Zafèn.org

[Guest]

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[charity]

Wow!  Thank you guys for posting about Zefan!  I just went over and made some loans and donations.   I am very excited about Zefan because it is a way to not only make loans, but also donations.  And I like the Fonkoze MFI better than Esperanza out of Dominican Republic which sometimes loans in Haiti on Kiva.  I also emailed the NPR Planet Money team about Zefan, because on one of their shows this week they promised to find a way for listeners of the podcast to donate to a school they had visited in Haiti. 

[Kestrel]

Anyone care to join me to complete a $50 loan for seeds in Haiti?



This package is for:

60 plaintain trees, 3.17 kg of bean seed and 3.17 kg of haricot bean seed

"This project will increase the agricultural production of the farmers of Boucan-Carre, which will lead to larger
revenues for the entire area, impacting more than 300 families. Additionally, the increase in agricultural
production, their only source of revenue, will create jobs and prevent people from leaving the area to seek other
work. This project will also help residents to reforest the region which is now heavily deforested because trees
have been cut down to make charcoal as a source of income."

Repayment term: 12 months; repayment schedule: monthly; Amount still needed: $25

I'm in for the first half....

Click on:  https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/275

Laurie

[Jan & John]

I'm in for the first half....

Laurie

Calgary will take the other half

Thanks Laurie, that was fun 

-jan-

[Kestrel]

Wow! Looks like six seed packs funded in short order... (Thanks for joining me, Jan and John!)

BUT...

Notre Dame de Lourdes Water treatment equipment was not funded. My contribution was credited to my Zafen account immediately and I am now on a new project:

OPMADEP: Expand and Modernize a Corn & Millet Mill



"OPMADEP instigated the “green” practice of using corn waste to feed pigs, as well as a process for capturing rainwater from rooftops for treatment and consumption on-site. They also ran a low-interest micro-finance program serving more than 100 female vendors, which boasted a 100% pay-back rate."

"This project is just one of the community projects that OPMADEP plans to implement in the Pignon community. This specific project will provide the female vendors with a local mill in which to grind their corn and millet under improved conditions. Before the existence of the mill, it was necessary for these vendors to travel long distances to transport their corn and millet, grind it, and bring it back. The existence of the local mill omits transportation costs and allows the investment of those savings into the purchase of more goods. ... OPMADEP has plans to create additional jobs in the near future by building a community market which will create additional employment and enable more street vendors to sell their products locally. At the present time, the mill employs three staff members: an operator, an assistant operator, and a mechanic, whom are all paid the minimum wage of $5 a day."

Repayment term: 12 months
Repayment schedule: monthly
Amount needed: US$3,625.00
Days remaining: 31

Click on: https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/281

[wannado]

I've joined the corn and millet mill project too! 

Also, for those who like  you can

  • loan money to purchase a cow for a breeding program https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/270 or

  • loan money for vet supplies and training for the cow breeding program https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/272

Marsha

[charity]

I really like Zafen, I just hope more of their projects start getting funded!  I made two loans, and 1 came back unfunded.  The other (improvement of a coffee drying embankment) is at 1% funded, with only 16 days to go (https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/259)!   I used my refunded credit from the water project to loan to the corn and millet mill (https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/281), but they are only at 3% funded, with 29 days to go!

After hearing about Zafen here on Kivafriends, I realized I had heard of the MFI involved, Fonkoze (http://www.fonkoze.org/), through the NPR podcast 'Planet Money.'  In the course of making the podcast the reporters met a woman named Yvrose Jean Baptiste.

After hearing her story, listeners, asked how to help her, and Planet Money worked with Fonkose to set up an account to accept donations for Yvrose - one that turned her life around.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2010/07/01/128245622/yvrose

Her story is very heartwarming, I just hope that some of the projects on Zafen can help make such a difference in other Haitians lives!

