If you'd like to attend, contact us at Info@worldclass-ghana.org
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
2012 "Summer Fun" Raffle Winners
1st prize-Lee
Lustberg OR
2nd prize-Lea
Aeschliman NH
3rd prize-Jim
Labrie NH
4th prize-Al
Stichter NJ
5th prize-Pat
Schnatterly VA
Congratulations to our winners and thank you very
much to all who bought and sold tickets. We netted just over $6,000 which will
go a long way in our efforts to provide access to clean water and sanitation in
greater Amasaman.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Take some chances and help fund a new latrine for Amasaman
Where do you go when you first wake up in the morning? What if there were no place to "go"?
That's the reality for millions of the world's poorest people who lack access to sanitary facilities and the dignity and privacy that they provide. Help make a small dent in that number.
Support World Class’s “Summer Fun” Raffle:
Prizes are LL Bean Gift Certificates
1st Prize: $400
2nd Prize: $200
3rd Prize: $100
4th and 5th Prizes: $50
Tickets: $10 each (6 for $50) Drawing: August 15th
Proceeds to fund a new latrine for Amasaman
Email Info@WorldClass-Ghana.org for tickets and information ___________________________________
That's the reality for millions of the world's poorest people who lack access to sanitary facilities and the dignity and privacy that they provide. Help make a small dent in that number.
Support World Class’s “Summer Fun” Raffle:
Prizes are LL Bean Gift Certificates
1st Prize: $400
2nd Prize: $200
3rd Prize: $100
4th and 5th Prizes: $50
Tickets: $10 each (6 for $50) Drawing: August 15th
Proceeds to fund a new latrine for Amasaman
Email Info@WorldClass-Ghana.org for tickets and information ___________________________________
Friday, June 1, 2012
Newsletter: Spring 2012
In this issue:
• Lumana Partnership
• 5 Years of Microlending
• Successful Clients
• Shikpontele Well Completion
• World Class “Summer Fun” Raffle
World Class Announces Partnership with Lumana
When, in late 2011, World Class learned that the Bank of Ghana had issued a new regulation establishing $40,000 as the minimum capital requirement for all microlenders operating in the country, the Board of World Class confronted a dilemma: how to raise sufficient funds both to comply with the regulation and to continue what has become our main focus- providing access to clean water and sanitation for the communities of greater Amasaman.
Learning that Lumana, a Seattle-based microlending entity with a record of excellence for its operations in Anloga, Ghana’s Eastern Region, was interested in expanding into the Ga West area where Amasaman is located, World Class approached Lumana as a potential partner. A period of intense deliberation and due diligence on the part of both organizations followed. The result: a partnership that provides World Class clients with uninterrupted access to credit and which frees World Class to devote itself exclusively to water and sanitation projects-a “win-win” arrangement for all concerned.
As of June 1st, Lumana will take over the World Class microlending operation. World Class staff members, Michael Neequaye and Rita Dzoagbe, will be employed by Lumana. Michael will also continue in his capacity as World Class Project Manager. The two organizations will share the office in Amasaman’s Area Council Building, generously made available by the local government.
We look forward to your continued support as we now devote ourselves exclusively to water and sanitation projects. However, if you also wish to continue to support the women of greater Amasaman with microloans, you may donate at: www.lumana.org Please let us know if you would like to be included in Lumana’s mailing list.
______________________________________________
5 Years of Microlending:
An Assessment
World Class began its loan program in 2007 with initial capital of $12,000 raised from donations. A second (and last) capital infusion of $5,000 was added in 2009. From its inception to the present, World Class made 716 loans. The average rate of repayment was 81%.-neither the best nor the worst repayment record for microlending organizations in Africa. Many clients used the program well and as designed. Others failed to repay their loans. Even they, however, did not use their loans frivolously, but for some family necessity. As we turn over our microlending operation to Lumana, we can be very proud of having helped 320 women in greater Amasaman. We wish Lumana every success as it builds upon the foundation established by the generosity and support of World Class members over these last 5 years.
