A dedicated micro credit fund for rural Madagascar

We met with groups interested in microcredit with Zahana.

It was unanimously agreed that the financing will be allocated to each micro-association and not to individuals anymore. A micro-association is a group that comes together with the purpose of securing a loan from our dedicated Zahana microcredit fund. This means that the members of each micro-association will all be responsible for the reimbursement of the full amount, because if ever one member defaults, it will be up to the others to ensure that the reimbursement is assured. Mutual trust and cooperation between members is therefore necessary and vital for each groups success.

The allocation of microcredit funds is also conditional on their participation in the various training courses provided by Zahana. As well as the application of directives or instructions taught in these workshops, for example the need of certain vaccination required for animal breeding.

To our delight more and more people are now interested in ducklings or our duck breeding program we have introduced on a larger scale a while back.

Given the incresing theft of zebus by dahalo (cattle thieves) putting the lives of our farmers at stake, when they attack, normally at night, a new approach was adopted. We will introduce sheep breeding as an alternative meat source for cattle, because community members have bread sheep successfully in the villages. Sheep have little value for cattle thieves, who want to steal zebu only.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

We hope that in the season of end-of-year giving you might consider Zahana in Madagascar if you are in a position to do so. To sweeten the pie GlobalGiving still offers all donors that decide to become monthly donors a match of their first monthly donation. If that ain’t a baker’s dozen for a 12-month commitment?

Monthly donors are truly the backbone of our work, because they take the guess work out of fundraising and the focus on implementing programs with a solid budget.