AYA- Micro-Credit

AYA strongly believes in creating opportunities
that will create a long-term means of
self-sufficiency for orphans and their guardians.
One of the best way to achieve this objective is
through micro enterprise. People living in poverty
do not lack the motivation to change their
circumstances, but the resources necessary to
do so. Therefore, AYA supports several projects
that facilitate small loans or grants to the
guardians of orphans.

The Fort Portal Micro-Grant program was created
to give guardians $100 grants that are typically
used to purchase a cow. The READ Micro-Credit
program gives $100 loans to impoverished
families to begin small businesses. The loans are
then repaid with interest and a new round of loans
are given so that opportunities can expand to
more families. Several smaller micro-credit
groups that AYA supports in Nairobi, were
organized and created by impoverished parents
living in the slums. They began by pooling small
amounts of money and making loans to each
other to start income-generating projects. These
loans and grants may sound like a relatively little
amount of money, but they provide the foundation
to dramatically change the lives of children and
families living in extreme poverty.