2010 people helping people global annual report

8/2/2019 2010 People Helping People Global Annual Report

1/11

People Helping People GlobalPartnering with locals to end poverty

2010 Annual Report


2/11ople Helping People Global 2010 Annual Report

10 Milestones10 Milestones10 Milestones10 Milestones

new microloans were issued to

ilies living on less than $2 a day. This has

roved the lives of over 175 family

mbers.

talented artisans were givenntracts for their fair-t rade products.

artisans fare from Nicaragua, El

ador, and Guatemala, and the products

sold in the more competitive U.S.

kets.

new lending groups were created.

se loans will be issued in March 2011,

ting over 40 new families on the path out

xtreme poverty.

ContentsContentsContentsContents

LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR &PROGRAM MANAGER ................. 2

IN DEFENSE OF ZERO:MICROLENDING IN NICARAGUA .............................. 3

EL GORDOTHE RAINY SEASON HERO............................................................... 3THE ISLAND COMMUNITY............................................................... 4

JULIANATHE GO-GETTER........................................................................... 4

EXPANDING MARKETS:LUIS CANO &SANJUAN DEL ORIENTE ...................... 5

2010FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS .......................................................... 6SACORROS SMILE ......................................................................................... 6

THANKS TO ALL OF OUR SUPPORTERS!................................................ 7MERCEDES THANKS YOU!................................................................................. 7

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED............................................................... 91)STAY INFORMED ........................................................................................ 9

2)VOLUNTEER............................................................................................. 9

3)PUT TOGETHER A TEAM FOR THE LOANCHALLENGE ................................................. 9

4)BECOME A SUSTAINER ................................................................................. 9

BOARD OF DIRECTORS ................................................................. 10



Isabel with some children from the Avelardo E

community outside of Granada, Nicaragua

Letter from the Executive DirectorLetter from the Executive DirectorLetter from the Executive DirectorLetter from the Ex ecu tive Director & Program Manager& Program Manager& Program Manager& Program Manager

Dear Supporter s,

We are writing to you from a breezy, colonial-style caf in th e center of the oldest city in the Americas Granada, Nicaragua. Aside from

the unique di stinction of being the oldest city, Granada has served as home to the International Offi ce of People Helping People Global sinc

September 2009. The past eighteen months have been full of many challenges but far more amazing successes. This Annual Report hopes to

highlight many of them.

We would like to introduce you to some of the amazing people that we have been able to h elp thanks to your gracious contributions of both

time and money. Our goal at PHPG is to provi de you with as much information as you could ever want. We believe that its essential forour supporter s to have no question of who they are helping and how their contributions are being used. So, i f you have questions that go

beyond the scope of this report, please feel free to check out our website or contact u s per sonally at (804) 859-5597.

Our biggest accomplishment last year was rolling out our microlending program. In

March, we started with seventeen loan recipients in the Avelardo Enrique

community, located southwest of Granada. We then expanded in September to

thirty-seven loans by adding a second group in Avelardo Enrique and establishing a

new community group in the I slands to the east of Granada. Nearly every one of our

loan recipients has shown extreme improvements in their financial and emotional

situations. Many have gone on to create savings accounts, while others have improved

their homes by adding a latrine or turning their walls of plastic into tin, wood, orcement.

We believe that this success i s due to our unique lending model. We are one of the

few microfinance groups in the world that offer 0% interest microloans. This goes

against what many groups in the industry currently believe people also once

believed that the worlds extreme poor were not credit-worthy, and now they are

considered better cr edit risks than those of us in the developed world.

We are standing strong behind our decision to charge no interest due to our

incredibly successful results. We b elieve that this model is the way of the future for

microfinance. We like to describe this method as a hybrid between modern-dayphilanthropy and microfinance. You still get the benefits of reusable capital from the

microfinance model; however, we also rely on donors to support this system so that

we dont have to charge our loan recipients interest. Often, in the microfinance

world loan recipients tend to end up in a worse position than when they began. We

believe that by no t charging interest, we are helping our recipients escape poverty

instead of forcing them deeper into its vicious cycle.

