One Heart Action GroupYou may never know what results come of your action, but if you do nothing there will be no result. -Mahatma Gandhi
One Heart Action Group is a group of family, friends, and neighbors who have gotten together to help raise money for microcredit loans and other development projects in areas of the world that are plagued with poverty. The one thing we all have in common is that we want to make a difference, but we need each other to reach our goals.
What is microcredit?Microcredit is a small loan (normally around $100-$200) given to the poorest of the poor, people excluded from traditional forms of credit because they have no collateral. The small loans are used to help them start or grow a small business with the goal of becoming economically self-sufficient. For example, one lady in the Philippines used her loan to buy a sewing machine, which she uses to make bags to sell at the market. The bags sold with great success, and she has been able to expand her business, hire employees, purchase another machine, and repay her loan. She has also been able to provide her family with regular nutritious meals, send her children to school, and make improvements to her home. These loans may be small. However they have a big impact on the recipients and they have been proven to be a very effective way to help lift families out of poverty. The loans are paid back with interest and have a very high repayment rate of around 97-99%, a rate unheard of in traditional banking. Because the loans are repaid with interest, the loans are self-perpetuating, and the money can be loaned out again.
Is microcredit really that effective?It is very effective. Time and time again, microloan recipients have been able to improve their lives and the lives of their families. Microloans help make families economically self-reliant. For individual families, they are a long term solution to poverty.
How can you get involved?Getting involved is very easy and takes little time or effort. We hold fundraisers. For example we’ve had a bake sale and a yard sale to help raise money that is going towards a micro-credit bank in Central America. Members of the action group can help by participating in these fundraising events. Another way is to make a monthly donation. Donations do not need to be large. If you only have $1.00 to spare, it is a perfectly acceptable donation. By working together, we can reach our fundraising goals, whether by large or small donations.
What happens to the money?The money is given to a non-profit organization based in Provo, Utah called
HELP International (Help ELiminate Poverty; see their website at www.help-international.org ). They collect our money until we have raised the amount needed to start a small village bank ($3,000, $200 of which goes directly to HELP International). When the goal is reached, they send the money on to an established, reputable NGO in El Salvador, where a bank is established, and the money is loaned out. Starting then, we will receive quarterly reports on who has received a loan and how it has helped them.
How can you learn more about microcredit?-Watch the movie Small Fortunes at the bottom of this page
-Go to
www.selfreliance.byu.edu-Go to
www.microfinancegateway.org-Go to
www.small-fortunes.com-Do a Google search
Do we do any other projects besides fundraising for microcredit?At this point we haven’t, but HELP has many other projects that we can raise money for. To name a few: square foot gardening, business training, sponsoring a volunteer, providing English lessons, helping street orphans in Uganda, adobe stoves, etc. For more information on these projects please see HELP’s website.
Why should you get involved?Because everyone deserves a chance at a good life, no matter who they are or where they were born. There are about 1.2 billion people in the world living in extreme poverty (less than a dollar a day). Because, of 2.2 billion people in the world, 1 billion live in poverty. Because every 3.6 seconds someone dies of starvation. Because the majority of them are children and famine is not the cause. Because you may not be able to change the world, but together we can help change one person’s world.
Why are we called One Heart Action Group?In Acts 4:32 it says, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.” We wish to help end economic inequality and believe by being of one heart we can achieve success.
Who can you contact if you want to join One Heart Action Group?Contact Anna Hastings at ofoneheart@gmail.com or talk to the friend that gave you this brochure. We can make a difference!
How can you make a donation?If you would like to make a financial contribution, please make a check out to HELP-International, write One Heart Action Group on the memo line. Please email Anna at ofoneheart@gmail.com for a mailing address.
"There are people, not a few, whose circumstances are desperate and who cry out for help and relief. There are so many who are hungry and destitute among this world who need help.... My brothers and sisters, I would hope, I would pray that each of us...would resolve to seek those who need help, who are in desperate and difficult circumstances, and lift them in the spirit of love." -President Gordon B. Hinckley
