If you were considering donating to a worthy cause in 2010 and taking advantage of the tax benefits of charitable donations, now is your last chance to contribute!
As we look towards new efforts and projects in 2011 it is only through your generous funding that we will be able to continue our long term development projects in some of the poorest areas on this planet.
As you know, we have set the goal of raising $100,000 by December 31st, and would greatly appreciate if you consider Real Medicine for your year-end donation.
In the spirit of Real Medicine Foundation’s concept of “Friends helping Friends helping Friends” so much is possible when we do it together.
From all of us here at Real Medicine: Thank you for your support!
Almost 6 years after the last Tsunami in Indonesia and the founding of Real Medicine in Sri Lanka, another Tsunami has struck the area, this one resulting with at least 272 dead and so far another 400 missing. Officials are saying there were faults with an early warning system designed to alert locals to the 3m-high (10ft) wave.
Full article from BBC news here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11632982
To read about our continuing relief efforts in Sri Lanka click here.
Now four years into RMF’s partnership with KOMPIP, RMF is taking a step back to reflect on the successes of our joint Neighborhood Endowment Fund Program thus far.
This community-owned revolving fund initiative provides its members with access to small loans for micro-enterprise purposes. Each neighborhood has its own fund and democratically elects three to four people to administer the fund voluntarily, acting in the capacities of leader, treasurer and secretary. The neighborhood structure that is already in existence is the pillar of the program. In Indonesia this structure is known as the “RT-RW” system of socio-geographic organization.
Each defined geographic area is divided up into neighborhoods that are identifiable by this RT-RW marker and these cohesive neighborhood groups are instilled with a communal sense of ownership and responsibility of their NEF. The amount received by each neighborhood is generally sufficient for two simultaneous borrowers of up to US$100 each and at a monthly interest rate of 1% to 1.5%. In addition to designing and field testing this system, KOMPIP and RMF have provided basic microcredit bookkeeping training, micro business management training, micro business marketing training and solidarity building to the neighborhoods receiving these funds so that communities can maximize their own results.
Out of 198 original neighborhoods in Yogyajakarta and Klaten, Central Java, 193 neighborhoods (with a membership of 7,000 people) successfully became self-sustainable. Loan repayment rates have been close to 100% and NEF communities have responded well to KOMPIP and RMF’s hands-on approach at facilitating these loans. Additionally, in all 193 neighborhoods the revolving funds have grown substantially larger, allowing for increased access and larger loans.
Through field visits to a selection of these neighborhood communities, KOMPIP has documented substantial changes in the standards of living of NEF communities. Borrowers have improved their neighborhood communities’ access to healthcare and education and have increased their incomes, quality of housing, and levels of empowerment. RMF and KOMPIP have successfully created livelihoods for thousands of people and have initiated a “multiplier” effect in that the revolving funds in at least 193 neighborhood communities continue to rotate from borrower to borrower, creating microenterprises and employment
One significant advantage of community-owned microfinance units such as KOMPIP-RMF’s NEF is the solid financial performance that is observed. This is attributable to the communal sense of ownership of respective neighborhood-level funds as well as the peer pressure that results from such a collectivist system in which neighborhood members are mutually dependent upon each other. Additionally, overhead costs continue to be low and the cohesive and communal nature of the neighborhood groups greatly reduces risk since prospective borrowers are screened by those that know their strengths and weaknesses best.
Expansion
Due to the extraordinary success achieved, measured by increasing incomes and standards of living, KOMPIP, RMF and the local government of Solo entered into a partnership to replicate the NEF model to the entire Surakarta area, encompassing 2668 neighborhoods and 100,000 people. RMF and KOMPIP were able to put in modest organizational funds in order to leverage a $250,000 pledge by the local government of Surakarta.
RMF and KOMPIP used their resources to monitor the distribution of this government grant and to introduce the NEF concept to the larger Surakarta area. RMF and KOMPIP held socialization events and workshops at the city level and at the district level and aided with the distribution of seed grants to neighborhood communities. These activities were extremely well received by the community, with approximately 3000 people attending the first NEF socialization
RMF’s impact is best said by KOMPIP’s Director, Pak Akbar below:
“I think that the impact that can already been seen from the US$10,000 provided by RMF is that it stimulated the local government of Solo to allocate the seed grant of Rp. 2.3 billion (US$250,000). In other words, the funds of US$10,000 created the allocation of 2500% additional funds from the local government relative to the amount paid by RMF. From this figure, we can see how big the influence of RMF-KOMPIP to the local government of Surakarta has been.”
Since the increased NEF funds were only released months ago, it is difficult to measure the qualitative impact of this seed money on local communities. RMF and KOMPIP will offer the Mayor’s Office any help we can to assess the impact of this grant and to move the program forwards. The local government of Surakarta continues to offer support for the NEF initiative and may be able to help revive these newest NEF members in the next fiscal year.
