RC Maarssen-Breukelen en RC Langkat in Indonesië

Van een Indonesische website:

800 Poorest Families To Get Micro Credit from RC.Maardssen Brekelen D.1570 and RC Zwijndrecht D.1610  

In 2004 – 2005 RC Langkat will get have two program with Matching Grant to assist the poorest in Langkat. With RC Maardssen Brekelen D.1570 will be for US$ 15,500 to assist about 300 poorest families, and other program with RC Zwijndrecht on behalf of region 2 D.1610 will be for total of US$ 26,000 to assist about 500 poorest families.

Micro credit is the most effective way to empower poorest families to assist them to get out of poverty. Very poor women join the program in mutual support groups.

Each woman gets a starting loan about Euro 50 for her micro business which she pays off over 12 months. After 6 – 10 gradually increasing loans about 50 % of members will get out of poverty. Secondary benefits of micro credit are improved status of women, better family health and education, girls saty in school longer and marry later, beter family planning, better housing and better local village economics.

RC Langkat will work together with Pokmas Mandiri Foundation, an established Grameen Bank Replica organization that is already succesfull in providing micro-credit to poorest. Pokmas Mandiri will provide the skill manpower and management to run the day – to day operations of the micro-credit program while RC Langkat provide supervision of the program plus management and marketing assistance to the micro businesses of the members of the micro-credit program.

In 2004 – 2005 RC Langkat will get have two program with Matching Grant to assist the poorest in Langkat. With RC Maardssen Brekelen D.1570 will be for US$ 15,500 to assist about 300 poorest families, and other program with RC Zwijndrecht on behalf of region 2 D.1610 will be for total of US$ 26,000 to assist about 500 poorest families.

One of the ares to be assisted will be Bukit Lawang in Bohorok sub district which suffered from a disastrous flash flood in November 2003 leaving over 200 families as refugees. Bukit Lawang houses a worls famous orang utan rehabilitation center.RC Langkat co-opearting partner Pokmas Mandiri has been active in micro credit for many years. They have received funding from ILO, Canada Fund, Ausaid and Citibank through Grameen Trust. Pokmas now has about 4,000 micro credit members. Many of the members are engaged in reselling either through market stalls, door-to-door or from mini stalls at home. Others run small food stalls, coffee shops, produce crispy & other processed foods, keep chickens and ducks and provide services such as beauty and tailoring. The person in charge for this project is PP. Ibrahim CR Champion