________________________________________
Profiles in Microlending Success
Beatrice Aboagye
Beatrice is a married 47 year-old resident of Amasaman who runs a building supply business on the town’s main street (very convenient for World Class’s occasional hardware needs). This mother of 1 boy and 2 girls in their teens has been a client since World Class’s inception with loans ranging from 50 to 300 cedis ($28 to $170 at the current rate of exchange). Beatrice says that her loans have helped to make her business more profitable and credits our orientation and business education seminars with giving her a greater awareness of the importance of bookkeeping and of discipline in the handling of money.
Sophia Effa
A resident of Shikpontele, 65 year-old Sophia Effa is married and has a daughter aged 30. Sophia retails foodstuffs- tomatoes, onions, peppers, carrots and other vegetables- from a stall at her home. A long-time World Class client, her loans have ranged in size from the initial 50 to 300 cedis. Sophia says that her loans have enabled her to venture into another related business-the wholesaling of vegetables to other retailers. She, too, states that World Class’s business education has helped her to better understand the relationship of good management to profit. Sophia is a recognized leader in Shikpontele and a member of the local water committee in which capacity her business acumen will also be useful.
Rose Adjei
Rose Adjei is a real entrepreneur. She owns a dress-making business and employs 15 apprentices. Pictured here behind a sewing machine and surrounded by patterns, Rose aged 43, is married and the mother of a boy aged 10 and of a girl aged 12. A resident of Sapeiman, Rose has been a client for 5 years with loans ranging from 50 to 420 cedis ($240). Her loans have helped with cash flow and have enabled her to expand her business to include the retailing of products used in dressmaking.
World Class is proud of these women and very pleased that our partnership with Lumana will afford them uninterrupted access to credit as well as continuing business education.
_____________________________________________________
World Class Well Completed in Shikpontele
The new well is now a reality in Shikpontele and the community is very pleased. They have taken the initiative through their water committee to apply for a dedicated electric meter for the well’s pump. Until the power company provides it, the pump is being served by power from a nearby house.
Now water is clean and affordable to Shikpontele’s residents. Thanks to all our donors who made this possible.
____________________________________________________
World Class’s “Summer Fun” Raffle
Prizes are LL Bean Gift Certificates
1st Prize: $400
2nd Prize: $200
3rd Prize: $100
4th and 5th Prizes: $50
Tickets: $10 each (6 for $50) Drawing: August 15th
Proceeds to fund a new latrine for Amasaman
Nothing happens without you! Please support our work.
- Make a donation
- By mail: World Class PO Box 325 La Grangeville, NY 12540
- Via PayPal* on our website: www.worldclass-ghana.org (*Purchase of raffle tickets via PayPal is against its policy. Purchase by mail only.)
- Sell/Buy some tickets in our summer raffle: a good cause, great prizes, 5 chances to win! We hope you will sell some tickets to friends and family when you see them and to your email and facebook friends and help make this a big success. Email for tickets and information: Info@WorldClass-Ghana.org
- Save the date: October 25th An evening of FUNdraising at the lovely home of Debbie and Vasili Raptopoulos in Brookline, MA (details to be announced)
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Fall 2011 Newsletter/ Fundraising Appeal
Dear friend,
The importance of African women in their societies was recently underscored by the awarding of two of the three Nobel Prizes for Peace in 2011 to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee, both of Liberia, for their work to end 14 years of civil war in that country and to reconstruct it in the aftermath.
The awards were announced shortly after the death of Wangari Maathai of Kenya, the first African woman to receive the prize in 2004 for her work in environmental preservation and human rights. These women rose to prominence against seemingly insurmountable obstacles- the common lot of most African women. World Class salutes them for their courage and resolve as it dedicates its efforts to assist the women of greater Amasaman,Ghana who- like the women of World Class -daily confront long odds and extreme hardships.
In the past ten months, World Class has assisted women in the communities it serves with 64 loans totaling approximately $10,000 in value. We completed our third well in Fise in the spring. All three wells are working well and the latrine in Doblo Gonno which, as we reported in our last letter, was not being properly maintained, is now in good order.