We want to thank you all for believing in our mission and trusting us to develop a

system that would truly change peoples lives for the better. Because of your support,

we have already been able to change the li ves of hundreds of individuals. Please help u s

spread the word so that we can change thousands and eventually mil lions of lives for thebetter. Heres to making extreme poverty history.

Alexander D. Tuck Isabel Gamm

President & Executive Director VP & Program Manager

Alex with PHPG loan offi cers, Gilbert and Ma



In Defens e of Zero:In Defense of Zero:In Defens e of Zero:In Defense of Zero: Microlending in NicaraguaMicrolending in NicaraguaMicrolending in NicaraguaMicrolending in Nicaragua

In 2006, the Nobel Prize Committee changed the world of philanthropy by awarding Muhammed Yunus and the Grameen Bank the Nobel

Pri ze in Economics. A thirty-year-old industry that was vi rtually unknown to most of the world was thrust into th e forefront of modern-da

giving. With this kind of immediate 21st Century-popularity comes the good tons of funding, new companies, and success stories and th

bad tons of wasted funds and corruption.

Nicaragua has been the perfect place to observe all of these good and bad occurrences. There were several microfinance organizations that

were operating in Nicaragua for many years before the boom that followed the Nobel Committee announcement. Over the past five years,

that number has exploded into the hundreds (and some argue the thousands).

For the first few years, the increase in microfinance funding started to help alleviate the extreme poverty across the country. However, the

industry leaders around the world started to push for the microfinance institutions (MFIs) to expand rapidly in order to be able to reach mo

individuals in need. In order to do this, many MFIs decided that increasing the interest that they charged for these microloans was the best

option. Many in the industry jus tified this move by li kening it to the current-day lending practices in the industrialized nations. However,

comparing the two makes about as much sense as comparing the needs of a Philadelphia inner-city school child to that of a rural West Texa

student.

This move towards charging higher interest rates functioned as a welcome mat for many unscrupulous lenders to enter the mark et. It has

literally become a get-rich-quick scheme in many parts of the world. It was not unusual to see MFIs charging upwards of 80% a nnual inte

on these microloans. At these rates, it is quite difficult for these loan r ecipients to be b etter off than when they took out the loans.

In Nicaragua, the loan recipients decided that they wer e not going to be taken advantage of anymore, and the No Pago (no pay) movement w

born. Repayment rates dropped from the 98 percent levels to somewhere in the 40 to 50 percent range. People knew that not r epaying me

that their houses would b e raided by these lenders and that they would b e threatened with physical violence. However, they knew that this

was a small price to pay to send a message to the MFIs who were taking advantage of them.

That is where we came in. We are very convinced that microcredit is one of the best ways to provide individuals with a way out of extreme

poverty. The unique thing about this method of philanthropy is that the money is reusable among many beneficiaries. Also, people who

receive loans are not re ceiving a handout. Th ey are responsible for repaying the loans, and this creates a sense of empowerment and

independence that does not occur with other forms of aid.

But how do we maximize our clients chance for success and combat the No Pago movement at the same time? We came up with the idea of

charging zero percent interest. This allows the full principal to be used by our cl ient, and we ask our donors to cover the cost of facil itatingloans. This combines the benefits of microcredit with the principles of philanthropy. Plus, our clients have no reason to not repay anymore

they arent paying any interest!

So far, we have seen our r epayment rates remain above 90 percent. Our loan r ecipients smile when th ey see us in the distance. They share

stories with us about their business success and their happy children. We walk into their newly renovated houses with new walls, a solid ro

and maybe even a brand new latrine in the backyard. Its working. Our clients are beating extreme poverty. Theyre bui lding better lives fo

their famili es. And they are repaying their loans so that other s in their community can do the same thing.

