In an article in the NY Times this past December the author wrote that there is evidence that one of the most effective tools to fight global poverty may be a savings account.
The world's poor almost never have easy access to banking, so cash that sits around gets spent, often not to the best advantage. I would add that this has been my experience here too.
Catholic Relief Services has come to the same conclusion with new programs to promote savings.
One of the ugly secrets of global poverty is that a good deal of suffering is caused by bad spending decisions.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is studying how best to promote financial services for the poor.
We have now formed a committee and hired, for one day a week, Jose Gonzales as the director of this project. The committee, Jose, and myself are now assessing the likelihood of developing community banks in Don Juan.
We are now engaged in making a quick survey of the community to see the viability of said project and the needs in Don Juan. After the survey, if there is a viable market here we will begin organizing those interested, assessing their abilities, training them, and helping them to start small enterprises. We intend to continue to offer support to community bank members in their endeavors along the way.
An integral part of the project will be the development of savings accounts. The loans made afterward will involve monies accumulated through the savings of the people themselves, as well as from outside resources.
The process is to organize, develop capabilities, and implement.
That is a very quite summary of what we hope will be a long lasting and prosperous journey for all who may become involved.
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