[lhartman]

Hello Kiva Friends,
I work with Zafen (on behalf of DePaul U.) and just wanted to say thank you for your enthusiasm and support of the Haitian entrepreneurs represented on the site.  I know that it can be disappointing when your loans are returned to you because the borrowers' requests do not receive full funding - Imagine how the borrowers feel.  We do plan to work with them to rewrite and reorganize their proposals, perhaps to break them down into smaller amounts. 
Just to explain, the reason for the time period in which to allow projects to be funded is so that we are not holding lenders' funds for an extended period of time without distributing them to the borrowers.  We do not distribute the funds until the loans are fully funded so, if you contribute funds on Day One, the longest we would hold your money is 30 days before either giving it or refunding it to you. 
With your help through this blog, some of the articles that have been written about Zafen, some of our efforts to get the word out, and anything else that we can think of, we hope to get more and more contributors to help Haiti's economy and these entrepreneurs and (hopefully!) have fewer unfunded loans.
Thanks again for your marvelous support.
Kind regards,
Laura Hartman

[David2051]

A warning to anyone joining Zafen...   

If you use the Gravatar system which is apparently the only way to upload a profile pic on Zafen, in the FAQ Gravatar states that there is no way to delete an account once you have signed up.  Personally I find this to be totally unacceptable, and I think you should all be aware of that before you decide to signup with Gravatar.  To bad I didn't read the FAQs before signing up.  I thought Facebook was the only system this obnoxious.

[Kestrel]

Here's a project looking for a last donation of $50 to be fully funded:

Clean up, organize, reforest, and develop the city of Tabarre

https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/210



"Here is an opportunity to help clean up, beautify, and organize the city of Tabarre. JADT is requesting
donations to purchase cleaning materials (brooms, rakes, garbage bags, wheelbarrows, shovels, gloves,
masks, and pickaxes). JADT plans to implement a waste management project, in which garbage bags will
be distributed and the residents of Tabarre will be encouraged to separate their waste so that collection is
simplified and effective. The garbage on the streets of Tabarrre is a health hazard for the residents,
blocks traffic, and deters businesses from investing in the area. Your donation will allow JADT, armed
with the proper tools, to effectively clean up the area and assist the residents in their ongoing battle to
keep Tabarre as orderly and attractive as possible. JADT will also be able to continue to provide plantings
to residents for further beautification, as well as giving mangoes to the children to supplement their
nutrition. JADT’s office was destroyed in the earthquake on January 12th and they are presently housed in
temporary quarters."

Anticipated impact of the proposed activity on the larger community:
"Cleaning up the streets of Tabarre will be a big boost to the social and economic development of the
area. Once the streets are trash-free and the area is replanted, the neighborhoods of Tabarre will be
ready to welcome new businesses, the residents will be at a lesser risk of developing health problems,
and traffic will flow more smoothly. The construction of a community center and basketball court will bring
the residents together and give them a feeling of community. With the success of these projects,
residents and JADT members will be poised to enlist the collaboration of local authorities, who have been
resistant to developing a long-term plan for the development of Tabarre. JADT’s program will be a
replicable model not just for the town of Tabarre, but for Haiti has a whole."

"JADT is an apolitical organization that was established in 2006 to support and conduct social and
economic development in Tabarre. The organization was founded by 13 young people from the ages of
19 to 30 who lived in the same neighborhood and shared the conviction that the town was in dire need of
economic and social development projects. The goal was to work together, using their skills and expertise
to support the development of the town."

Click here for full details: https://www.zafen.org/pdfs/0000/0354/JADT_-_final_posted.pdf

Click here to complete the funding for this project:  https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/210

In addition, there are 15 projects fundraising for loans. The Corn and Millet Mill is now fully funded! 

 

[Patricia SF]

Green Education Project posted on Zafen (This project is by DONATION.)

https://www.zafen.org/en/projects/336

"A donation of $1000 will start a new educational program with a focus on teaching children about sustainable agricultural methods. The funding will support the one-year cost of an agricultural technician who will help the children grow 1000 trees, as well as the set-up costs of a fruit tree nursery at the school. The training will be included as part of the school curriculum for the school year 2010-2011. That’s not all! To facilitate the implementation of the project and to secure its sustainability, EDEM Foundation (www.edem2.org) will help build liaisons between Ecole du Village and elementary schools in the US. The partnership between the school and will allow the children in Haiti to protect the environment while the children at their partner school help support the program."