Partners

My journey for Project: Island Hopes is with CCT (Center for Community Transformation). It has also been a field partner of KIVA for almost 3 years and as of January 2013 has released US$1,987,625 in loans for 4,233 micro-entrepreneurs all over the Philippines with a delinquency rate of 1.19%, at risk rate of 1.82% and default rate of 0.06%. As with many micro-financing institutions, over 93% of the loans are extended to women who provide a supplementary income to the family.

If you want to support some of their micro-entrepreneurs, you can read their profiles and stories at the KIVA website or at the CCT Partners blog. Because KIVA has such an excellent system of financial distribution in place already, I suggest, especially if you want to just give out small loans of US$25, to go there directly- here’s the link to the CCT partners (those in need of micro-financing) listed there.

You can also read more about KIVA’s 3rd party assessment of CCT’s programs at this link. Please note that CCT is a Christian organization fully led and run by Filipinos that caters to Filipinos in need from all races and religions. Their vision is “to see a network of Christ-centered faith communities where Jesus Christ is honored and worshipped and where people live with dignity and sufficiency in accordance with God’s plan for a just, humane, and caring society.”

Giving me time off to do this is The Little Entrepreneur Pte Ltd (Singapore). They will also be sending several people for the year (2012 – 2013) to help in various aspects: branding, marketing, technology, etc. Basically, anything the CCT partners need that they have the skills in which to help. In addition, to promote tourism as well as meaningful community involvement projects, some Singapore schools will be sending students to work with the different ministries of CCT along with other NGO’s, charities, orphanages that TLE already works with in the Philippines.