Convention in Denver. Below is the text of the resolution.
Report No. 34 on D033 Recognition of Micro-Credit Programs
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That this 73rd General convention challenges all dioceses and congregations to set aside 0.7% of their annual budgets to contribute to international development programs that address the root cause of poverty, ill health, illiteracy, and economic justice; and be it further
Resolved, That this 73rd General Convention welcomes and commends micro-credit initiatives, as one way to enable the world-wide Anglican Communion to serve the neediest nations through micro-loan and small business training programs.
Read more about Five Talents work at General Convention in the press release section of this website.
Updates
Press Releases
JUNE UPDATE 2000
This s a historic month for Five Talents International!
We now have two pilot programs beginning to move forward. They are both in the Philippines and over the course of 2-3 years will be helping more than 1,300 poor entrepreneurs! The first is in Baguio City, six hours north of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. We will be helping at least 250 poor people there like Agnes Amdegan who has six children to raise. She knits sweaters on a manual knitting machine and sells them in the market, making enough to ensure that her children are fed. This program is in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of the North Central Philippines and RSPI, a local micro-credit agency.The second program is in the slums of Manila where the living conditions are pathetic and include very poor sanitation, sporadic electricity and a suspect water supply. Despite these conditions, there is hope in the laughter of the mothers and fathers in these squalid areas. There is hope in the eyes of men like Daniel who runs a small stand in the local market selling rice and other staple foods. He is making enough to feed his family and send his children to school. This project is in partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of the Central Philippines and the Center for Community Transformation, a local micro-credit agency.
In both these projects, there is an added spiritual component. In the Manila program for instance, Episcopalians in the poor communities will be taught how to lead Bible studies so they can share the Gospel with the more than 900 women expected to be helped through this initial project.
Other highlights
• In Honduras, we funded a pilot program in which staff from Cristo Redentor Episcopal Church in Tegucigalpa taught the Alpha course to the staff and loan officers of IDH, our partner micro-credit agency. It’s hoped that the Alpha course may be used with loan beneficiaries in the future.
• Establishing prayer groups to intercede for Five Talents, its beneficiaries and supporters. Contact us at fivetalents@fivetalents.org if you would like to be a member of our intercessory groups.
• Don’t forget our website at www.fivetalents.org. Let us know how we can improve it.
• Tell your friends that we are always looking for financial support. Remember for about $200 you can create a job.
SPRING UPDATE 2000
The Five Talents International Board of Directors and its executive director journeyed to Africa during March. The primary purpose was to build relationships for future work in Africa.On March 11, Five Talents sponsored a meeting with more than 25 Bishops, Provincial Secretaries and Christian businessmen in attendance. Representatives from Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and several other countries were present. It was more of a conversation than a meeting as we worked together to determine Five Talents future work in Africa.
From our discussions came wonderful ideas and suggestions that we are now beginning to formulate into a long-range plan of action. During trips to Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, we visited with many villagers who were running their own small businesses. We met carpenters, furniture-makers, iron workers, fruit sellers and many others. It was inspiring to meet both mothers and fathers trying their best to take care of their families.
In Tanzania, we met a man who had taken over his father's business. He was running a blacksmith shop that produced farm implements for local farmers. In Uganda, there is a single mother named Gladys. As a trained nurse she saw the deplorable health conditions in her village and with no medical care available, she began a clinic.
Because of our visits and meetings, we are working on proposals that will hopefully begin to bear fruit in the near future.
Other highlights include:
• Look for a new website at www.fivetalents.org. Let us know how we can improve it.
• Recently passed resolutions at Diocesan conventions in Virginia and West Texas recognizing Five Talents and asking them to consider setting aside 0.7% of their budgets for poverty alleviation programs.
For Immediate Release
July 21, 2000
Bishop Chiwanga Speaks Passionately about the Poor
Denver, CO. The Rt. Rev. Simon Chiwanga had the plight of the poor on his mind during his recent speech at a July 11 reception hosted by the Colorado Episcopal Foundation.
The event highlighted relief and development organizations working with the Episcopal and Anglican churches worldwide. The reception was held in the midst of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA.
As president of the Anglican Consultative Council and the International Chairman of Five Talents International, Bishop Chiwanga had previously spoken about the ravages of poverty during his sermon at the July 9 Convention Eucharist.
"The trouble spots of Africa and the world are countless;" Bishop Chiwanga said during the Eucharist, "it's like a litany of devastation as one often hears in a church service when people offer the prayers of the people. One disastrous situation after another."
At the July 11 reception, he emphasized Five Talents International a micro-credit agency that he helped organize two years ago. "Five Talents mission is to serve the Anglican Communion and its fight against poverty at the grassroots level through small loans and small business training," he said.
During his speech at the reception and comments afterward, he talked passionately about the poverty afflicting his homeland of Tanzania, one of the 10 poorest countries in the world. He specifically spoke about the diocese of Mpwapwa where he is the Bishop. He recounted three years of famine when he continually had to turn hungry people away from his office. He sees the work of Five Talents International as one way to alleviate the suffering.
"We need to combat poverty at the grass roots level, so that our brothers and sisters can move through poverty and dependency to dignity and self reliance," Bishop Chiwanga said.
"We are based on a parable in the Gospel of Matthew, said Craig Cole, the executive director of Five Talents International, during the reception. "We believe that all people have God-given spiritual, physical and financial gifts that when invested and multiplied can help individuals, communities and churches."
The evening was attended by representatives from Episcopal Relief and Development, Labor of Love, the Jubilee 2000 movement, representatives from the office of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Rt. Rev. Jerry Winterrowd of the Diocese of Colorado.
Two Resolutions Challenge Dioceses to Give to the Poor
Denver, CO.– Commemorating a year of Jubilee, the 73rd General Convention of the Episcopal Church USA challenged each diocese and congregation to set aside 0.7% of their annual budgets for international development programs. By passing resolutions A001 and D033, both houses agreed with the 1998 Lambeth Conference that helping poverty-stricken countries is a budget priority.
Resolution D033, not only affirmed the 0.7% challenge, but also confirmed that micro-credit programs are crucial for helping the poor at the grassroots level in developing countries.
"By lending $50 to $100 to a poor mother or father, they can start a small business like sewing or shoe-making," said the Very Rev. Rick Lord, a delegate from the Diocese of Virginia, who sponsored the resolution. "One of the best things about these programs is that 85 percent of the beneficiaries are women."
The Rev. Martyn Minns, U.S. chairman of Five Talents International, a micro-credit agency serving the Anglican Communion, spoke to the resolution on the floor of the house of deputies. "Five Talents is making a profound difference in the lives of our poorest sisters and brothers in the Anglican Communion. I commend it [the resolution] to you and urge your support," he said.
Also backing the resolution were micro-credit organizations including: Five Talents International Vienna, VA.; the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund, Geneva, Switzerland; and Opportunity International, Chicago, IL.
"We had broad-based support for this resolution, which dealt with a specific tool to fight poverty, create jobs and transform lives," said Craig Cole, the Executive Director of Five Talents International. "It’s really a matter of survival for the poor that churches here in the U.S. and overseas work together to fight poverty."
Speaking to the resolution during its hearings in committee were the Rt. Rev. Leo Frade of Honduras, Prime Bishop Ignacio Soliba of the Episcopal Church of the Philippines, Joy Lumbag of the Ecumenical Church Loan Fund, the Rev. Titus Presler, a former missionary to Zimbabwe, the Rev. Rick Lord, Betty Chumney of West Texas, Craig Cole, the executive director of Five Talents, and the Rev. Geoff Curtis of the Diocese of Newark.