Help Vendors Climb Out of Debt in the Philippines

A warm thank you to all our donors to help us reach our funding goal. Your support has been influential in making this project possible!Since last year, we were able to pay off the debts of over 400 vendors worth a total of more than $25,000.  We were also able to offer free savings accounts to more than 200 of...

First of all, we'd like to thank all of our supporters on Global Giving.  We thought you might be interested in knowing what we've been up to since our last update in January!  We are currently in the surveying phase of this project, and conducting follow-up surveys 1 month, 3 month, 6 months and 1 year after we...

Since our last update, we have been busy in the field!  Thanks to your support, we were able to locate 468 heavily indebted market vendors in Cagayan de Oro and pay off high-interest rate debt totaling over $25,000. Additionally, we have been able to introduce 234 of these vendors to a local bank offering free...

As we explore the markets of the City of Cagayan de Oro as part of our survey effort, we run into the same story over and over again.  We find vendors who borrow from moneylenders to help maintain their businesses or to pay for school fees and medicine at rates as high as 20% per month.  Some spend as much as...

When many people think of the start of the school season, they think of textbooks, playground antics and school projects. But for many poor Filipino families, the start of the school season in June simply means debt. Families who cannot afford to pay for their children's school tuition, books, uniforms and materials for...