Gordo The Rainy S eason Hero

mur, aka El Gordo, came to u s in February of last year to inquire about

an that would help him expand his store and cheese business. Half of the

e, Wilmur runs the store and spends time with his children, while the

er half, he leaves the keys with his wife and sets out on foot to sell cheese

r-to-door. On top of hi s incredible work ethic, Wilmur shows extreme

mpassion for his neighbors. During the rainy season when times are the

ghest around Nicaragua, Wilmur offers his customers food on credit until

y are able to repay knowing, of course, that could be months from th en.

Gordo truly i s the hero of his town during rainy season.



he Island Communityhe Island Communityhe Island Communityhe Island Community

ying to the east of Granadas beautiful colonial center

re the equally amazing Isletas de Granada. There ar e

ver 1,000 of these tiny islands, among which two

otally di fferent communities cohabitate. One

ommunity consists of the super-wealthy from

fferent parts of Latin America, the States, and

urope. The other community consists of fishing

milies who struggle to feed their children, drinkontaminated water straight from the lake, and often

ck a latrine or even four solid walls to sleep in.

We had heard of this dichotomy that existed on the

lands, and we really wanted to investigate a way to

et involved with these famil ies. In September, we

ere lucky enough to strike up a conversation with one

f the local tour guides in town, Leo. Interestingly

nough, Leo grew up in the island community, and he

as very excited to introduce us to hi s former

eighbors.eo Tours gave us a free ride out to his parents island,

here the rest of the n eighbors would meet us. It was

uite the sight to see these throngs of individuals (some

f whom would have qualified for Social Security in the

tates many years ago) paddling our way in their

arely-afloat vessels. Each of them told their story and

ked many questions about our organization and our

microlending program. While many of the stories were

eart-wrenching, they were also full of hope.

fter much deliberation, we decided which individualsould be part of the first group of loan recipients from

he island community. Each of them is working hard to

epay so that their neighbors may have the same

pportunity that they did. So far, their community has

perfect repayment rate. We expect this trend to

ontinue with this group. They care about their families

nd neighbors too much to fail.

Ju lia na The Go -G etter

In life there are two types of people: those that choose to just live and those that

to do more. The first type of person does not go above or beyond any expectatio

they set for themselves, and they do what they need to in order to get by. The se

type of individual, the go-getter, is the one that accepts every challenge and trie

achieve every goal that he or she sets. These are the people that choose to excel.

Juliana belongs in the latter of these two groups. She is one of the thirty-seven lo

recipients with which PHPG currently partners. Juliana took out a loan from our

organization to improve her familys small business of catching and selling fish.

Before receiving a loan from PHPG, each recipient must select a repayment plan

offer recipients anywhere from six to eighteen months to repay their interest-fre

When Isabel Gamm, our Program Manager, met with Juliana to discuss her repay

plan, Juliana was quick to inform Isabel that six months is too long. Four month

need! Juliana insisted, we are trustworthy people, and we are very grateful to h

chance to make our li ves better. We are people of the islands. Fishing is all we kn

and we know what we need to be successful. After the interview, Isabel was bot

confused and inspired by their intense confidence to repay in only four months.

Due to the results we have seen from Juliana, including punctual repayments and

home improvements, Isabel admits that she should not have doubted Julianas jud

Juliana is one month away from successfully completing the r epayment of her loa

has been a stellar example of honesty, and she has demonstrated without question

devotion to improv ing her business. PHPG is glad to have worked with Juliana,

wish her the best of luck. We expect to see her continual success thanks to her g

getter attitude.



Expanding MarketsExpanding MarketsExpanding MarketsExpanding Markets: Luis Cano & San Juan del Oriente: Luis Cano & San Juan del Oriente: Luis Cano & San Juan del Oriente: Luis Cano & San Juan del Oriente

Resting on the edge of the crater

overlooking Laguna Apoyo lays one of

the most renowned regions in Nicaragua.

