Metal plates and tubes lemon crop fertilizer goats— these are things not usually seen gracing a college student’s shopping list. But for people like Magno Cordova Razia Ahmad Ricarda Portacion and Klever Conforme these items represent the opportunity to provide and sustain a living.
The Face of Microfinance (FM) is an on-campus club that seeks to alleviate some of the world’s poverty and economic issues by funding a variety of projects in third world countries. FM was founded by Rachel Williams after she spent time studying in Argentina and was exposed to the people and the problems they faced there. Williams decided to spend an extra two months translating for and interning with One for One (a small non-profit based in Argentina).
“I really saw the impact of how much of a difference a couple dollars makes because I was living with the families Williams said. So when I came back to Pepperdine I wanted to start this club to educate people about how we can help out.”
Vice president of the club Becca Faulkner also worked with One for One during her time in Argentina.
“[Having] a personal connection with the people that we met in Argentina and seeing that the funding we were giving them was making an actual difference even though it’s not a large amount by any means” is what largely contributed to the creation according to Falkner.
FM currently works with three organizations— Kiva Opportunity International and One for One.
One for One is a small organization that was founded by Pepperdine alumni after they spent time abroad in Argentina. Seeing the need in Adulam Argentina these students sought to bring financial and emotional aid to the people nearby.
One for One pairs one student with one entrepreneur to work on their English or teach them about business. Kiva and Opportunity International are similar in that they both feature online profiles of people in Third-World countries who are looking for loans to start a business.
Once these entrepreneurs are provided with the loans needed they are allowed a certain amount of time to earn and repay the money they had originally been given. Students who are interested in interning with One for One can contact Rachel Williams.
“Sometimes it’s only $50 but it makes such a huge difference. It can give one entrepreneur the chance to buy raw materials that can really improve their living situation. That same money which is eventually paid back to us is sustainable funds so it can go to another entrepreneur. It’s this great cycle Faulkner said.
Instead of feeding these people for a day, FM is working to teach them all to fish on their own. By helping people start a business, the club is actively participating in the turn-around of a poor economy.
FM recently made their first contribution by splitting the $1,000 they had raised between four different entrepreneurs. After searching through a number of profiles on the Kiva website, the 12 members at the meeting that night voted on which causes they would like to fund. The money went to various agricultural and construction based businesses in Ecuador, Pakistan, Peru, and the Philippines.
I was really fascinated with the fact that one loan to one person can affect so many people. If you give one loan to this mom or this dad it can affect them and their 11 kids and their grandma and grandpa Williams said.
While the passion of the club is helping people and working to end poverty, the club also has plans to record the progress of their investments.
Eventually what we want to do is… keep track of which industries are most successful— agriculture or construction— and which areas of the world— Africa South America. Once we know which areas are most successful we want to send students down there to see what the entrepreneurs are doing to make their business work. We want to turn it into a kind of research project Faulkner said.
The club is quickly approaching their monetary goal for the year of $5000. The members have already raised $3000, largely through the private donations of several Pepperdine alumni.
The collective long-term goal is to eventually have a continual cycle of money flowing out to entrepreneurs, then once the loan is repaid, to give that money to other promising business starters.
With the approach of finals week, FM is looking forward to promoting their club around freshmen dorms with a challenge. The dorm that raises the most money for a microloan will be awarded 10 pizzas every night during dead week.
While this club has more than 80 people on its email list, their actual club meetings tend to be about 15 regular members. FM is always looking for more participants to help in relieving poverty.
To learn more about the specific ways to get involved with FM, attend one of the Tuesday evening meetings held at 6:30 p.m. in the CCB. If you can’t commit to a larger donation, the club’s table is in the Waves Café on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., usually selling cupcakes and mate tea to raise funds for their projects.