In response to comments about his microfinance “Conversations” post, Ben Hess offers this example from the “Learning Conversation” tool CRS and our partners use with self-help savings groups.

I’ve translated an example of one of the 11 topics that we cover in the savings-led microfinance Learning Conversations guide that CRS developed in Guatemala. The 11 topics are:
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Benjamin Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs. He writes a weekly (schedule permitting) blog post about microfinancing in Guatemala.

In August 2008, CRS Guatemala implemented a new savings-led microfinance project among persons living with HIV in and around Coatepeque, a city in southwestern Guatemala. CRS enjoys a strong partnership with a Catholic organization, Proyecto Vida (Project Life), that is providing services to those living with HIV/AIDS and those at risk of contracting the disease. For the savings-led component, however, we partnered with Gente Unida (United People), a network of persons living with HIV or AIDS who provide support and assistance to others living with the virus.
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Waiting for the Monday microfinancing blog post?

Ben Hess, CRS international development fellow and microfinance blogger, has been working on a huge project document that took time he’d normally spend writing a post. He informs us that he’ll post later in the week.

If you haven’t seen it and are interested in how CRS is involved in microfinancing on a more general scale, this page gives an overview of our work and has on the left links to other microfinance topics.

Benjamin Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs. He writes a weekly (schedule permitting) blog post about microfinancing in Guatemala.

In previous posts, I’ve emphasized that autonomy is an essential component of a successful savings group. In theory, it sounds easy to promote. In practice, however, providing sufficient information and training to savings groups without coming across as “prescriptive” can be difficult, especially when group members are asking animators for guidance.
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Ben is back! Benjamin Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs. He writes a weekly (schedule permitting) blog post about microfinancing in Guatemala. In this post, a parish priest asks an intriguing question: How can people who make so little hope to save money?
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Ben Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs.

Imagine that a fire destroys your home or a family member suffers a crippling injury or debilitating illness. If you have insurance, you would expect your plan to take effect, thereby reducing your expenses. Insurance can mitigate your risks by minimizing the economic impact of a potentially catastrophic event. To obtain personal insurance, you pay a small premium in return for coverage in the event of an emergency. Premiums vary based on the probability and costs of risks.

What happens to an uninsured family when fires, illnesses, and other disasters strike? For extremely poor Guatemalan families—who almost never have health coverage, home insurance, or workers’ compensation—the consequences can be devastating.
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Ben Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs.

CRS recently commissioned a survey of the communities in San Marcos where the women’s savings groups are operating. The survey was carried out by teenage girls who have received scholarships from CRS that enable them to attend school and purchase materials. Although we have not tabulated the complete results, I wanted to share some of the comments from the participants in the savings groups. The response from them was overwhelmingly positive—out of more than 50 participants, only a couple felt that the experience had not brought any benefits. (Note: We also interviewed community members who are not currently participating in the groups to measure whether they are aware of the groups and interested in joining one.)
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Ben Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs.

The 2007/2008 Human Development Report’s statistics on Guatemala are pretty depressing. Approximately 54 percent of Guatemalan children under age five are under their height for age (a sign of malnourishment), almost one in three individuals over age 15 cannot read or write, 32 percent of Guatemalans survive on less than $2 per day, and 56 percent of the population lives below the national poverty line. CRS addresses these issues through a variety of projects, including nutritional and health monitoring of mothers and young children, technical assistance to small farmers, and educational scholarships for poor students.

Nevertheless, CRS has observed that even when these projects are successful and families improve their economic situations, many Guatemalans do not access formal financial institutions—including banks and microfinance agencies—due to unfamiliarity with the services they offer, fears of being manipulated, or high barriers to entry.
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An Egypt Today article reports on CRS programs that help women become economically and politically empowered.

According to the article, “Microfinance loans from the existing CRS program start at LE 500 and can increase over time, with repayment schedules varying according to the circumstances of the borrowers. However, it is not the sum of money that is important. The concept of group lending, that is, loans guaranteed by a group of women who will meet the payments of any member of the group that defaults, prepares borrowers for the political process. Each group must have an elected leader, and each individual has a responsibility towards the group. Democratic concepts are established through microfinance.”

Ben Hess is a CRS international development fellow living in Guatemala and working with savings-led microfinance programs.

Jania Diaz conducting a mock presentation to a savings group at the training-of-trainers workshop in San Marcos in September. Photo by Ben Hess/CRS.

Soft-spoken and reserved, Jania Díaz is not the sort of person to call attention to herself when you first meet her. I met Jania during the training-of-trainers workshop in San Marcos in September 2008, when she was introduced as the Solidarity through Savings project coordinator.

Although she seemed to understand the concepts well, I had a few concerns about whether she was assertive enough to introduce the savings group idea to new communities, motivate and support the animators, and help coordinate the organization of new groups.

My fears proved to be completely unfounded, as I discovered during a recent visit to San Marcos. Jania has played a key role in the successful formation of three women’s savings groups, presenting the method to community leaders and residents, accompanying the new groups, and helping “scale up” the project by establishing contacts with other groups interested in implementing the savings-led microfinance model.

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