Updates from our Microcredit Program

Over 1 billion people are living on less than one dollar a day in our world. Fewer than 18% of the world's poorest households have access to financial services. Microcredit is an acknowledged and practical way for the poor to address their own situation of poverty (microcredit refers to programs that provide credit for self-employment and other financial and business services to very poor people).

This Microcredit Project enables HOPE to multiply positive economic impact for the poor by supporting their credit-based activities via access to revolving loan fund capital. Poor people are provided opportunity to help themselves.

As of June 2008, thanks to the kind help of HOPE supporters, based on the revolving nature of microcredit loans, HOPE's microcredit project has been able to make nearly 2 million US Dollars of loans available to the poor families since November 2005, when the fund was first created. In Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, the Philippines, Bangladesh an Sri Lanka these funds have been actively put to work to create a sustainable way for these families to create their own way out of poverty.
Over 17,000 individual loans have been made (average loan size about USD100 and repayment rates are over 95%.

To learn more about our microcredit program please visit our website.
http://hope.or.jp/en/page.php?id=208

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マイクロクレジット・プログラム最新情報

世界には一日1ドル以下で生活している人々が10億人以上います。世界の貧困家庭の18％未満しか、金融サービスを利用することができません。マイクロクレジットは貧しい人々が生活を変えることができる、実践的かつ認知された手段です。彼らはマイクロクレジットを通じて、無担保・低利子少額ローンを借り、経済的自立のためのビジネスを始めることができます。

ホープはマイクロクレジット・プログラムによって、貧困地区に住む人々の生活改善を支援しています。ローンを借りた人が、自営業などで得た売上金でローンを返済していきます。全てのローンを払い終える頃にはビジネスが軌道に乗り、支援なしでも生活できるようになります。また、戻ってきた元本および利息は、支援を必要とする他の人々に貸し出す事で、元本だけの時よりも多くの支援を可能にします。その結果、追加の支援なしでも、ホープ・マイクロクレジットプログラム基金を循環して増やし、貧しい人々への経済的自立活動の支援が継続できるのです。

皆様のおかげで、ホープは2005年11月のプロジェクト開始以来、200万ドル規模のマイクロクレジットを行ってきました（2008年6月現在）。これまでに、カンボジア、エチオピア、インド、フィリピン、バングラデシュ、スリランカで17,000件以上の融資を行い、人々が貧困から抜け出す支援をしていきました。1件あたりの平均融資額は100ドルで、返済率は95％を超えています。

マイクロクレジット・プロジェクトについての詳しい情報はこちらをご覧下さい。http://www.hope.or.jp/ja/page.php?id=223

HOPE Christmas Party - 20th of December at Shooters

Come join HOPE at Shooters on the 20th of December at 3pm to celebrate together our annual family Christmas party. Meet the staff, share some good holiday food, learn about HOPE’s activities, and have fun!

Special Guest: SANTA!

Children under 3 are free, Age 3-10 \975 and Age 11-over \1950 (drinks separate)

Please RSVP at isa@hope.or.jp

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ホープ・クリスマスパーティーに参加しませんか？

12月20日午後3時からシューターズにて、恒例のホープ・ファミリー・クリスマスパーティーが開催されます。スタッフとともに、おいしいクリスマス料理を食べながら、ホープの活動について学びましょう！サンタクロースも登場しますよ！

3歳未満：無料　3～10歳：975円　11歳以上：1950円　（飲み物は別料金）

参加をご希望の方はこちらまでご連絡下さい。
isa@hope.or.jp

HOPE Gift Catalogue

As the Holiday seasons approaches we are reminded that a big part of the holiday spirit lies in sharing with our friends and loved ones happy moments and sharing with those who are less fortunate than us our time, fortunes and joy. In this time of economic turmoil we must not forget those who are too easily forgotten, the neglected poor.

When writing up your holiday gift list please keep in mind our HOPE Gift Catalogue. These gifts are truly gifts of hope; hope for a better future for families and communities in the world’s poorest communities. You can make the gift in your own name, or give twice by giving in someone else’s name. We will send you a special HOPE Card for you to forward to your loved one, or alternatively give us the message you would like to include and we will send the Gift Card directly to the person who you made this generous gift in the name of.

HOPE gifts include:

• Solar light – help a rural family extend their working hours and enable children to study in the evening.
• Send a child to school for a year – help a child in the Philippines have a brighter future.
• A cow! – The gift that keeps on giving in communities in Cambodia and Afghanistan.
• The gift of water – The true gift of life. Bring clean, safe water to communities in desperate need.

For more information please take a look at our catalogue:
http://www.hope.or.jp/splash/giftcatalog-front.pdf
http://www.hope.or.jp/splash/giftcatalog-back.pdf

Remember, all gifts in the HOPE Gift catalogue will change the life of a family in desperate need.