Next on our agenda is a new well for the community of Shikpontele. Of its approximately 900 residents, about 60% purchase water from tanker trucks, paying one cedi (67 cents) per large pail. The average family needs four pails a day. Poor families whose daily income is about 5.50 cedis ($3.67) would spend 72% of their income on water alone. Their options are to use water from polluted surface sources (and 35% do) or skimp on water purchases and/or food. About 30% of those buying water fall into that category. To say that residents here are eager for the new well is an understatement! World Class has earmarked the proceeds from last summer’s raffle for the new well, but still needs about $8,000 more to complete the project.
World Class is a very small “no frills” operation. Our annual income is about $28,000. That’s less than the salary of an office assistant in the U.S. -assuming we had an office. About $12,000 covers operational costs-the salaries of our two employees in Ghana being the largest component. The rest funds the drilling of a well or construction of a latrine. We have managed to complete one such project each year, but we could do two projects quite easily with the personnel and procedures we now have in place if we had the requisite financing.
In addition to the generosity you have so consistently shown, you could further our mission by bringing World Class to the attention of family and friends. Like you, they may wish to include a global dimension in their “philanthropic portfolio.” They might like to participate in a small effort that maximizes their contributions and provides a frank assessment of both problems and achievements. You might consider hosting a World Class presentation, creating a giving circle devoted to World Class, or acting as liaison between your church (or some other group) which might be interested in partnering, and World Class, to drill a well or construct a latrine. Please let us know how we can help you to help us.
World Class, a group of like-minded friends and friends of friends with an interest in assisting some of the world’s poorest people, makes no grandiose claims. We have not found the antidote to terrorism or war, or a panacea for economic growth. What we can take modest credit for is having provided several hundred people with a clean drink of water. With your continued help, we hope to provide it to hundreds more.
With appreciation for all we’ve done together,
Barbara Tsairis and Judy Willsey
Co-founders, World Class-Ghana, Inc.
___________________________________
To contribute by:
Check: World Class-Ghana, Inc.
PO Box 325
La Grangeville, NY 12540
Credit card: Via PayPal on our donate button above
Remember: World Class is eligible for corporate matching gifts
The importance of African women in their societies was recently underscored by the awarding of two of the three Nobel Prizes for Peace in 2011 to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Gbowee, both of Liberia, for their work to end 14 years of civil war in that country and to reconstruct it in the aftermath.
The awards were announced shortly after the death of Wangari Maathai of Kenya, the first African woman to receive the prize in 2004 for her work in environmental preservation and human rights. These women rose to prominence against seemingly insurmountable obstacles- the common lot of most African women. World Class salutes them for their courage and resolve as it dedicates its efforts to assist the women of greater Amasaman,Ghana who- like the women of World Class -daily confront long odds and extreme hardships.
In the past ten months, World Class has assisted women in the communities it serves with 64 loans totaling approximately $10,000 in value. We completed our third well in Fise in the spring. All three wells are working well and the latrine in Doblo Gonno which, as we reported in our last letter, was not being properly maintained, is now in good order.
Next on our agenda is a new well for the community of Shikpontele. Of its approximately 900 residents, about 60% purchase water from tanker trucks, paying one cedi (67 cents) per large pail. The average family needs four pails a day. Poor families whose daily income is about 5.50 cedis ($3.67) would spend 72% of their income on water alone. Their options are to use water from polluted surface sources (and 35% do) or skimp on water purchases and/or food. About 30% of those buying water fall into that category. To say that residents here are eager for the new well is an understatement! World Class has earmarked the proceeds from last summer’s raffle for the new well, but still needs about $8,000 more to complete the project.
World Class is a very small “no frills” operation. Our annual income is about $28,000. That’s less than the salary of an office assistant in the U.S. -assuming we had an office. About $12,000 covers operational costs-the salaries of our two employees in Ghana being the largest component. The rest funds the drilling of a well or construction of a latrine. We have managed to complete one such project each year, but we could do two projects quite easily with the personnel and procedures we now have in place if we had the requisite financing.
In addition to the generosity you have so consistently shown, you could further our mission by bringing World Class to the attention of family and friends. Like you, they may wish to include a global dimension in their “philanthropic portfolio.” They might like to participate in a small effort that maximizes their contributions and provides a frank assessment of both problems and achievements. You might consider hosting a World Class presentation, creating a giving circle devoted to World Class, or acting as liaison between your church (or some other group) which might be interested in partnering, and World Class, to drill a well or construct a latrine. Please let us know how we can help you to help us.
