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Microfinance Meets Church

Microfinance Meets Church

Press Release
Market Watch-Weekend Edition

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Nov 07, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Paradigm Shift, a Colorado non-profit, is training South African churches to fight poverty in their communities by utilizing the highly successful tool of microfinance.

Forty-two percent of South Africa's children live in homes where both parents are unemployed, making entrepreneurship the only hope of survival for millions. Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus has often said, "Humans are not born to suffer the misery of hunger and poverty; they suffer now as they did in the past because we turn our heads away from this issue."

Middle-class South African churches agree, and they are beginning to realize that handouts do not eradicate poverty. Now, instead of giving out free food and clothes, churches are being empowered by Paradigm Shift to lead practical courses on business skills, offer microloans and provide mentoring - - all to train the poor to grow their businesses and provide for their own families.

Paradigm Shift's country partner is the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). ACSI's South African Christian schools will serve as bases for their affiliated churches to reach out to the poor in their communities. ACSI's business-focused high school students assist in training the poor, giving the students a front-row seat for learning how to effectively change poverty. As South Africa's future policymakers and business leaders, the student component is a very intentional inclusion in the program.

"Our desire is for people's lives to be touched practically as well as spiritually. We have seen a need to empower people by providing basic skills to start their own businesses and become productive," says Grant Walton, pastor of New Creation Church near Johannesburg, the first of many South African churches to be trained by Paradigm Shift.

Paradigm Shift was founded by Jedd and Janelle Schroy, who recognized a serious need for churches to change the ways they interact with the poor. After the founders personally visited and thoroughly researched microfinance and development projects in ten countries around the world, Paradigm Shift's program was designed by coupling proven best practices with innovative ideas.

The program has caught on. Individuals who decided to change their careers to serve full-time in South Africa with Paradigm Shift include a Wall Street broker, a former White House staffer, a Los Angeles social worker, a member of Vanderbilt University's Board of Trustees, and others from a wide range of professions.

The entire staff also happens to be under 31 years old, reflecting the growing trend for young professionals to seriously engage with tough social issues early in their careers in order to bring about change.

Link: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Microfinance-Meets-Church/story.aspx?guid={2274B879-80AB-4591-B0BF-D2FC5EAE9C81}