WCCN's Newsletter, Summer 2010, Volume 26, No. 2

Rogelia Chac Choc tending to strawberries on her farm in Guatemala.
Photo by Michael Kienitz.

by: Carlos Arenas, WCCN Executive Director

As WCCN prepares to commemorate next year’s 20th anniversary in microfinance work, we reflect on our experiences to date and consider our current and future place in the growing microfinance sector. With that in mind, I’ll address two main issues. First, I’ll revisit the three investment funds WCCN has used to channel funds to the poor. Second, I’ll elaborate on questions we should be raising about our work.

I just returned from the Global Microfinance Investment Congress in New York City, an annual gathering of people from around the world working on microfinance from every possible angle -- from grassroots initiatives to major financial institutions involved in the microfinance sector. The meeting reflected the current status of microfinance worldwide.

pictured above are 10 of the 12 members of the New Jerusalem Community Bank in Las Canoas, Nicaragua, with WCCN staff and study tour participants.

In January 2010, WCCN staff and study tour participants learned firsthand about microfinance solidarity group lending by attending a New Jerusalem Community Bank business meeting. The bank was formed by longtime WCCN partner agency Prestanic, which has received loans totaling $7 million from WCCN over the past 19 years.

From left to right are Carlos Felipe Tzoc of ASDIR, Guatemala; Zobeida Hernandez of PRODESA, Nicaragua; and Pedro Morales of CCAMETRO, El Salvador; at WCCN’s 2010 Annual Meeting in Madison, Wisconsin. Photo by Emily Allred.

Our 2010 annual meeting on April 28 was a smashing success, with 65 people attending, connecting with friends, enjoying a traditional Nicaraguan dinner and hearing three fabulous speakers.

Archbishop Oscar Romero

On March 24th, 2010, El Salvador commemorated the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Arnulfo Romero. This horrendous crime -- while Romero celebrated Mass -- was the last drop in the scaling wave of repression and violence that soon degenerated into a 12-year civil war. If Romero’s desperate pleas to stop the human rights violations had been heard, perhaps the country could have avoided the loss of 75,000 people. In his last sermon Archbishop Romero said:

Photo by Michael Kienitz

Most people are uncomfortable discussing planned giving since it involves thinking about death. Planned giving, however, provides an opportunity to leave a legacy of support for a cause that was very important to you in your lifetime. This gift will be greatly valued by the recipient.

A planned gift to WCCN will leave a legacy of serving the poor and marginalized in Latin America. It will enable WCCN to continue serving the poorest of the poor in remote areas unserved by the private sector and even by many large, nonprofit, microcredit loan funds.