World Class, a group of like-minded friends and friends of friends with an interest in assisting some of the world’s poorest people, makes no grandiose claims. We have not found the antidote to terrorism or war, or a panacea for economic growth. What we can take modest credit for is having provided several hundred people with a clean drink of water. With your continued help, we hope to provide it to hundreds more.
With appreciation for all we’ve done together,
Barbara Tsairis and Judy Willsey
Co-founders, World Class-Ghana, Inc.
___________________________________
To contribute by:
Check: World Class-Ghana, Inc.
PO Box 325
La Grangeville, NY 12540
Credit card: Via PayPal on our donate button above
Remember: World Class is eligible for corporate matching gifts
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A World Class Progress Report Presented to the Organization's Founding Members in the Skidmore Class of 1971
World Class Update: Skidmore College Reunion 2011
It’s a pleasure to see all of you on this occasion which marks the 5th anniversary of World Class, an idea born at our last reunion which has become an organization whose mission of providing access to credit,clean water, and sanitation has benefitted so many poor women and children in greater Amasaman, Ghana. Although many people, who have no connection to our class or to Skidmore, support WorldClass, it is the ’71 contingent which is at our core. Barbara and I are grateful to you, our founding members.
In 2006, Skidmore ’71 celebrated its 35th reunion. The plans for reunion were good, but conventional. It struck me that we, whose college experience coincided with the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights struggle, and the Women’s Liberation movement,might do something more. My good friend, Barbara Tsairis and I discussed the idea and thought it might be possible to create a part of the program which would reengage us with our youthful idealism and activism and even serve as a catalyst for taking action to make a difference. Inspired by the work of New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, we created a special program devoted to the plight of poor women and children in sub-Saharan Africa. Our guest speaker was Susan Kraeger, then executive director of a small microlending organization, WomensTrust, working in Pokuase, Ghana.
In our remarks on that rainy Saturday in 2006 Barbara and I made reference to our college experience as being as much influenced by world events as classroom learning. We talked about a class that was much larger than those who paid tuition. We spoke about our other classmates: those tragically killed at Kent State and Jackson State and the 58,000 soldiers who died in Vietnam. This touched a responsive chord. The idea that we could build something positive on the shoulders of these fallen classmates whose promise was lost too soon, for the benefit of women and children whose own promise was imperiled by the circumstance of extreme poverty, found resonance. Challenged by Susan Kraeger to begin our own effort to assist poor women in Ghana and impelled by the enthusiasm and support of our classmates, we went on to found World Class, which takes its inspiration from our fallen classmates and the struggle of very poor women. World Class is dedicated to “redeeming their promise,” the motto of the organization.
We chose to operate in Ghana for a few good reasons: WomensTrust with whom we initially affiliated operates there, English is the official language, and Ghana is reasonably stable and peaceful. We chose to devote our efforts to sub-Saharan Africa because it is not only the poorest area of the world, but also because the composition of the world’s poor is forecast to be increasingly African. Since 1981, there has been a decrease in extreme poverty in East and South Asia, but an increase in sub-Saharan Africa. While there are still many desperately poor people in Asia, the countries they live in have experienced significant economic progress such as to reduce their proportion of the population of the world’s very poor. These societies are in a position to use the wealth they are generating to assist the poor, if they so choose. The trend line in Asia is such that the world’s poorest people are increasingly less likely to be Asian. This is not the case in sub-Saharan Africa. Most countries there have not seen significant economic progress and many have actually seen regression. Thus the United Nations forecasts that the proportion of the world’s very poor people will be increasingly African. World Class is confronting poverty where it is most dire, sub-Saharan Africa.
