Open Hands Fund Assisting Local Savings and Credit Association Projects

“If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother; But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.  For the poor shall never cease out of the land:  therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” ~ Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 11

 

Three Biblical and traditional traits of conservative Anabaptist people flow together in the work of the Open Hands Fund.  As conservative Anabaptist Christians, we believe in. . .

• Compassion for the needy, whoever and wherever they may be.
• Brotherhood as an obligation to Christian brothers and sisters.
• Accountability in exercising stewardship over resources.

Compassion means being aware of needs and being willing to do something to help.  Laziness and mismanagement can contribute to poverty, but they are not the cause of all the poverty in our world. . .some people simply do not have access to the same material blessings that we enjoy as American Christians.  We exercise compassion for the poor when we help them gain resources, give them opportunities, and provide teaching so they can experience the joy of providing for their own needs and the blessing of becoming able to help meet the needs of others.

Christian brotherhood involves treating fellow believers just like we treat our own natural families.  We want to be aware of their needs, and, within our abilities, meet those needs.  While we want to do good unto all men, we are especially driven to do good to those who are of the household of faith.  Both Anabaptist Financial and Anabaptist Foundation exist to maintain and strengthen ties of brotherhood among conservative Anabaptist, including Anabaptist people who do not live in North America, especially those in mission communities.

As conservative Christians, we expect accountability from our church, our families, and our friends.  We believe in being held accountable for our actions and decisions, including how we exercise stewardship over the resources in our hands.  While there is certainly a place for outright charity to meet needs, we wish to create a program that combines charity with holding recipients accountable to learn, work, and help others.

The Open Hands Fund seeks to blend the traits of compassion, brotherhood, and accountability by. . .

• Working in desperately poor areas where people lack access to resources, financial capital, and the teaching needed to provide for their own needs
• Focusing our efforts in areas where conservative Anabaptist missions operate and have established native church networks
• Creating a framework of accountability groups for participants to share accountability for their stewardship of resources
• Offering Biblically-based teaching on stewardship and practical business practices
• Teaching participants that they, not North Americans, are responsible for improving their own lives by saving and investing
• Creating formal structures (“savings groups”) so people can begin to save, invest, and borrow within their own communities
• Teaching participants that they are responsible to help others and to meets the needs of their own families, churches, schools, and communities
• Repeating these cycles by recycling the proceeds of repaid loans into new loans for another group of participants

This program provides opportunities. . .not hand-outs.

Our focus is on “savings-based” groups, meaning that the Haitian participants are organized for teaching, accountability, and to jointly save their own funds in order to provide loans to each other.  It is important for participants to learn that, although they do not have much, they do have some resources, and they are not helpless.  They can exercise responsibility and stewardship and lift themselves out of poverty.  We do not give the participants anything but teaching and a system for group accountability.  Participants handle their own funds and thereby learn that they, not North Americans, are responsible for the success or failure of the local savings group. . .this is key to the success of the program.

The program in Haiti has exceeded expectations, and we have the structure in place to double the number of savings groups this year, if funds are available.  We are also beginning a project in India, in cooperation with Cold Springs Missions.

The Open Hands Fund needs support in order to make these projects work.  Funds are needed to support our on-the-ground worker in Haiti, to pay for the Hope International curriculum we use and to translate it into Creole, and to pay our Haitian group leaders.  Would you consider a gift to support the program?  All gifts are tax-deductible.

 

Open Hands Fund Newsletter

 

Madame Duvalcy is a single lady who provides a home for 4 of her nieces and nephews (ages 5-23) and sells bread and drinks from her roadside stand. She wants each of the children to learn a trade; she saves money weekly in her savings group with plans to buy a sewing machine for her oldest niece.	Several of the local savings groups meet weekly at the Cadiac Mission School.
Mennonite lady in savings group at Fond-de-Negros.	Savings groups elect their own leaders who preside over the meetings.
Some savings groups produce booklets for members, so each person has a record of their weekly savings.	In this group, the weekly savings of the members are being publicly recorded in two sets of accounting books while members watch. Some group members cannont read or write, so it builds trust to have all business done with the whole group present.
Groups take responsibility for their own affairs. All business is transacted in the open, with group-elected leaders presiding, handling funds, and keeping records.	This is the children’s savings group called “Citizens of Tomorrow”. Children ages 5-18 are saving between 12 cents and $1.25 US per week with personal goals to purchase chicks, goats, pigs and even a “taptap”. A better future for the Cadiac church community includes teaching the children that they can change their own situations with hard work and careful stewardship. There is more to life than waiting for the next handout from North Americans.
Madame Yves belongs to the savings group “Christ Only Hope”, which is a rotating savings group. Each member brings a set weekly amount, which is then given to one member each week to use as capital for a business venture. When it was Madame Yves turn to receive the weekly payout, she purchased this piglet. Her goal is to raise the piglet, get it bred, and then sell piglets at market.	Madame Yves’ will use her piglets to fund her dream of paying school tuition for her niece, Cheradine, picture above, and her own two childern. Madame Yves is not asking for a handout…she asked no one for a piglet nor did she ask for free education for the children. Instead, she started saving her own money with a plan to make her dreams turn into reality.

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