Back to school! Those three words signal the end of summer vacation and the beginning of the school year. Having spent so much time in school, I instinctively think of September as the beginning of something new.
What are we beginning in Economic Empowerment? THRIVE 2030 now moves from planning and preparation, from training staff and registering hundreds of thousands of participants to wide-scale program implementation. Our microfinance institution, VisionFund International, begins its third decade of serving the extreme poor with critically needed financial services.
Our savings group, microfinance, and market knowledge and access initiatives are rolling out technological innovations in gathering and distributing data, information, and even money in order to reduce costs and improve products and services for the poor.
But in the midst of new beginnings, some things do not change. We remain committed to the task of helping people living in extreme poverty gain access to the tools they need to lift themselves out of extreme poverty — for good!
In focus:The call to end extreme poverty
On October 17, the world will mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. First observed in 1993, this special day was set aside by the United Nations to draw the world’s attention to the need for action to eradicate poverty. Given where World Vision works, our focus tends to be more specifically on extreme poverty, which is defined as “a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs” and measured by income below $2.15 per day per person.
How has the world been doing in ending extreme poverty?
Some may be surprised to learn that humanity has made remarkable progress, moving from over 40% of the global population living in poverty in 1980 to about 9% today, in nearly all regions across the globe.
Watch this 7-minute video for a primer on why we believe extreme poverty can be eradicated in our lifetimes.
There are still roughly 700 million people living in extreme poverty, concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Central America. Even more precisely, about 80% live in rural areas, and 66% are smallholder farmers.
A good question unlocks the paradigm for a solution. Instead of “How do we help the extreme poor escape extreme poverty?” the better question is “How do we help smallholder farmers make a lot more money in agriculture?”
World Vision’s THRIVE program has been doing exactly that. In our Tanzania evaluation, we saw that farmer incomes had grown dramatically, lifting large numbers out of extreme poverty. Learning from that, we created THRIVE 2030, with the goal of ensuring 10 million people in 11 countries have access to the tools they need to make a lot more money in their farms and businesses, thereby lifting themselves out of extreme poverty.
So, on the 17th, what should you tell people about extreme poverty? Beyond sharing the video above, we recommend:
The world has made huge progress in eliminating extreme poverty.
The vast majority of people who live in extreme poverty today live in the countryside and are smallholder farmers.
World Vision’s THRIVE program has been helping smallholder farmers lift themselves out of extreme poverty, and now we are scaling this effort to 10 million people across 11 countries by 2030.
Join us!
In focus: Signs and wonders
With THRIVE 2030 rolling out in 11 countries, early signs of how well things are going can be seen in the massive growth in “Lending to Savings Groups.” As close readers of this newsletter will remember, “Lending to Savings Groups” began scaling significantly as part of our response to the impact of COVID-19 among the people we serve — “Recovery Lending for Resilience.”
As can be seen in the chart above, the number of members of savings groups who are now accessing “Lending to Savings Groups” is nearly 150,000. The enormous growth of an innovative financial product aimed at people living in extreme poverty is not only exciting in itself, but a sign of many good things to come!
Celebrate with us!
In 2023, World Vision is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the founding of our microfinance subsidiary, VisionFund International. Lending to people living in extreme poverty is not just a good economic empowerment idea. It is also a biblical idea and command, first laid out in Deuteronomy 15:7,8 and repeated by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:42.
The main reason we are celebrating is because our 7,000 microfinance staff around the world continue to serve the poor. Since 2003 we have made over 20 million loans and lent over $11.2 billion.
So, on the 16th of October, please take a moment to reflect on these great things we have seen accomplished for the poor in the name of Jesus!
This year you'll learn how women's economic empowerment is changing entire communities and have the chance to hear from Damaris from Kenya (pictured left) and her believer, Alice, in person.
We hope you'll invite a friend to join Thursday's late-afternoon and evening experiential session featuring World Vision's holistic approach including economic empowerment.
Then plan to join us for business meetings all day Friday and half-day Saturday.
To partner with us
Give to the Economic Empowerment Global Fund: THRIVE 2030 to help us reach 10 million people in 11 countries with the tools they need to lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Tools include Biblical Empowered Worldview, savings groups, market knowledge and access, and "Lending to Savings Groups" (i.e., FAST loans).
Give praise for 20 years of faithful service from the staff of our microfinance subsidiary, VisionFund International, and the billions of dollars lent in the name of Jesus.
Give praise that with the arrival of the El Niño event the rainfall predictions for the Horn of Africa are expected to swing from drought to heavy precipitation.
Prayfor our staff as they complete the initial registering of hundreds of thousands of people who are participating in our THRIVE 2030 program across 11 countries.
Thank you for your faithful partnership!
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