What we do:
Microfinance provides very small non-collateralized loans to extremely poor people, mainly women, engaged in microenterprises. World Class provides non-collateralized loans ranging from $55 to $200 dollars to the active poor women of greater Amasaman, most of whom earn less than $2 a day. Loans are given for periods of 4 months and interest is charged. World Class relies on a group model and social pressure for repayment. Most of the women we have assisted are “hawkers, ”vendors of a single commodity, usually a foodstuff. They sell yams or corn or pineapples or bread from baskets on their heads or off the ground or from a table along the roadside. Some sell prepared foods. Others offer services such as dressmaking or hairdressing. A few have what we might recognize as small businesses selling beverages or staples or hardware in a small kiosk or shed. They use their loans to buy in quantity at lower prices,to diversify their offerings, or simply to improve cash flow which may enable them to pay school fees for their children. The vast majority of our clients sign with a thumbprint. They are not literate or numerate. Their understanding of concepts such as interest is very poor. They recognize their limitations and fear being cheated. World Class attempts to address these concerns by offering business education seminars on topics such as “Understanding Loans” and “Business Planning.”
On our first visit to Amasaman, we asked about other needs of the community. The first need expressed was access to clean water. Subsequent visits to other villages in “greater Amasaman” found the same need. In fact, access to clean water and the related need of access to sanitation are enormous in Ghana as in most of the developing world. Although the need for other things in greater Amasaman is also enormous (education, healthcare), World Class feels that the need for clean water and sanitation is absolutely the most compelling need. It benefits everyone in the community in terms of saved labor, improved health, and greater dignity. Water (and adequate sanitation which assures that the water is clean) is life.
In the light of the recent piece on 60 Minutes relating to the work of Greg Mortensen and his book Three Cups of Tea, I’d like to make a few comments. I don’t claim to know the truth about Mortensen, but what I have read-“3 Cups of Deceit” by Jonathan Krakauer seems to show a good impulse run completely amuck. His detractors may be exaggerating, but the evidence they present is quite damning. It is my experience that this type of work is subject to misrepresentation and hyperbole. It also seems to attract its share of megalomaniacs and self-promoters. World Class is, as it should be, about the work, not the people doing the work, first and foremost. There is no need to invent episodes of derring-do. Our work in Ghana is not dangerous. We have never had a serious misadventure. We have not been held prisoner by the Taliban. The most dangerous thing we do is cross the highway or ride in cars. We stay in a small hotel which is not wonderful, but it is adequate and a higher standard by far from the homes of our clients. The fare is repetitive, but we eat well enough. Apart from the heat, we are reasonably comfortable. That said, this is not easy work. There is no “how to” manual. Ghana as a place and culture is complex,frustrating, and sometimes infuriating. Educational and skill levels are not high. People in Ghana, like people here, have their share of flaws. Not everyone is cooperative, reasonable, or pleasant. Human nature is neither worse nor much improved by poverty. It’s just human nature. As an organization we have made mistakes, trusted some individuals who did not merit it, made assumptions which did not prove to be valid. Delinquency on loan repayment is a persistent problem. Communities which make promises to maintain facilities built for them, need to be prodded to do so. Any organization involved in this kind of work which claims perfection is not telling the truth. Anyone claiming to have a quick fix or formula is delusional. World Class can proudly but modestly state that it has made some progress; we have not, however, prevented terrorism or found a panacea for economic development. What we have done is provided over 650 loans to over 350 women. We have drilled 3 wells in two communities and also constructed a composting latrine facility for one of them whose residents previously had recourse only to the bush. World Class makes no claims beyond these which have improved the lives of several hundred people.
One of the comments I hear when showing photos of our clients, is that the people in the photos don’t look poor enough! I’d like to take a moment to address this observation. The average person in the affluent world has a somewhat skewed picture of global poverty. We often equate it with abjectness,helplessness, fear and violence. This is because what we see of it comes from news media which present it most often in a dramatic context. Rarely do they show global poverty as the prosaic,day-in and day-out phenomenon that it is. Poor people do look abject after an earthquake, tsunami, flood, or drought. They are fearful and helpless when confronted by the violence of war,civil unrest, and terrorism. In the same circumstances, affluent people might well look the same. But absent these circumstances, as in greater Amasaman today, very poor people live in a social context. They work, go to school, church or themosque, tell jokes and play, argue about politics, have a passion for soccer,enjoy music, celebrate holidays and occasions, and take special pride in their appearance. This is a society where the norm is great poverty, but it is a society. Poverty is deceptive. We need to remember that extreme poverty is no less real for failing to meet our preconceptions of it. The analogy I think of is the reaction we have when learning of someone’s sudden death from a heart attack. We often say in disbelief, “I just saw him yesterday and he looked fine.” He may have, but he was obviously not healthy. For that matter, I have never been anywhere where funerals were so frequent and occupied so central a part in daily life as in Ghana. That is not merely a cultural phenomenon, but reflects the much higher death rate.