This region, San Juan del Oriente, is

famous for their produc tion of

incredible, intricate, and unique

ceramics. In Nicaragua, specific regions

are known for specific products, and inthe region of San Juan del Oriente, one

can count on finding anything and

everything made of clay.

Due to San Juan del Orientes claim-to-

fame in the ceramics world, one would

expect that the people of this region do

not face the same levels of poverty a s the

rest of Nicaragua. However, this is not

true. The people of San Juan, almost all

of whom are ceramic artisans, face thesame issues that come along with

poverty, including hunger, inadequate

living conditions, and poor health.

Just because the artisans of San Juan del Oriente produce exquisite product does not mean there are people able or willing to buy these thin

Most locals cannot afford artisan ceramics and the touri sts who can, are few and far between. Tourism comes and goes li ke waves in

Nicaragua. However even when it is high tourist season, the artisans still struggle to make a liv ing, because they are forced to compete

amongst each other to make a sale. This tends to drive down the prices, l eaving the many skilled artisans receiving almost no profi t from th

hard labor.

People Helping People Globals Expanding Markets Program works directly with artisans from different regions of Nicaragua. We have

established a fair-trade price model for the products that we purchase, which is ba sed on time and material cost. We have also put in place a

system of contracts with these artisans, giving them a source of guaranteed annual income.

PHPG employs three amazing artisans from San Juan del Oriente. The youngest and most driven of the three artisans is Luis Cano. We met

Luis in the streets of Granada where he sells hi s clay artisan products. Luiss specialty products are his ocarinas, also known as animal whistl

These li ttle whistles are colorful, detailed, and sweet sounding they also tend to be quite successful in catching any tourists attention.

Luiss whole family works in the clay business. This includes his parents, his nine brothers and sisters, and the countless number of cousins a

in-laws. Together the Canos produc e a wide variety of ceramic products, which include ornaments, decorative wall plates, cups, vases,

candleholders, and, of course, the popular o carinas. Working with clay i s difficult and very dependent on the weather. Sadly, they often fin

their entire inventory ruined due to harsh rainfal l or sunless days. The Canos put endless hours into their work and even still , money is tigh

There are times wh en Luis spends all day walking the streets of Granada attempting to sell his whistles. On the days in which he does not ha

adequate sales, he is often forced to spend the night sleeping on the cold streets.

Since working with PHPG, Luis and his family have endured fewer hardships. They can now rely on the guaranteed sales and income from

organization to push them through their hard times. PHPG would like to give a special thanks to our supporter s that consistently purchase o

fair-trade products. By buying these items you are helping PHPG support a growing number of artisan families. Through supporting our

Expanding Markets Program, you are helping artisans such as Luis, say goodbye to the many hardships of a life in poverty.



2010201020102010 Financial HighlightsFinancial HighlightsFinancial HighlightsFinancial Highlights

orros Smile

ng outside of her home with two of her

dren, Sacorro smiles for the camera. Sacorro

many reasons to smile: beautiful children,

nt health, four semi-solid walls, and a future

G loan that will help her get her snack shop

f the ground.

rro came to us a few months ago with the

e that we would b e able to finance her business Like many of our other loan recipients, her

n goal of borrowing from us is to help make

childrens lives better. The truth isshe will.

h barely any capital at the s tart, Sacorro

loped a modest snack shop which allows her

ly to survive. With a loan from PHPG,

rro will be able to take her business to the

level. Her business acumen is already there.

ust needs the funding to make it a success.

