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September 2008: Ask representatives to sign House letter on microfinance to the World Bank

About 10 years ago, a Kenyan grandmother considered killing herself and her 12 grandchildren orphaned by AIDS because she couldn’t afford to take care of them. Today, she runs several successful businesses and her grandchildren are completing their education.

Their lives were saved by Jamii Bora, a microfinance organization that offers microfinance to the poorest in Kenya. We need more Jamii Boras.

Reps Holt and Carter are circulating a sign-on letter to World Bank president, Robert Zoellick. It asks the World Bank to create:

  1. A $200 million grant facility for microfinance institutions working with the very poor;
  2. Centers of Excellence for learning how to reach the very poor with microfinance; and
  3. An Africa “apex fund,” to provide capital for programs trying to reach the very poor.

Will Rep.____________ sign the Holt-Carter letter to Mr. Zoellick? I can provide you with a copy of the letter. When may I call back for a response?

(The grandmother’s powerful story can be found at Jamii Bora Trust’s “Members’ Voices” web page. For this and other powerful stories to use when you lobby, please read our Global stories on our website.)

Link to the Monthly Action

September: Ask representatives to sign House letter on microfinance to the World Bank. (Word version). Send the letter and this backgrounder to your representative and ask them to sign this bipartisan letter.