Train 20 Vulnerable Bulgarians in Entrepreneurship

I have titled this report “Be an example” as this came to us when one of our loan-takers passed away in May 2018. He was a young man, born 1981 (37 year old), died of a heart attack, leaving a wife and a 6-year old girl. Several years ago we gave him a loan to start his own food supplement business. This man owed us $4312USD. Legally, after his death the debt was inherited by his child and we had the right to pursue our money from his wife and child. After a short discussion though Cornerstone Foundation Board made a decision to write off the loan. In order to arrange the paperwork, it was time to talk to the family. The first one that we contacted was the the debtor's mother. She was initially surprised by our act of kindness, she doubted... she asked questions, she couldn't understand WHY we are doing this. It took a while to convince her, but eventually she cooperated as much as possible so we could arrange the papers on our side. She shared she was honestly surprised that we gave him a loan as a start as her son had problems with drugs in the past. I said WE KNEW that too and that shocked her. I.e. we knew that he had problems in the past and despite of that we gave him a loan... were we crazy? We said we believe that God can fully transform people and while her son was at our trainings he was clean. She cried on the phone, then she calmed down we talked more.. 20min later she called again and we talked more… It was such an emotional day. We had a similar experience when we talked to the debtor's wife. She was surprised we won't chase them for the money. She was initially suspicious and did not talk much. She needed about 2 weeks to inquire about us as an organization and people. That again gave us an opportunity to share our values and moral principles, to explain that we are living what we are teaching. Eventually, she called us back and said she will fully cooperate for the paperwork around writing the loan off. We went a step further.. we walked the second mile and asked "Could we somehow help you, now that you are a single mother with a little girl." She was touched, her voice trembled...

Now, I am not writing this to boast or brag about our attitude, but to share the joy of seeing grateful eyes and hearing sincere words of thankfulness. And yes, we lost the $4312USD, but can you measure the light on people's faces? Can you measure their hope that there is still goodness and undeserved mercy on the planet Earth? Maybe this girl will grow with a little bit brighter future now, maybe the mother and the grandmother will teach her that there is forgiveness regardless of how much you have messed up... No, we do not regret for losing the money.

I mentioned moral and ethics, and would like to share some information about Bulgaria, just so you are aware how much good values lack here. In Nov 2017 there was a national research on the religious classification of Bulgarian population. 81% of the Bulgarians have identified themselves as Orthodox. Orthodoxy is not popular in the West; it is a Christian branch, similar to Catholicism. Of the Bulgarian Orthodox people:
78% are atheists.
68% do not believe in Hell.
54% believe in the evil eye.
40% believe in magic, witchcraft and sorcery.
37% believe in reincarnation.

So you get the picture and it may be easier for you to understand why writing off a loan is not something people often encounter.

Last... Did you know that on September 29^th is the International Day of Beaurocracy? According to a research a Bulgarian entrepreneur spends an average of 180 hours/ year for beurocratic services.