San Diego Rotary Clubs Join with Gates Foundation and Others to Generate $600,000 for Small Loans to Help Women in Ghana

2008-09-29 23:31:01 -

- Thirty-six Rotary Clubs in San Diego and Imperial Counties have collaborated with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to raise $600,000 in microcredit loans. These loans will provide capital to enable at least 3,500 women in rural areas of Ghana to start or expand businesses that revolve around agricultural products, livestock, and other enterprises.

The project in Ghana

is the culmination of five years of effort by Mobilizing Rotary for Microcredit (MRM), founded by members of the Rotary Club of San Diego and the La Jolla Sunrise Rotary, to maximize the potential impact of microcredit through Rotary Club collaboration. Almost two-thirds of the clubs in San Diego and Imperial Counties were joined by the Calgary, Canada Rotaries; the Caster Foundation; and Opportunity International. These microcredit loans will ultimately have a positive impact on the lives of 25,000 women and children in West Africa.

"Rotary is about providing hope to people who previously had no hope," said Kenny Jones, chairman of the Microcredit Committee for Rotary Club of San Diego. "Making a loan to someone says you believe in that person and trust them to build a going concern and thrive."

Funding for the program began with a rare two-to-one, $400,000 match offered to Opportunity International by the Gates Foundation. "We felt this was an ideal opportunity to collaborate in a major program with global impact," said Bink Cook, co-chair of San Diego Rotary's Microcredit Committee.

Opportunity International, one of the world's largest microfinance organizations, is the nongovernmental organization administering the microcredit program in Ghana.

The initial Rotary microcredit collaborative began in 2004, with eight San Diego area clubs providing $20,000 in loan capital to a poor region in India. During the last five years, MRM has successfully collaborated on eleven international microcredit programs and one local project, raising approximately $1,000,000 in loan capital.

About Rotary International and the Rotary Club of San Diego

Rotary International, the world's first service club, was founded on February 23, 1905, by Paul P. Harris and three associates. Today, Rotary International, whose motto is "Service Above Self," includes more than 1.2 million members participating in some 32,000 Rotary clubs in more than 166 countries. The Rotary Club of San Diego, founded in 1911, is the sixth largest club in the world, and has a membership of more than 550 of San Diego's business and community leaders. The Rotary Club of San Diego, also known as the Downtown Club, has more than 60 volunteer committees that provide financial, material and human support to many charitable causes. For more information visit: www.rotary33.org.

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