The Unbreakable Leo

I'm sure that many people are wondering exactly who I'll be working with while I'm serving my Fellowship in Jordan. Lucky for you I'm here to explain it a little better. Microfund for Women isn't a name that should ring a bell for most people although their accomplishments are incredible. Nestled in the streets of so many cities in Jordan - MWF helps female clientele primarily in low-income situations to further empower the women it serves and their families. The numbers they have posted are very impressive and admiringly ambitious in my opinion but what is it exactly that makes MWF so special?

The result of years of product testing throughout Jordan, Microfund for Women was initiated as a pilot called Group Guaranteed Lending Program in the capital Amman in 1994 to help women entrepreneurs become income earners. By working with these entrepreneurs from all over Jordan they've created successful programs which have helped hundreds of thousands of women nationwide. These programs become so successful that the groups changed it's name to MWF after it became an independent entity in 1999. In 2002 it became a fully sustanable venture and reached the 25,000 active-client-loan mark in 2006.

Looking at exact numbers shows that MWF has over 56,000 active clients (97% women) and a repayment rate of 99% since it was established. In 2006 they received the Sanabel Best Microfinance Investment award for the Arab Region. Nationally it has grown in ten years to only a few people to 234 staff members in 22 branches, one of which will be the branch I'll be working with in Irbid located 120 miles north of Amman. I'll get into more information about Irbid in later postings.

Still confused? Lets take a story directly from MWF to illustrate. In one story a woman named Shaikha wanted to generate income to help her husband and family. Shaikha takes out a loan, creates her business and begins contributing more to the household finances in a short amount of time. The key is the final line in her profile which states, "She has also been able to send her son to university." The MWF branch I'll be assisting is proactively creating a program to help the children of women like Shaikha reach their goals of an educational. The information collected from the first young adults participating in this program will be gathered after I arrive in Jordan to flush out viability of such a program on a local and national.

Shaikha's son could have waited years until his mother had enough to send him back to school, but with MWF and Vittana a lender could be only a click of the mouse away from lenders willing to help them. Both of these organizations are quickly receiving a great reputation for making positive change as they each post high repayment rate. Although the end result is still forming, its exciting to know that I'll be one of the people that helps to make this project a reality.