Poor people like those in greater Amasaman confront a kind of slow- moving tide as devastating and lethal as any tsunami. Their existenceis precarious and very difficult. What is truly remarkable, however, is that even among very poor people, there is so much generosity. When people in Ghana’s far north suffered from devastating floods a couple years ago, the poor community of Amasaman managed to fill a pick-up truck with usable clothing andother necessities for their afflicted countrymen. When someone complained to me of the need for a well in their community and I replied that we had a commitment to complete a latrine project for Doblo Gonno first, she withdrew her complaint, acknowledging that Doblo Gonno had the greater need. When Barbara and I first visited Doblo Gonno to discuss its water needs, she offered a bottle of water to one very small boy. He took a sip and then passed it carefully to his friends. Only four years-old, he was a rich man that day because he had something to share.
Affecting as it does 40% of the world’s population, global poverty is an enormous problem which requires engagement on many levels. The most promising solutions are evolving and dynamic rather than definitive and static. In confronting global poverty at whatever level, we should not confuse the problem with the people who endure it. The poor are not problems, but people. Poor people like the small boy in Doblo Gonno, are full of promise. World Class is dedicated to helping them redeem it. World Class is one tiny effort toward a solution. I hope hearing about it will encourage you to think seriously about global poverty and to become engaged. As the aging boomers of the Class of ’71 and their many friends outside the class have proved, it is never too late to act on the basis of long-held ideals; less important than expertise is passion and commitment. As Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace from Kenya says in her memoirs, “Persistence is the essence of courage.” As an equally wise woman once said “To accomplish anything, you need to start.” Barbara and I are proud to stand here today with our founding members from '71 to say that we are, on this 5th anniversary, persisting and off to a good start.
It’s a pleasure to see all of you on this occasion which marks the 5th anniversary of World Class, an idea born at our last reunion which has become an organization whose mission of providing access to credit,clean water, and sanitation has benefitted so many poor women and children in greater Amasaman, Ghana. Although many people, who have no connection to our class or to Skidmore, support WorldClass, it is the ’71 contingent which is at our core. Barbara and I are grateful to you, our founding members.
In 2006, Skidmore ’71 celebrated its 35th reunion. The plans for reunion were good, but conventional. It struck me that we, whose college experience coincided with the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights struggle, and the Women’s Liberation movement,might do something more. My good friend, Barbara Tsairis and I discussed the idea and thought it might be possible to create a part of the program which would reengage us with our youthful idealism and activism and even serve as a catalyst for taking action to make a difference. Inspired by the work of New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, we created a special program devoted to the plight of poor women and children in sub-Saharan Africa. Our guest speaker was Susan Kraeger, then executive director of a small microlending organization, WomensTrust, working in Pokuase, Ghana.
In our remarks on that rainy Saturday in 2006 Barbara and I made reference to our college experience as being as much influenced by world events as classroom learning. We talked about a class that was much larger than those who paid tuition. We spoke about our other classmates: those tragically killed at Kent State and Jackson State and the 58,000 soldiers who died in Vietnam. This touched a responsive chord. The idea that we could build something positive on the shoulders of these fallen classmates whose promise was lost too soon, for the benefit of women and children whose own promise was imperiled by the circumstance of extreme poverty, found resonance. Challenged by Susan Kraeger to begin our own effort to assist poor women in Ghana and impelled by the enthusiasm and support of our classmates, we went on to found World Class, which takes its inspiration from our fallen classmates and the struggle of very poor women. World Class is dedicated to “redeeming their promise,” the motto of the organization.