2010 RevenueProgram Revenue $ 10,135 37 %

Contributions & Grants $ 8,586 31.5 %

Events $ 7,259 27 %

Miscellaneous $ 1,234 4.5 %

Total Revenue $ 27,214 100 %

2010 ExpensesProgram Services $ 15,018 75 %

Administration $ 3,069 15 %

Fundraising $ 2,001 10 %

Total Expenses $ 20,088 100 %


8/11



oan & Brian Peterson

oanne & Terry Ranney

ohn & Linda Barksdale

ordan & Matt Cotto

oyce Larson

Kathryn & Richard Clare

Katja & Stephen Von Sitas

Ken & Judy Tuck

n memory of Kate Tailer

Kristianna Post

Kyle Walton

Laura Sorkin

Lauren Comet

Leah & Kevin Taylor

Lesley Jamieson

Leslie & Antonie Allen

Letty & Carlton Annis

Maren Ellefson

Margaret Corcoran

Marie JacksonMarilyn & Fritz Swanson

Marty & Ken Philbrick

Mary & Bruce Post

Mary Johnson

Meghan Hartnett

Melanie Sullivan

Mervin & Lorraine

Ingebritson

Michael & Sandra

Reynolds

Milo Moore

Mimi & Les Allen

Neal Smi th

Norene Gulhaugen

Patricia Miller

Patricia Mielcarek

Paul & Janel Gamm

Rick Presson

Robert & Jeannette Hines

Robert & Vicki Stauffer

Robin & William MuthSal & Allen Simoneau

Shirley & Terrence

Raymond

Steve Quickel

Stuart Meyer

Susan Gross

Todd & Rebecca Purring

Tyler Piche

Vicki & David Milton

Virginia & Burton Cross

This is loan recipient, Jaqualina, with her two children. Jaqualina is part of th

second group from Avelardo Enrique, and she has taken out a loan from us to

her cashew and fi rewood sell ing business.Spirit Dancer Books

St. Albans Bowling Center

Starbucks - Church St.

Statements

Sweetwaters

Tradewinds

University Mall

UVM Athletics

Video King

Zabb & Elf's Stone Sou

Philanthropic Partners

156 American Bistro &

Sports Lounge

Anthill Antiques

Ascension Lutheran

Apple Mountain VT Gifts

& Specialty Foods

Applebee's

Asiana House

Bayberry Cottage

Bella's boutique

Big Daddy's Pizza

Boloco

Bueno y Sano

Champlain Leather

Chow! Bella

Cosmic Bakery

Crabtree & Evelyn

Dakin Farm

Dobra TeaEastern Mountain Sports

Ecco

Farm House Tap & Grill

Flynn Center

Frog Hollow

Good Shepherd Lutheran

Hannafords

Happy Trails

Homeport

Joanne Nail-Salon

Kevin Smith'sKiss the Cook

Leonardo's Pizza

Leunig's Bistro

Mad Hatter

Manhattan Pizza & Pub

McDonald's

Metro Hair

Mimmo's

Mirabelles

MonelleMuddy Waters

New Moon

One Eyed Jacques

Quizno's

Riras

Sadie Katz Deli

Salaam

Salon Elizabeth

The Scuffer

Volunteers

Alex Shore

Ani Post

Rev. Elizabeth Griffin

Janel Gamm

Joanne Ranney

Kelly Bowen

Kristi Post

Miriam Mayer

Nanc Martin

Sejal Vaywala

Tenzin Lhakhang

Zachary Zemore

PHPG Fellows

Andrew Guidarelli

Ariana Wammer

Christine McMahon

Isaac Campbell



Ivania is part of the 2nd l ending group in Avelardo Enrique. We have our communit

meetings at her house. Here shes cl eaning fish to prepare lunch for her four teenage

Ways to Get In volvedWays to Get In volvedWays to Get In volvedWays to Get In volved

1) Stay Informed1) Stay Informed1) Stay Informed1) Stay Informed

PHPG has many different ways for you to get the latest information about our projects and events. Here is a list of them:

Visit our website Go to www.PeopleHelpingPeopleGlobal.org. Like us on Facebook Go to www.facebook.com/MicroLending or find the link on our website. Sign up for our Newsletter Enter your email address on the front page of our website (its on the left-hand side) or

email Alex at [email protected].

Read our blog Go to www.PHPGlobalNicaragua.blogspot.com or find the link on our website. Follow us on Twitter Go to www.twitter.com/PHPGlobalNGO. Join our LinkedIn Group Go to www.linkedin.com and search for People Helping People Global. Follow us on Jumo Go to www.jumo.com/PeopleHelpingPeopleGlobal.

