While interviewing Ka-Tiwala (“trust-fellows,” or savings group members) clients and spending time with savings staff in the Philippines, these are some of the most encouraging things I’ve heard.
Archives For Staff / Travels
Becky Svendsen
Nov 16 2012
By Becky Svendsen
Photos / Media Staff / Travels
With approximately 12 million residents, the Filipino capital of Manila is one of the world’s most populous cities. Sanitation and overcrowding are major issues, especially in slum communities.
At 15, Mabelle is one of the leaders of her savings and credit association in Tagaytay. She plans to use her savings for school supplies and clothes.
Becky Svendsen
Nov 15 2012
Becky Svendsen
Staff / Travels Stories we love
The staff of CCT, HOPE’s partner in the Philippines, value savings and seek holistic transformation for families and communities so enthusiastically that they have pioneered a new twist on the HOPE savings model: savings groups for children. CCT savings facilitators have initiated groups for teens, elementary students, and even preschoolers. The idea took shape when mothers requested that their children join groups so they could learn the discipline of saving from a young age, which, like most habits, becomes easier and more permanent.
We spent the morning at the Cabrera branch in Manila, seeing CCT’s many ministries in action. CCT’s strategic emphasis is to build a broad set of programs and services on the foundation of their microfinance branch network. CCT has 145 branches across the Philippines, providing a great backbone for broadening their ministry. The Cabrera community center is a great example of this transformation:
Hello there, everyone. My name is Dave Wasik, and it’s my pleasure to serve as the vice president of operations for HOPE International. I am writing this post from a Chipotle restaurant at Washington Dulles airport, about to begin my journey to Manila, Philippines, to visit the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), our partner in the Philippines. CCT is a cherished partner for HOPE, and we have learned a tremendous amount from them over the years.
As I entered data into an Excel spreadsheet in the small office in Nizhin, Ukraine, the quiet laughter of a little girl caught my attention. The girl nibbled on a snack near the back of the room while her mother filled out a survey as part of HOPE’s Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) project. HOPE, with assistance from Metrix Research Group, began testing a new M&E client survey in Ukraine in October. Despite their busy schedules and the cold rain outside, 36 men and women flowed through HOPE’s small office in the village of Nizhin on that Friday afternoon to participate in the survey.
