Loan approved! Need a building for all that machinery!

Friday May 1^st is International Worker’s Day which commemorates the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago in 1886, when Chicago police fired on workers during a general strike for the eight hour day, killing a dozen demonstrators. Unlike the United States (where Chicago is located), we in Nicaragua will be joining much of the rest of the world in observing Worker’s Day by closing down our places of work and going elsewhere!

Which makes it a very appropriate time to talk about work…and what a privilege it is to have steady work. With unemployment reaching 8.5% in the US last month, it’s safe to say that work is on the mind of a lot of people around the world. In Nicaragua last year, under- and un-employment was 53% nationally, and where we work, it was 80%. Those kind of numbers are hard for most of us to fathom, but with Nicaragua losing one quarter of all jobs in the free trade zone industry in the past six months, the situation here is going to get a lot harder for a lot of people.

In the face of this desperate situation, our natural reaction is to feel afraid. But as Kathleen keeps reminding me, we cannot react out of fear. And this week we had a good lesson in this from a place I didn’t expect it.

As many of you know, we’ve been waiting to hear news about a possible loan for the Genesis Spinning Co-op, for the $300,000 they need to purchase machinery and get their co-op to work. The institution considering the loan is not big – they’ve never before loaned more than $100,000 at one time. Not only do they have their own financial problems with the current economic situation, but they also have to worry about whether or not Genesis is a good investment – will Genesis be able to sell its yarn? Will any companies still be around to buy it when they finally get up and running? To make matters more scary, on the first day their Board of Directors sat down to discuss the loan, the free trade zone across the street from us announced its closure and the loss of another 800 jobs. With all these closures of big companies, how can little Genesis possibly survive?

But instead of reacting out of fear, and telling us (as 13 other institutions have in the past six years) “Our Board of Directors has a low appetite for risk”…they chose another way. And they did their homework: they spent hours with us pouring over numbers and projections until they were sure that any way you look at it, Genesis will be a profitable business. They contacted our clients, partners, fair trade certifiers and did their own market research. And after all that…they approved the loan!

What a step of faith...even in the face of so much fear. What a shining light for the 35 members of Genesis who so desperately need sustainable jobs! With this loan, their cooperative can now move forward.

Of course, once the machinery arrives, we have to have somewhere to put it! So the race is on, folks. We have GOT to finish that building! And we still need about $85,000 to do it! Please help us by putting your faith in this project doing what you can to make it a reality.

Many of you have heard about the Stone Soup Fund, and so far we’ve raised more than $3,200 this way! We’re asking people to donate just $10, and ask 10 other people to give just $10 each and also ask 10 other people…but in order for this to work, you’ve really got to ask your friends to give. Many people find this hard, but we’ve been surprised at the reactions from those who’ve done it. One friend wrote us:

“I heard in an email today from a friend who is disabled and has minimal money – she wrote me that she was so glad to contribute $10 (she said that was her speed) to such a good cause and she was going to send the email to all her friends and hope at least 10 of them would contribute $10 too...she was so thrilled to be part of the solution!! Just thought you'd like to know the givers are also benefiting.”

Please click here to copy and paste a message to send to your 10 friends.

We are also asking people to invest in our Shared Risk Investment Fund. In this economic climate, many people are finding that their social investments are a better investment, they’re still getting a return, while those invested in Wall Street have lost big time. We are asking people to loan for 5 years and you set your own interest rate 0-5%. Please put friends and family who can invest in contact with us -- To invest in the Shared Risk Investment Fund click here or email jhc@jhc-cdca.org.

Together, we can get this building built and fill it with that spinning machinery! As the inscription on the workers' statue in Managua (pictured above) says: Solo los obreros y los campesinos iran hasta el fin! Only the workers and the peasants will go until the end! Happy Workers Day!

To join our Cause on Facebook click here
To give on Facebook click here
To give online click here
Send checks to made out to the CDCA (and in the memo line write Stone Soup)
Mail checks to: 352 Carly Lane, Rock Hill, SC 29732

-- Becca