2) Volunteer2) Volunteer2) Volunteer2) Volunteer

We have tons of volunteer opportunities for

every type of volunteer (That includes those

of you who are interested in helping out in

Nicaragua). Please check out our volunteer

page to see some of the opportunities that weoffer, and fill out the volunteer survey at our

website.

3) Put t ogether a team for3) Put t ogether a team for3) Put t ogether a team for3) Put t ogether a team for TheTheTheThe

Loan ChallengeLoan ChallengeLoan ChallengeLoan Challenge

This summer, a team of PHPG staff,

Directors, and volunteers will be travelling

to different parts of the country to talk to

groups and organizations about extreme

poverty and how PHPG works to eradicate

it. The goal of the tour is to get groups to

commit to sponsoring a combined 100 new

loans for families in Nicaragua and fund those

loans by October 17, 2011 World Poverty

Day. Groups will get to choose which famili es they would like to help, and then they would raise $200 for each loan that they decide

to sponsor. For instance, if a church was interested in sponsoring three loans, then they would select the three famil ies that they

would li ke to help, and we would send out materials to them (including a picture of the recipient family to hang up in a common

area, along with their story and other material about the program).

If you would like to put together your own group or get your company or church to take on The Loan Challenge, then check out the

website, www.TheLoanChallenge.org, to see how to get started!

4) Become a Su4) Become a Su4) Become a Su4) Become a Su stainersta inersta inersta iner

We have recently added the option for our donors to provide monthly contributions to PHPG instead of having to provide a lump

sum once or twice a year. For instance, i f you gave $300 in total contributions last year, we are asking, instead, that you sign up to

give $25 per month, which would r esult in the same level of g iving. Doing this has two major benefits: 1) as an organization, having

a monthly flow of income helps us better-plan our budget by guaranteeing a certain level of mon thly cash flow, and 2) a s a donor ,

you can better budget your annual g iving to PHPG, making it more manageable plus you can always change the amount that you

would l ike to contribute if your financial situation ever should change. If youre interested in signing up, please go to our website,

www.PeopleHelpingPeopleGlobal.org/donate.


11/11

oard of Directorsoard of Directorsoard of Directorsoard of DirectorsAs of Jan 31, 2011)

fficers

lexander D. Tuck

-Founder & Exe cutive Director

resident

abel Gamm

-Founder & P rogram Manager

ce President

Michelle Piche

nsulting Teacher in Special Education,

ambridge Elementary

cretary-Treasurer

irectors

mily Rooney

nsultant,

erbal & Alternative Medicines

aul Gamm

hemistry Teacher,

llows Free Academy Union # 43

onathan Dail

aud Analyst,

oadview Networks

Maria Teresa is a member of the futur e loan group, Cristo lo Une. She would like to expan

business of selling meat and grains in the market. As you can tell from h er picture, I think

have a passionate, natural-born leader on our hands.

People Helping People Global

Main Office United States

89 Evergreen Rd.Fairfax, VT 05454 USA

Tel: +1 804-859-5597

People Helping People Global

International Office Nicaragu

202 Santa LuciaGranada, Granada, Nicaragua

Tel: +505 8383-6051

Photography by Isaac Campbell (except pp. 2, 4, & 5 PHPG Staff Photos)

e last note

er 2 billion people around the world struggle

ess than $2 a day. Many do not have access to

n water, food, or solid walls. We have a

tion to help some of these 2 bi llion people

pe poverty permanently. Through our

gram, a loan of less than $200 can help a family

rove their business and make that escape.

nk you all who have committed to ending

man suffering. We believe that through a

certed effort, we may be the first generation

istory to ever experience a world without

reme poverty.

Find us on the web at:

www.PeopleHelpingPeopleGlobal.org

www.Facebook.com/MicroLending

2010 people helping people global annual report

Documents