#EDUCATEtheGLOBE

Meet Maria Madriz from Managua, Nicaragua. She is a married mother of two, whose kiosk business of selling school supplies and greeting cards earns income that pays for her daughters’ school fees, a prime reason she cited for starting her micro-business. Halfway around the world, we find Cindy Agpaoa in Manila, the Philippines, a single mother of three.  After leaving an abusive domestic situation, she opened a bakery business in the hopes of creating a better life for her children, devoting a portion of her income to their education.

What do these two women, living so far apart in distinctly different cultures, have in common? They are both GLOBE borrowers, intent on providing an education for their children that will make them better off than their parents, breaking the inter-generational cycle of poverty. The Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs (GLOBE) Microloan Program makes this aspiration a reality for dozens of families in impoverished communities around the world. Microcredit offers a dignified route out of poverty and is demonstrated to empower women, freeing them to govern their own lives and those of their children. Managed by students, GLOBE serves as an experiential educational platform at St. John’s University for learning how to run a business that can serve as a vehicle for positive social change.

GLOBE has two goals – contribute to the alleviation of poverty within our lifetimes, and inform students and borrowers about the power of microloans. Education is an effective tool for achieving both goals. Whether occurring in the traditional four walls of a classroom, or extending to the lives of our borrowers, GLOBE creates meaningful change in the lives of all who are engaged in or impacted by its mission.  Students become social entrepreneurs, and borrowers gain access to funds that allow them to start or grow  a successful business, investing the income in their future and that of their families.

The goal of this campaign is directly focused on education.  Lack of access to education is cited as one of the primary causes of poverty. What we know from our work in GLOBE is that income from GLOBE-funded businesses often contribute directly to the education of our borrowers’ children, as witnessed in the cases of Maria and Cindy. Combined with peripheral GLOBE services, such as financial literacy training and teaching our borrowing communities how to promote good health and hygiene practices, we can ensure a favorable outcome for our borrowers.  By fostering education, GLOBE students partner with budding entrepreneurs on a journey of hope, bringing tangible benefits to communities worldwide.  Together, through #EDUCATEtheGLOBE, we can sustain our mission of alleviating poverty, not just now, but into the future, affecting the lives of our borrowers as well as their children.

With the kind contributions of donors like yourself, GLOBE can continue to pursue its educational goals. Will you help us in our mission? Maria, Cindy, and all the GLOBE students appreciate your unwavering support!