City of Brotherly Love

I spent the weekend in Philadelphia with my family following the Mets and eating Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches and water ice wherever we could.  I even managed to work in some walking.

It was also SundayOUT in Philadelphia, an annual gay rights event.   As we were coming out of Independence Hall, Michael Guest, the first openly gay US Ambassador (to Romania) approved by Senate,  was speaking to a spirited rain-soaked crowd while a small but vocal group of anti-gay protestors were excersising their rights to freedom of expression.   I was happy as always to point out to my kids our right to peaceful assembly.   (I have to say, though, if you’re going to use Leviticus as the basis of your argument are you not, therefore, obligated to keep kosher as well? )

So many of the poor and extremely poor people in this world do not have the means or individual freedoms to gather peacefully and have their voices heard.  Lifting people out of poverty through Micrcredit makes a tangible difference locally and globally and contributes to peace and political stability.  Please donate to our Village Banking campaign with FINCA!

Before I close I want to say a big thank you to the Phillies’ fans at Citizens Park.  They were gracious in victory and I was impressed how they embrace common civility in the City of Brotherly Love.   New Yorkers — we should take note.

–BBA

Bill Clinton Named UN Envoy to HAITI

The first annual FUUB Microcredit Mother’s Day Walkathon was a success!  We raised just over $3000.00 and have successfully funded our second Village Bank in Haiti through FINCA.  Now we’re on to bank #3 with an eye on Africa.

Thank you!  Thank you! To everyone who donated.  Special thanks to Sarah Stevens-Miles and Pat Bernstein who nourish this program in so many ways.

In the days just after our walkathon former president, Bill Clinton, was named UN Special Envoy to Haiti.   Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon emphasized how important it is to help Haiti, the poorest nation in the western hemisphere and it is everyone’s hope that former president Clinton’s special brand of dynamism can bring not only much-needed money and attention to Haiti but be a force for stability and unity so the nation can start to build and move forward.

4 Days & 10 Kilometers To Go

It’s monsoon season in New York City and nothing brings a little sunshine like friends near and far giving generously to FUUB Microcredit.   THANK YOU!!  We’ve raised enough so far to fund bank #2 and now my unswerving gaze is zeroed in on funding bank #3!!

For anyone visiting us for the first time, a hearty crew of us are walking 10 kilometers through Brooklyn, NY this Sunday, Mother’s Day, to raise money to start 2 new microcredit banks through FINCA’s Village Banking program.  We’ll be starting and ending on the steps of First Unitarian Church on Pierrepont Street in the Heights.   Donations are always gratefully accepted.

Things to do:

–  ask the fabulous and talented THOMAS GIGLIO (google alerts!) to make a last-minute flyer we can post inside and out of First Unitarian Brooklyn this Sunday.

–  remind fellow walkers to send another email blast to family and friends

– print map of our 10k route

Easy!  DONATE NOW!

–BBA

The fabulous and talented Thomas Giglio has signed on to walk in the MOTHER’S DAY WALKATHON for MICROCREDIT this Sunday and is going gangbusters with the donations.   His enthusiasm is infectious.   

Big hugs to you, Thomas!!

–BBA

Angels & Olives

It’s just a little bit more than a week until our FUUB Microcredit Mother’s Day 10K Walkathon and I want to start with a special thank you to our FUUB Microcredit angel, Sarah Stevens-Miles, who has been incredibly generous with her time, money and encouragement since we started our Village Banking group.  Sarah is a tireless force for social justice and always an inspiration.

My 10K training has been thwarted today by rain — okay, it’s a drizzle — but I promise I’ll be back out there when the clouds clear and the pollen is washed away.  Speaking of drizzles, I’ve been loving this olive oil, Zatoun, from Palestine my sister-in-law, Nancy, gave me.   It’s cold-pressed and fair trade but more than that it’s part of the Trees For Life program — Planting Peace in Palestine.   For $20 4 olive trees will be planted, making an investment in hope and peace.

Speaking of $20, your donation to FUUB Microcredit will make a huge difference in the life of a Haitian family.  Want to know how?  Click here.

Ciao,

BBA

Hilary, Natalie, Gwyneth and me

What do Hilary Clinton, Natalie Portman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Queen Rania of Jordan and I have in common?  We’ve all started microcredit banks through FINCA’S Village Banking Program.

I know it’s a little tongue in cheek but all the blogging manuals tell me to be creative with the tags to cut through the clutter and get more hits.   The goal is to raise money and awareness — I’ll do what it takes!

All kidding aside, we at FUUB Microcredit are in good company and I admire these women.   We all understand that:

– over half of us on this planet live on less than $2 a day.  That’s one way on the New York City subway or  less than a slice of pizza and less than just about anything for sale at Starbucks.

–extreme poverty is not only a human tragedy but contributes to social and political instability and is everyone’s issue.

–70% of the people living in extreme poverty are women and of them the vast majority are the heads of their households struggling to feed, clothe and educate their children in the face of extreme odds

–$5000 can directly and dramatically change the lives of a community of women and their families

If you’re thinking, heck!  I can raise $5000 and start a Village Bank then please visit FINCA asap.

If you’re thinking who knew my $10 or $20 could make such a big difference then please donate here now and be sure to put MICROCREDIT in the Designation box.

More later!

cheers,

BBA

A Little Yields A Lot

It’s a gorgeous (or scorching, depending on your point of view) morning in Brooklyn and I’m just back from a 4-mile walk in preparation — yes, I’m training!! — for our 10K MOTHER’S DAY WALKATHON for Microcredit on Sunday, May 10th.

Why Mother’s Day?  70% of the world’s poor are women and the majority of those women are single mothers  struggling to support their families in the face of disease, famine, armed conflict, corrupt governments and repressive societies.   It’s our way of honoring them.

Pat Bernstein, a member of the FUUB Microcredit team, forwarded this article from Heifer which explains how giving a little yields a lot in microcredit.   It tells the story of how  Dr. Muhammed Yunis started the microfinance revolution in Bangladesh and founded the Grameen Bank in the 1970s.  5.3 billion dollars and 7 million borrowers later Dr. Yunis won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work.

–BBA

Welcome!

Welcome to the first post on FUUB Microcredit.  We are a social justice affinity group with the First Unitarian Congregational Society, a beacon of liberal religion in Brooklyn Heights, New York since 1833.

I’d heard about microcredit — the extension of small loans (micro loans) to the very poor who exist outside traditional economies to spur entrepreneurship and allow people, the majority women, to lift themselves and their families out of poverty — but it wasn’t until I met a dynamic octogenarian from Tulsa named Betty Morrow who has helped  start more than 30 microcredit banks over the past 10 years with FINCA that it hit me that I could put words into deeds and make a difference through microcredit.

In 2008 FUUB Microcredit funded our first bank, the Fraternimite Village Bank in Pelerin, Haiti.  Our goal is to start two banks in 2009.  Why Haiti?  It’s the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and desperate for our attention.   We also have a large Haitian population in Brooklyn — including one of the prides of both places,  Wyclef Jean — so the community link feels closer .  But no matter, it’s about giving hope and eradicating poverty.

Coming up:  our very own Mother’s Day Walkathon, May 10th, 2009.  More info in the next post but in the meantime you can donate as often as you’d like.  Be sure to put MICROCREDIT in the Designation box.

Thank you!

–Barbara Barna Abel