The relationship and trust built with the government of Surakarta will be invaluable – RMF and/or KOMPIP will be able to make use of this relationship in future endeavors. Moving forwards RMF will continue with these relationships and will build upon the successes of the NEF’s with a focus on livelihood support and innovation for those taking NEF loans and also on quality of NEF services.
In Indonesia, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake hit early this morning near the city of Padang, on the island of Sumatra. At least 75 people are dead and officials say that number is expected to rise with thousands trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings, including at least two hospitals.
This follows another earthquake with an 8.0 magnitude that struck near the South Pacific island nations of Samoa and Tonga and the US territory of American Samoa. The quake triggered a massive tsunami that killed an estimated 100 people, including more than 30 people in American Samoa.
Early in the morning she buys baskets of unbaked breads from the market and spends the rest of the day distributing them to different warungs (small restaurants). It is hard work but she is thankful to have it.
In 2008, when the community savings project began, Mrs. Marsiyem signed up along with the rest of her family and after receiving the initial load of 200.000 rupiah, she was able to start her business.
Murder in Three Acts trailer Now, in 2009, after being with the program for over a year, she has gone from selling only 2 baskets of bread to selling 11. The loans have also allowed her to purchase different kinds of breads in over 15 varieties that were at one point too expensive. With her business thriving, she is able to make as much as 700.000 rupiah a day.
Mrs. Marsiyem is so enthusiastic about the growth of the community savings project that she now holds a seat as a chairperson in the community savings group. As she has experienced it first hand, she knows the loans have the potential to lift her community out its impoverished state by giving people the means to help themselves and her hope is that it will be sustained over the years to come.
“Nice to meet you, I am called Grandmother Harto.”
Grandmother Harto, a 65 year old widow and mother of five, is one of the thousands of people still affected by the devastating 2006 earthquake in Indonesia. However, thanks to the Community Savings Project: The People’s First Endowment, she is also one of the many people who have been able to rebuild their homes and their lives.
“In a disaster like this one we are all concerned about the wishes of the Great Power. We mere humans cannot know what we must do.”
For awhile she moved from house to house, staying with her children but as they too live in poor condition she decided to remove herself as a burden on her family and live in a tent where she stayed for over a year.
She has since moved into a temporary structure made of woven bamboo, where she lives with one of her grandchildren and four goats, but as she puts it, “it is not a proper home.”
“We accept the grant only because we need the help.”
Before the earthquake Grandmother Harto had started a small business but with the added construction costs, she was unsure if she would be able to keep it running. With the help of the community loans, she has been able to keep everything afloat for herself and her family, but she is careful to take only what she needs, knowing the rest will go to her community.
“They help cover rebuilding costs up to 9.000.000 rupiah, but we will accept only 7.500.000 rupiah at the most. That way, the remainder can be split among other people that we know.”
Though life is still chaotic and many around her are still unable to rebuild, the Real Medicine supported First Endowment program has given her at least some semblance of certainty for the future of her family.
For more information about RMF in Indonesia, or to donate directly to this cause, please visit: “People’s First Endowment”
On Saturday, May 27, 2006, at 5:54 a.m., local time, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java leaving an estimated 6,000 dead, 50,000 injured, and over 200,000 displaced and desperate.
buy Junior Pilot , a grouping of nineteen neighborhoods (RT) located ten kilometers or six miles from the mid-sized city of Klaten, Central Java where 99% of family houses were either severely damaged or destroyed.
Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) issued a $10,800 grant to Yayasan KOMPIP (YK) to expand YK’s TRT or “community savings” project in Mlese Village, Central Java. This project gives affordable loans to help families and individuals as start up money for a businesses, as well as money for school, food, livestock, repairs and countless other necessities, so that people in the community can get back on their feet and begin to move forward.
Though there is still need for support in the area, 2009 has already brought a number of heartwarming success stories of families who have been helped by the community savings project. Their stories will be told here in a series called Community Savings Success Stories.
Mlese Village is an amalgamation of nineteen neighborhoods (RT) located ten kilometers or six miles from the mid-sized city of Klaten, Central Java. In the aftermath of the May 24, 2006 earthquake, forty-one villagers from Mlese were found dead. Over 99% of the village’s houses were either severely damaged or destroyed, making the per capita destruction worse than Banda Aceh’s in the 2004 tsunami. This past October, Real Medicine Foundation (RMF) issued a $10,800 grant to Yayasan KOMPIP (YK) to expand YK’s TRT or “community savings” project in Mlese Village, Central Java. I’ll Always Know What You Did Last SummerSaigo no bansan full movieJungle 2 Jungle movie
In March 2007, the grant had already directly impacted over 1,000 individuals and stimulated a multiyear process of economic growth that will actively fight poverty and redevelop the community, damaged in the May 2006 earthquake. In Mlese Village, the RMF grant has begun to serve as a direct catalyst to revitalizing the community and returning village members’ lives to normal.
Much progress has been made, but many thousands of villagers in dozens of neighboring communities are still waiting for assistance.
A Letter from the Mayor of Surakarta
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