by Dan Brose
16. March 2009 13:39
As I said in a post last week, I have been thinking about begging. This has been on my mind because I will soon be traveling to Africa with a group of people, some who have never before experienced the extreme poverty that we will see on this trip. They will experience begging and beggars, and I'd like to give them advice on how to wisely and graciously react to the inevitable requests for money. Early in my time living in Rwanda, I asked a Rwandan friend how he deals with begging and people asking for money. He said that he typically only gives to people that he knows, and only if he is aware of the problem that is causing them to seek financial help. He also said that when anyone asks for money, it is important to listen, acknowledge their situation, comfort them and give them encouragement. If you feel led to give money, go ahead ... but don't feel pressure to give money if you don't know the person. As I was thinking about this, I remembered the woman in the picture below -- someone I met on a walk in rural Rwanda a few years ago. My first impression of this woman was amazement at the incredible bundle of beans and beanstalks that she was carrying on her head. Next I noticed her cute little baby, tightly wrapped and bound to her back -- peering around to see the white man. And then it dawned on me that this woman's hand was out and she was asking me for money! My immediate and instinctive response was to greet her and say, "Oh, you've got such a beautiful baby ... what is his name?" After engaging her in conversation and showing genuine interest in her as a person, the question of money didn’t even come up. Time and time again, I have found it to be very helpful to acknowledge people who are in need, to take the time to get to know them, and to learn about their situation before responding to their begging or requests for money.  Subscribe to receive the Cauzal Connections blog by Email
by Dan Brose
12. March 2009 15:39
 When I read the following article on BBC's website, I smiled and thought of all the people I have met in Africa who are amazing and resourceful entrepreneurs. It is important to be reminded of the positive and successful things going on around the world, not just the problems and Cauzes that cry out for our help. ____________________________________________________________________
What is the secret of success in business? During Africa Economy week, BBC News asked entrepreneurs across the continent to give us their "top tips". DINAH BINAH, FLORIST, TANZANIA  You have to think fast in business.
If someone asks - "Are you selling your blouse?" Sell it! You can always buy another one. The first day I opened my shop, I only had five bunches of roses. My first customer didn't see the flowers I had - all he saw was water. So he asked me: "Are you selling water?" I told him - "Yes!" That 20 cents he gave me was my first income. You have to be brave. You have to be aggressive. Don't be embarrassed.  SYLVIA BANDA, RESTAURANTEUR, ZAMBIA  Sylvia Banda's first restaurant had no tables. She now owns 16 eateries. | My advice - persevere. I remember very well the first day I opened my restaurant. I did not have any chairs. I did not have any tables. My customers had to eat in a standing position. I told them - you're going to have a "standing buffet". They laughed and continued eating, and that's how my catering business was born. Today, we have 16 eating places in Lusaka and we have opened a college training students in hospitality. It is important to say to yourself - I am as good as the other person. If that person can do it, then so can I. ELISE BATES-WILLIAMS, HAIR STYLIST, NIGERIA You don't need to save a huge amount before you start your business. You can begin working from your house, or even under a tree. We started with a small amount - buying two or three dryers, chairs and other equipment a customer might need. Anybody who came, we gave them good hair. Then, by managing well, we have grown bigger. GAULPHINE NYIRENDA, BOOKSELLER, MALAWI My secret is hard work. Being honest with my customers, telling them the truth, honoring my bills, and knowing what is the customer's need in the area. Now, I not only run a book shop, I also supply women's book clubs, and I'm an agent for major UK academic publishing houses. STANI MUKE, GRAPHIC DESIGNER & ANIMATOR, DR CONGO  Stani Muke set up a successful graphic animations company in DR Congo | You need lots of patience and nerves of steel. When you're setting up a business in virgin territory, you are on your own. Six years ago I set up a small company, producing TV, radio and graphic design for the local market.
We needed the help of the government and private sector.
It hasn't happened yet. There are no structures in place to support local productions.
