A Change of Guard

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Saturday 10 December 2011

[California's] Encinitas Group Improving Lives in Cambodia



Microloans for Mothers is spearheaded by a Cardiff man, Niels Lund.

By Marlena Medford
The Encinitas Patch

Two dollars will barely buy you a cup of coffee in Encinitas, but in Cambodia that’s what the average person survives off per day. Poverty is rampant there and it’s especially hard on single mothers, many of whom raise their kids on a monthly income equal to about 50 US dollars. To say they struggle would be putting it mildly.

But an Encinitas-based nonprofit has figured out how to harness the power of micro-lending to help these women. The group, Microloans for Mothers, gives them very small loans so they can launch their own businesses. The goal is to help them become independent entrepreneurs while teaching them how to save money.

Some of us spend $100 on a routine trip to the grocery store without thinking much of it. In Cambodia, $100 can and has changed lives. Take Kim Vanny, a single mother of two living in the slums of Phnom Penh. She, like many women there, ran a small snack store out of her home. After receiving a $100 loan through the non-profit, she was able to grow her business considerably, even adding a Karaoke machine for customers. She’s been able to turn a nice profit, which she’s now using to send her kids to school and provide them with more food.

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