We chose to operate in Ghana for a few good reasons: WomensTrust with whom we initially affiliated operates there, English is the official language, and Ghana is reasonably stable and peaceful. We chose to devote our efforts to sub-Saharan Africa because it is not only the poorest area of the world, but also because the composition of the world’s poor is forecast to be increasingly African. Since 1981, there has been a decrease in extreme poverty in East and South Asia, but an increase in sub-Saharan Africa. While there are still many desperately poor people in Asia, the countries they live in have experienced significant economic progress such as to reduce their proportion of the population of the world’s very poor. These societies are in a position to use the wealth they are generating to assist the poor, if they so choose. The trend line in Asia is such that the world’s poorest people are increasingly less likely to be Asian. This is not the case in sub-Saharan Africa. Most countries there have not seen significant economic progress and many have actually seen regression. Thus the United Nations forecasts that the proportion of the world’s very poor people will be increasingly African. World Class is confronting poverty where it is most dire, sub-Saharan Africa.
What we do:
Microfinance provides very small non-collateralized loans to extremely poor people, mainly women, engaged in microenterprises. World Class provides non-collateralized loans ranging from $55 to $200 dollars to the active poor women of greater Amasaman, most of whom earn less than $2 a day. Loans are given for periods of 4 months and interest is charged. World Class relies on a group model and social pressure for repayment. Most of the women we have assisted are “hawkers, ”vendors of a single commodity, usually a foodstuff. They sell yams or corn or pineapples or bread from baskets on their heads or off the ground or from a table along the roadside. Some sell prepared foods. Others offer services such as dressmaking or hairdressing. A few have what we might recognize as small businesses selling beverages or staples or hardware in a small kiosk or shed. They use their loans to buy in quantity at lower prices,to diversify their offerings, or simply to improve cash flow which may enable them to pay school fees for their children. The vast majority of our clients sign with a thumbprint. They are not literate or numerate. Their understanding of concepts such as interest is very poor. They recognize their limitations and fear being cheated. World Class attempts to address these concerns by offering business education seminars on topics such as “Understanding Loans” and “Business Planning.”
On our first visit to Amasaman, we asked about other needs of the community. The first need expressed was access to clean water. Subsequent visits to other villages in “greater Amasaman” found the same need. In fact, access to clean water and the related need of access to sanitation are enormous in Ghana as in most of the developing world. Although the need for other things in greater Amasaman is also enormous (education, healthcare), World Class feels that the need for clean water and sanitation is absolutely the most compelling need. It benefits everyone in the community in terms of saved labor, improved health, and greater dignity. Water (and adequate sanitation which assures that the water is clean) is life.
In the light of the recent piece on 60 Minutes relating to the work of Greg Mortensen and his book Three Cups of Tea, I’d like to make a few comments. I don’t claim to know the truth about Mortensen, but what I have read-“3 Cups of Deceit” by Jonathan Krakauer seems to show a good impulse run completely amuck. His detractors may be exaggerating, but the evidence they present is quite damning. It is my experience that this type of work is subject to misrepresentation and hyperbole. It also seems to attract its share of megalomaniacs and self-promoters. World Class is, as it should be, about the work, not the people doing the work, first and foremost. There is no need to invent episodes of derring-do. Our work in Ghana is not dangerous. We have never had a serious misadventure. We have not been held prisoner by the Taliban. The most dangerous thing we do is cross the highway or ride in cars. We stay in a small hotel which is not wonderful, but it is adequate and a higher standard by far from the homes of our clients. The fare is repetitive, but we eat well enough. Apart from the heat, we are reasonably comfortable. That said, this is not easy work. There is no “how to” manual. Ghana as a place and culture is complex,frustrating, and sometimes infuriating. Educational and skill levels are not high. People in Ghana, like people here, have their share of flaws. Not everyone is cooperative, reasonable, or pleasant. Human nature is neither worse nor much improved by poverty. It’s just human nature. As an organization we have made mistakes, trusted some individuals who did not merit it, made assumptions which did not prove to be valid. Delinquency on loan repayment is a persistent problem. Communities which make promises to maintain facilities built for them, need to be prodded to do so. Any organization involved in this kind of work which claims perfection is not telling the truth. Anyone claiming to have a quick fix or formula is delusional. World Class can proudly but modestly state that it has made some progress; we have not, however, prevented terrorism or found a panacea for economic development. What we have done is provided over 650 loans to over 350 women. We have drilled 3 wells in two communities and also constructed a composting latrine facility for one of them whose residents previously had recourse only to the bush. World Class makes no claims beyond these which have improved the lives of several hundred people.