I feel discouraged. But at the same time I understand the country is in transition. Maybe soon we will reach that point. DINAH BINAH, FLORIST, TANZANIA You have to network, network, network. Families, friends, classmates, schoolmates, the people you met in church, neighbors - they are all your prospective customers. SEBASTIEN NEGY, INSURANCE BROKER, TANZANIA Set goals and go after them. Value your customers - deliver what you promise. Have confidence and believe in yourself. I always go for what people think is not possible. Subscribe to receive the Cauzal Connections blog by Email
by Dan Brose
19. February 2009 14:06
Here is a great video that tells the story of lives lifted out of poverty through microfinance: Subscribe to receive the Cauzal Connections blog by Email
by Dan Brose
18. February 2009 13:17
Cauzal Coffee partners with World Relief in our Poverty Cauze. World Relief is working to empower entrepreneurs, mostly women, in developing countries with small loans, typically around $100. World Relief first became involved in microfinance in the mid-1970’s as a means to help provide an income for war widows in Bangladesh. Realizing that disaster relief only met the immediate needs of the Bangladeshi women, World Relief worked to hasten the development of the community by helping poor entrepreneurs to develop their own economic activity. World Relief microfinance is concerned with delivering the “Triple Bottom Line”: financial (covering all operating costs with income generated), social (ensuring people’s lives are better through improved health, sanitation, nutrition, education), and spiritual (lives are transformed and God’s Kingdom grows and deepens). Since early on, World Relief has become known for starting and growing microfinance programs in very challenging, conflict or post-conflict environments. Although many microfinance practitioners avoid challenging conflict-prone economies, World Relief has seen the potential to accelerate recovery in such settings and has developed an expertise in doing so.
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by Dan Brose
17. February 2009 10:05
In my years working in Africa, I helped to start and grow three microfinance institutions -- in Rwanda, Burundi, and DR Congo. Microfinance is an important and effective tool to address poverty. Here is a technical definition of microfinance, taken from the Microfinance Gateway: “Microfinance” is often defined as financial services for poor and low-income clients. In practice, the term is often used more narrowly to refer to loans and other services from providers that identify themselves as “microfinance institutions” (MFIs). These institutions commonly tend to use new methods developed over the last 30 years to deliver very small loans to unsalaried borrowers, taking little or no collateral. These methods include group lending and liability, pre-loan savings requirements, gradually increasing loan sizes, and an implicit guarantee of ready access to future loans if present loans are repaid fully and promptly. More broadly, microfinance refers to a movement that envisions a world in which low-income households have permanent access to a range of high quality financial services to finance their income-producing activities, build assets, stabilize consumption, and protect against risks. These services are not limited to credit, but include savings, insurance, and money transfers.
Many people first heard about microfinance in 2005, when Bangladesh's Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his pioneering work in establishing the microcredit movement across the developing world. Subscribe to receive the Cauzal Connections blog by Email
by Dan Brose
16. February 2009 15:05
When I lived in Rwanda I had the wonderful pleasure of receiving many guests who came to learn and advocate for the plight of the poor and suffering around the world. One such guest from Connecticut, AJ Picard, came to paint various scenes from Rwanda; using the paintings to create awareness and to raise funds for the work that we were doing. One of his incredible pieces of art, titled "Empty Cup", portrays the face of poverty, as shown through the face of a barefoot "Rwandan princess." This is what AJ says about "Empty Cup": This was the first painting I created upon returning from the breathtaking country of Rwanda. I was still reeling from a powerful first encounter with the third world. 'Empty Cup' is my portrayal of a little Rwandan princess walking barefoot through the dirt clay streets of Kigali, one of the millions of children living there in total poverty. Her tattered dress is a poignant symbol of the harsh disparity that exists between beauty and brokenness.
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by Dan Brose
13. February 2009 08:22
The World Bank reported this week that the global financial crisis is fast becoming a human crisis. As many as 53 million more people could be trapped in poverty as economic growth slows around the world, according to new World Bank forecasts. World Bank President Robert B. Zoellick said, “While much of the world is focused on bank rescues and stimulus packages, we should not forget that poor people in developing countries are far more exposed if their economies falter.” Some 40 countries are “highly vulnerable” due to pre-existing high rates of poverty and expected drops in growth. Millions already living below the poverty line “will be pushed further below the poverty line” as a result of the global financial crisis, according to the new policy note, “The Global Economic Crisis: Assessing Vulnerability with a Poverty Lens.”
