I’d be lying if I said I’m a full believer in microfinance. Each time I hear a client say they’re taking out their fifth loan to restock their shelves, I wince and wonder why they aren’t yet able to sustain such a small business without such small loans. I want so much to hear that the loan will go toward some innovation, I want to hear that they’re seeking to do more with their business, I want to hear that they dream of financial independence and they plan to step out of their fetters. I want to believe this work will do more than alleviate poverty, but really transform it into comfort or wealth.
And now and then, I realize it’s not my dreams that they’re fulfilling.
Endless loan applications and interest payments can seem like their own shackles, but far more repressive is the fear of not knowing if your children can eat breakfast, or start school next year. When a borrower finally knows that she can provide for her family, she has broken free from the fear of uncertainty.
It might not look like change the way I picture it, prettily packaged in home furnishings and bank accounts, but it’s personal transformation all the same. Like Christophe told me, it’s a question of vision. To twist his words: “When you look at your life and it looks like your vision, it’s then that you feel rich.”
Microfinance skeptics? Rethink your vision of success. By Taylor Steelman, Burundi (KF10)
