#GenerationGLOBE

Imagine it is 2014. You are 22 years old. Typhoon Yolanda has hit your fishing village, wiping out the livelihood of most people in your community, but you survive. Struggling to take care of three young children on an income of less than $9 a week from your small baking business, you have few options for climbing out of poverty. Yet, you light up at the sight of your children, and are determined to make a better life for the next generation of your family. This was a reality for Maricar Octaviano, a woman living in a tiny coastal village in Iloilo, the Philippines.

Then Maricar learned about GLOBE - Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs – a microlending program at St. John’s University. With a $638 loan from GLOBE, Maricar is able to expand her business so she can afford for her children to attend school. Now, her bakery is a gathering spot for friends and neighbors to enjoy homemade breads and pastries. By building on the skills she learned in high school, she has a renewed sense of self-confidence. Despite her struggles, Maricar pushes through and hopes her passion for baking, and that of local, community-based merchants funded by GLOBE, can empower the women around her to self-sustain after being left impoverished from natural disasters.

Though she is thousands of miles away, Maricar is connected to a generation of GLOBE managers in Queens, New York – nearly 400 students strong -- dedicated to alleviating poverty. GLOBE has devoted 10 years, thousands of dollars, and university resources to improving the lives of over 190 entrepreneurs in six poverty-stricken countries on three continents. The GLOBE managers are joined in their work by those who advocate for social change – for a world without poverty. Our partners include donors, NGOs, business leaders, religious leaders, and educators. With this campaign, we want to expand our partner reach, and focus on empowering a generation of people who are eager to join our efforts, so that we can continue to champion our goal to help even more men and women like Maricar. We ask for your support because we believe that providing those who are less fortunate with a dignified route out of poverty is vital to a civilized world. We ask for your support because the businesses GLOBE loans facilitate teach women like Maricar to be independent, overcome gender roles and pave the way for their children to obtain food, shelter, and an education.  We ask for your support because with repayment rates of over 85%, our GLOBE borrowers are creating funding opportunities for countless others in their communities. We ask for your support because GLOBE’s strength is in its numbers, and we want to count you among them.

Please be a voice of #GenerationGLOBE, and help us to reach our goal of $2500 in the next 30 days. Join us in our quest to be the change we want to see in the world!