December 2011Funded Projects
Christmas is a time when poverty strikes harder than ever for so many people. LFO donated over $35,000 to put the magic back into people´s lives, to put a light at the end of the tunnel. We have highlighted just a few of the donations we have made throught this period. LFO can present individual cases to sponsors if you would prefer to know exactly how your contribution is being spent.
Maria, Peru (Iquitos)
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Maria lives in Iquitos, Peru. She is 43 years old widow and has two children, ages 17 and 11, who are dependents. Carmen administers a store, a business that she started a couple of years ago. Little by little, the store has grown but she has always been fighting against a lack of capital to really grow the business or to buy products in bulk (making her prices much lower.)
She explained her situation to one of our project workers, saying that her children would benefit significantly if the business prospered. We liked her case because she had aspirations to grow, but due to financial difficulties in the past was unable to procure financing from the bank.
We gave Maria a grant of $1000.00 to develop her business to provide a sustainable future for her two children.
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Daniel, Accra, Ghana
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Daniel is a 29 year old man, who recently lost his wife due to long term illness. The family business was doing quite well, but the limited savings the family had were spent on medical treatment in order to try and save his wife.
After the death of his wife, Daniel was put under considerable strain to both look after his children and to keep the only source of income for his family working, the family business.
Daniel explained that to get back on his feet he would need to buy merchandise for his business, or he would be out of business. LFO felt that a grant given at this time would alleviate a situation that would almost certainly end up in tradegy.
We gave Daniel a grant of $2000.00 to ensure that his business kept on track in December 2011. |
Hassan, Willdat, Jordan
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Hassan is a 27 year old man with 6 children and a wife with cerebral palsy. Our project worker described him as a "warm and caring man who just needed a break to recover his life." He had built up a car repair business over the last 9 years which was undergoing pressure due to lack of finance. Hassan had not paid various suppliers and the bank was threatening foreclosure.
The community was reliant on Hassan, because he provided free repairs to community transport services, so the impact of his business failing would be that literally 100´s of people would be able to take transport to the city to work. LFO felt a small investment to rescue his business would have an enourmous impact to not only Hassan but the whole community.
We were delighted to award a grant of $6000 to rescue his business so he could support his community. |
Barbera, Arica, Chile
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Barbera moved to Chile for years ago to make a better life for her and her family. She was struggling to provide a decent life for her family in Bolivia and felt that moving to Chile would offer her more economic advantage. However since her arrival, things had got worse. Her ex husband had threatened to kill her is she returned to Bolivia, and she had not managed to find steady income.
We were horrified to see the conditions that her and her young child were enduring, in a makeshift shanty without clean water or decent conditions. We visited Barbera personally and agreed that we could help to improve conditions in her house, as well as providing basic furniture and sanitation.
We gave her $1000 grant to improve the quality of life for her and her young son. |
Angelina, Bógota, Colombia
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Angela is a 47 year old woman that had recently lost her husband and both parents. Our project manager said she was "full of heart and passion, but unfortunately devestated by her loss and lacking in means." She had a strong entreprenurial spirit and had started a mail order fashion business when her husband had been alive.
When she had lost the rest of her family, she had suffered extreme depression and as a result her business had been totally neglected. We three children, two of whom were studying, the future looked bleak. Looking at her business, we could see that it had been very successful in the past, but she was unable to gain financing from the bank.
We concluded that a grant of $5000 would put Angela back on track in 2012. |
Yvone and friends, Huanacayo, Peru
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Yvone is a single mother of 31 years, with two small children. She is also a very dynamic woman who had a superb idea to start a business co-operative with 8 other friends. Their plan was produce good quality clothing for the local market, with the possibility to export in the future.
In this case, we realised that we could help develop community spirit and provide a sustainable income for the 9 women and the 43 children they had between them. In order to compete in the market, they require fabrication equipment, raw materials, money for legal fees and marketing.
We assessed throroughly their plan over a three month period, culiminating in the wonderful news we would be able to provide a grant of $9,000 to launch their dreams. |
Nilasha, Mumbai, India
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Nilisha is a 19 year old woman, whose husband had abandoned her last year. With two small children and a limited income, she was on the road to poverty. She applied in September for an education grant alongside our Asian project manager.
In December we were delighted to finally approve her application to study business administration on a part time basis. This gift will transform Nilisha´s life and provide the opportunity to grow year by year for her and her children.
We gave Nilisha an initial grant of $250 for the first year of her course, which will be renewed annually provided she produces satisfactory results. |
December 2011Funding Summary
| Type |
Country |
Value |
| Business development grant |
Peru |
$9.000,00 |
| Business development grant |
Jordan |
$6.000,00 |
| Business development grant |
Colombia |
$5.000,00 |
| Business development grant |
Ghana |
$2.000,00 |
| Transport |
Peru |
$1.500,00 |
| Funding for housing |
Chile |
$1.000,00 |
| Business development grant |
Peru |
$1.000,00 |
| Funding for housing |
Ecuador |
$950,00 |
| Farming and sustainability |
Jordan |
$950,00 |
| Funding for housing |
Peru |
$900,00 |
| Business development grant |
Russia |
$850,00 |
| Business development grant |
Bolivia |
$750,00 |
| Business development grant |
Ecuador |
$750,00 |
| Business development grant |
India |
$750,00 |
| Business development grant |
India |
$500,00 |
| Medical |
Peru |
$500,00 |
| Funding for housing |
Zaire |
$500,00 |
| Housing funding |
Zaire |
$500,00 |
| Business development grant |
Ghana |
$450,00 |
| Funding for housing |
India |
$450,00 |
| Family Break |
Ecuador |
$350,00 |
| Medical |
Romania |
$345,00 |
| Education |
Colombia |
$250,00 |
| Education |
India |
$250,00 |
| Education |
Romania |
$175,00 |
| Education |
Romania |
$150,00 |
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| Total |
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$35.820,00 |
For more information on making donations, please see Donations.