club, but the university as a whole, can be active Christian witnesses showing God’s love to the larger world. 

Micro financing is an economic movement that has grown since the 1980s, when Muhammad Yunus founded the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh to offer microcredit to the poor, particularly women. The goal is to allow people in developing communities to start small businesses and build a sustainable community infrastructure.

“[It’s] not just helping one person . . . it develops the community,” explains Folkman.

TWU’s Micro Financing Group will work from this concept. The club plans to find creative ways to raise money, find donors and generate awareness. Then, through a contact in South America, the club will receive proposals from people desiring a loan and, as a group, decide which projects to fund.

Because the group will be allocating the money to various projects directly, rather than through a third party organization, 100 percent of the money raised will reach third-world people.

“If you give $35, we send $35,” say Kostelyk and Folkman. Furthermore, once the recipients repay the loan the money is redistributed.

“It is a distinguishing factor that defines our culture here [at the university],” Folkman goes on to say of the volunteer efforts and active involvement on which the group will rely.

Kostelyk agrees that the initiative will allow the university to “represent [itself] in a great way.”

Even though the group’s founders are each first- or second-year business majors, they emphasize that the club needs the skills and insights from as large a part of the TWU community as it can get.

“It may be our dream, our idea and our passion, but we are looking for all aspects of the TWU community to get involved,” says Kostelyk. He explains that everyone will have different knowledge to help the club decide how best to disperse funding. For example, he notes, an international studies student might have some information of the political and/or social context that will influence which proposals receive loans.

The club is also looking for students with skills in communications to help them raise awareness and develop contacts within the community. The goal is to receive the majority of the group’s funding from private, outside donations, rather than from students.

Kostelyk is pleased with how quickly details have fallen into place for the club and how each of the four founding members are utilising their gifts and connections. Within three weeks of deciding to go ahead with the project they have received official TWUSA club status. 

The long-term big picture, says Kostelyk, involves reaching a specific monetary goal by December, developing mission trips to the areas where loans are sent and involving as much of the TWU community as possible.

At this point, the group is focusing on awareness and figuring out the finer details of the project. Any students wanting more information or to become involved with the club can contact its members through the group’s Facebook page.