ENGLAND: Archbishop welcomes the work of microfinance charity, Five Talents

October 30, 2009 [Lambeth Palace] Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and a priest from Southern Sudan Oct. 29 promoted the benefits of microfinance for the poor through the work of the charity Five Talents.

A reception at Lambeth Palace brought together key players from the world of finance to hear about the role of microfinance in overcoming poverty. The Rev. Thomas Anei described his firsthand experience of these projects working with vulnerable communities in war-torn Southern Sudan.
 
Forced to become a child soldier, Anei escaped and returned to school. He was later ordained as a priest. He is now the training coordinator for a Five Talents project that involves a community-managed savings and loan fund with 647 members.

"My hope for Southern Sudan is to see sustainable development and lasting peace," he said. "We have been in war for all these years, and this is our chance to rebuild our own lives."
 
Currently supporting 12 microfinance projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Five Talents provides loans and training to more than 20,000 entrepreneurs in 10 countries -- helping them to build their businesses, create jobs and improve family livelihoods in a sustainable and dignified way. Each partner is linked with the local Anglican church, which helps provide oversight and effective delivery. The Oct. 29 event aimed to raise funds to expand this microfinance work in Southern Sudan.
 
Williams, who is the group's international patron, said "Five Talents' approach to microfinance brings dignity and economic sustainability to some of the poorest communities in the world," adding that he was "delighted to endorse its programs, working through established church networks, which bring hope and a route out of poverty for thousands of people."
 
With a loan portfolio of over 1 million pounds sterling, Five Talents has financed thousands of $50 to $300 loans to poor entrepreneurs in 12 countries, including Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Microfinance helps with training and loans to start and expand small businesses, which tend to be fairly simple in nature such as shoemaking and repair, sewing, knitting, small retail shops, soap making, tricycle taxis, automobile repair, roadside food stands, brick making, piggeries and farming.