Burundi microfinance program: Get up and walk!

By Chris Elliott

When Peter and John encountered a lame man begging on the temple steps in Acts 3, they had no silver or gold to offer. Rather, they commanded him to get up and walk (in Jesus’ name, of course).

The Church of the Brethren in Burundi has developed a small microfinance platform as a branch of their fledgling “Brethren Bank.” The bank itself fits easily within the microfinance concept, with only a few dozen depositors and housed in a small couple of rooms across the alley from the church.

It is the loan program, though, that I want to share about. In just two years, it has grown to 62 participants. Based on Peter’s words in Acts 3:6, it is titled “Get Up and Walk.”

Here is how it works:

First time Get Up and Walk loan recipients with Brethren Microfinance (Bre-Mic) may borrow up to 50,000 Burundian francs (BF). At the present exchange rate this amounts to a little less than $17. It might not sound like a lot of business capital to the average American, but it is rather significant to many people in this tiny east African country. This allows the individual to invest in a small enterprise, such as a store, market stall, sewing/tailoring, etc. They are required to pay back the loan at the rate of 2,000 francs per week, with a couple of payments on the tail end for interest. Once the initial loan has been repaid, they may borrow twice the original amount, again to be paid off along with the additional payments for interest.

*Nadine, a Church of the Brethren member and a young widow, was one of the first Bre-Mic clients. Photo by Chris Elliott*

As of this writing, there are only four delinquent accounts, amounting to less than 1.6 percent (about $40) of total loans.

Based on the principle taught by Jesus, the one who is faithful in a little is rewarded with greater responsibility and now there are two clients at the fourth level, having borrowed 400,000 francs each–the equivalent of about $133.

Nadine

We traveled to the rural village of Maramvya on the windswept Rusizi bottomlands. After passing grazing cows and goats, farm workers “plowing” with heavy long handled hoes, fields of rice, corn, beans, and sweet potatoes, bicycles laden with massive burdens, and smoking hand-built brick kilns, we entered the village and made our way to the marketplace. It is a rambling, ramshackle series of shops offering local produce, household goods, clothing items, hardware–pretty much anything that a person would want or need in this community.

Among the fruit and vegetable vendors is a young widow named Nadine. She is a Church of the Brethren member and one of the first Bre-Mic clients. Beginning her business two years ago with a Get Up and Walk loan of 50,000 BF, Nadine quickly paid it back. This allowed her to borrow at the second (100,000) then the third (200,000) level, and she is now in the process of paying off the fourth level of 400,000 BF. She testified to us of the great help the Get Up and Walk loans have been to her. This widow and her family of six children are eating better, they are clothed, and their school fees are paid.

I would be quick to point out that when Peter gave the command to rise up and walk, he offered his right hand to assist. Bre-Mic is a way of doing just that. As the saying goes, a hand up, not a handout.

— Chris Elliott is one of the Country Advisory Team members for the Church of the Brethren’s Global Mission program.

#MissionAndMinistryBoard #StrategicPlan #RacialJustice #LoveOurNeighbors #Discipleship #NewTestamentGiving

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