One of the comments I hear when showing photos of our clients, is that the people in the photos don’t look poor enough! I’d like to take a moment to address this observation. The average person in the affluent world has a somewhat skewed picture of global poverty. We often equate it with abjectness,helplessness, fear and violence. This is because what we see of it comes from news media which present it most often in a dramatic context. Rarely do they show global poverty as the prosaic,day-in and day-out phenomenon that it is. Poor people do look abject after an earthquake, tsunami, flood, or drought. They are fearful and helpless when confronted by the violence of war,civil unrest, and terrorism. In the same circumstances, affluent people might well look the same. But absent these circumstances, as in greater Amasaman today, very poor people live in a social context. They work, go to school, church or themosque, tell jokes and play, argue about politics, have a passion for soccer,enjoy music, celebrate holidays and occasions, and take special pride in their appearance. This is a society where the norm is great poverty, but it is a society. Poverty is deceptive. We need to remember that extreme poverty is no less real for failing to meet our preconceptions of it. The analogy I think of is the reaction we have when learning of someone’s sudden death from a heart attack. We often say in disbelief, “I just saw him yesterday and he looked fine.” He may have, but he was obviously not healthy. For that matter, I have never been anywhere where funerals were so frequent and occupied so central a part in daily life as in Ghana. That is not merely a cultural phenomenon, but reflects the much higher death rate.
Poor people like those in greater Amasaman confront a kind of slow- moving tide as devastating and lethal as any tsunami. Their existenceis precarious and very difficult. What is truly remarkable, however, is that even among very poor people, there is so much generosity. When people in Ghana’s far north suffered from devastating floods a couple years ago, the poor community of Amasaman managed to fill a pick-up truck with usable clothing andother necessities for their afflicted countrymen. When someone complained to me of the need for a well in their community and I replied that we had a commitment to complete a latrine project for Doblo Gonno first, she withdrew her complaint, acknowledging that Doblo Gonno had the greater need. When Barbara and I first visited Doblo Gonno to discuss its water needs, she offered a bottle of water to one very small boy. He took a sip and then passed it carefully to his friends. Only four years-old, he was a rich man that day because he had something to share.
Affecting as it does 40% of the world’s population, global poverty is an enormous problem which requires engagement on many levels. The most promising solutions are evolving and dynamic rather than definitive and static. In confronting global poverty at whatever level, we should not confuse the problem with the people who endure it. The poor are not problems, but people. Poor people like the small boy in Doblo Gonno, are full of promise. World Class is dedicated to helping them redeem it. World Class is one tiny effort toward a solution. I hope hearing about it will encourage you to think seriously about global poverty and to become engaged. As the aging boomers of the Class of ’71 and their many friends outside the class have proved, it is never too late to act on the basis of long-held ideals; less important than expertise is passion and commitment. As Wangari Maathai, winner of the Nobel Prize for Peace from Kenya says in her memoirs, “Persistence is the essence of courage.” As an equally wise woman once said “To accomplish anything, you need to start.” Barbara and I are proud to stand here today with our founding members from '71 to say that we are, on this 5th anniversary, persisting and off to a good start.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Photos from the March 2011 Trip to Ghana
Darius Neequaye, Mike's son, lends his expertise on a visit to the World Class office.
Ludu players (a game similar to Parchese) in Amasaman. It is so rare to find children equipped with any toys or games here.
Why clean water is such a priority! Children fetching water from this muddy stream.
Clean hands: rainwater catchment at the Doblo Gonno school latrine.
Children surround "Old Faithful," the World Class well in Doblo Gonno.
Washing up is done outside at the Doblo Gonno school.
Food preparation is facilitated by the tap in the kitchen at the school.
Preparing lunch at the school: rice with macaroni.
The school's cooks.
Mike leans against the cistern, fed by water collected from the school's roof, which stores water for cleaning at the school.The park-like grounds at Blue Sky, the impressive, well-run fruit processing company just north of Amasaman.
Visiting Blue Sky fruit packing facility: Susan, Rita, Judy, Richard, Abu, Amanda
The World Class-Ghana Team: Abu, Rita, Amanda, and Mike
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)