“We know that after the food and fuel crisis of a year ago, the estimates were that we could see an addition of about100 million people to the ranks of the poor, and we think this crisis, in its severity, will top that,” says World Bank Vice President for Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Danny Leipziger. Subscribe to receive the Cauzal Connections blog by Email
by Dan Brose
13. January 2009 07:47
Did you know that 2008 was the "International Year of Sanitation" as proclaimed by the United Nations? I'll bet that most of us missed out on this important and interesting fact. The UN's goal in making this declaration was to raise awareness about the growing problem of unclean water and poor sanitary practices. Around the world, 2.6 billion people do not have a basic human necessity -- a toilet. You can learn much more about this serious crisis by reading the UN's talking points for the International Year of Sanitation -- a very interesting document that describes how good sanitation is critically important to lift people out of poverty, ill health and early death. Here are just two facts from the document that are stunning: - On a typical day, more than half the hospital beds in Sub-Saharan Africa are occupied by patients suffering from diarrheal-related disease; most of them would not be there if they had a way to safely go to the toilet and wash their hands.
- Diarrhea is one of the biggest killers of children under five worldwide, alone accounting for 17% of deaths in this age group. More than 5,000 children die every day from diarrhea.
This hidden global scandal constitutes an affront to human dignity on a massive scale. The following video from UNICEF is compelling in its call to all of us to do something to address this issue of poor sanitation and unclean water: Watch the video in a pop-up window.Subscribe to receive the Cauzal Connections blog by Email
by Dan Brose
8. January 2009 13:35
 In my last post, I probably left some of you dangling when I raised questions about fair trade and its legitimacy. Truth be told, just as with multi-billion dollar investment funds, everyone and everything is open to fraud and misuse ... even fair-trade branding -- especially when the fair-trade label is used to gain market share and to sell coffee at higher prices. About a year ago, "Fresh Cup Magazine" wrote an article on "The Future of Fair Trade: can the model continue to help farmers?" This paragraph in the article caught my attention: "But despite continued market access and a guaranteed price [with fair-trade marketing], farmers are still struggling. Many coffee professionals believe price increases based strongly on quality — rather than the C-market and the fair-trade floor price that is tied to it — are the answer. Inman has been in the coffee business nearly 20 years and has not seen fair-trade pricing necessarily translate to increased quality down the line or to great improvements in growers' communities."
The article goes on to describe some innovative "quality-based pricing standards", which ultimately will result in a more sustainable and higher price for the farmer: "Non-certified coffees that earn fair-trade or higher prices (often called Direct Trade, a term that Chicago's Intelligentsia Coffee is in the process of trademarking) are what some have called the next level of sustainability. These programs, offered by Intelligentsia and other roasters like Portland Roasting, with its own Farm Friendly Direct label, aim to reward quality in the cup that, in theory, naturally will reap a price that exceeds the fair-trade floor and results in better livelihood for farmers." Cauzal Coffee is proud to source its award-winning coffee through the Farm Friendly Direct program, which focuses on sustainable, shade-grown, and organic coffees -- paying growers a premium price that is typically 30% above Fairtrade prices. Subscribe to receive the Cauzal Connections blog by Email
by Dan Brose
8. January 2009 10:12
What do you know about fair trade products? Last week I came across an article in The Times that talks about tea leaf harvesters in Asia and Africa whose conditions are no better off than the average tea harvester, even though they work on Fairtrade-certified tea farms. How is "fair trade" different from "Fairtrade"? What does it all mean? Here are some definitions: - fair trade is a general term that describes a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect; a partnership that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to marginalized producers and workers.
- Fairtrade is a specific label that is given by the certifying and labeling organization "Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International", which allows consumers to identify goods produced under agreed-upon labor and environmental standards.
When I worked with farming groups in Rwanda some years back, this issue of Fairtrade certification came up. Upon doing some research, I learned that this was a very complicated matter. That is why I was intrigued when I read the article on the tea workers, especially when it said the following: "The Fairtrade Foundation ... has got too much at stake. They were living from funding, but also from license fees [they received] each time they gave the label to a licensee. The inspection and certification system is not independent enough."
In addition to the article in The Times, you can learn much more about the fairness of Fairtrade certification by reading the BBC article, "How fair is Fairtrade?"
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