From the HOPE International Development Agency Japan’s team we wish you a wonderful holiday season!

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ホープ・ギフトカタログ

年末年始の休暇が近づくにつれ、友人や大切な人と過ごす楽しい時間や、自らの時間や喜びを恵まれない人々と分かち合うことの大切さに気付かされます。経済が混乱している今日だからこそ、私たちは貧困に苦しむ人達のことを忘れてはいけないのです。

クリスマスプレゼントのリストを作る際には是非ホープのギフトカタログのことを思い出して下さい。このカタログには世界中の貧しい家族や団体がより良い未来を築くためのホープ（希望）が記載されています。恵まれない人々へご自身から直接的にギフトを送ることも、お友達やご家族へのプレゼントとして間接的にギフトを送ることもできます。ホープからはギフトのお礼として、大切な人にお渡しするためのカードをあなた宛に送らせていただくか、前もってメッセージをいただければ、こちらから直接その方へカードを送らせていただきます。

ギフトには、下記のものが含まれています。
・ ソーラーライト－農村に住む家族の労働時間延長や、子供の夜間の勉強に使用
・ １年間の子供の学費－フィリピンの子供が輝かしい未来を過ごせるための支援
・ 牛銀行－カンボジアやアフガニスタンの家族や団体への牛銀行による支援
・ 水の供給－特に援助を必要としている地域への衛生的な水の供給

更なる詳細は、当団体のホームページ上のギフトカタログをご覧下さい。
http://www.hope.or.jp/splash/giftcatalog-front.pdf

http://www.hope.or.jp/splash/giftcatalog-back.pdf

あなたからのギフトは、援助が必要な人達の人生を変える手助けとなるでしょう。

Battle of the sexes - the results are in!

The Battle of the Sexes is now completed. Although Lowell technically won the half marathon itself, Kande raised 380,748 yen , more than double than Lowell who raised 160,008 yen. Kande and Lowell would like to thank all those who sponsored their challenge.

Here are their personal accounts of the experiences on the day of the Nagoya Marathon.

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I think I am turning Japanese by Kande Sheppard

Hello to all my wonderful supporters - who believed in me, that I could finish the 20KM! Thank you for your most generous donations that will go to help the Poor!
We were off at 10.10 and I was feeling stronger and stronger and beginning to pick up the pace at 10KM ( a friend who runs full marathons gave me this advice ), when suddenly the City Marathon Officials, pulled the barricade in front of us. We had to come screeching to a halt! Much to our chagrin, had we been even 3 seconds faster, we could have kept going. But we had run up against the Official cut off time for allowing any more 20km runners through in the allocated Citie`s 1/2 Marathon time allotment. I keep kicking myself...if I had only known this I would have increased my pace more, earlier.
I was ahead of Lowell and had been running 49 minutes at this point and I and others running around me were simply shocked that we were being made to discontinue - we all looked at each other helplessly and followed the `system` of embarking the buses provided to take us back to the stadium. I was sorely disappointed, because I still had all this energy inside of me and knew that I was very much on target to finish under the allotted 115 minutes....but Marathons have their rules!

I didn`t balk the system and regretted it - for at 12:23 Lowell came running back into the grounds have refused to obey the officials and get on the bus. Rather, he took off his number in front of them and continued along the sidewalk (as police were opening the roads to traffic again). Yep it takes that kind of determination!!
There, I was turning `totally Japanese` and sitting on the bus provided - coping with being told to quit yet so much left to give. ARgh!!
However, my dear friends, I have come away using that same old wise saying `I will know better Next Time!`... change my tactics. Looking at it in a positive light, despite today`s ruling, I came away realizing that my condition is very good, I had the best time hooking up with friends, networking and fund raising for the Poor. I thought about Y`all the whole way!!
Thanks again for your support. You have helped me beat Lowell on the fundraising side at least. Next year I will for sure beat him in the race, now that I know the 10 k cut off time. Please, if you have not done already, forward your payment to HOPE International. Details can be found on http://www.hope.or.jp/. Or if you need any assistance just let me know and I will have someone from the HOPE office contact you.

My kindest regards,

Kande

I lost and won - sort of... by Lowell Sheppard

Just home from the marathon and I finished the 20 k course in 133 minutes. But it was not without incident. What I did not tell my sponsors before, is that I suffered a fairly painful Hamstring Injury 5 weeks before ( local sports day . . . don`t ask . . . a 53 year old should not try to prove how fast he can run in a relay race!!) and as a result had not trained, and in fact had put on about 3 kilos! So my greatest fear was to be picked up by the bus! My strategy was to run about 60 minute per 10K pace for the first half, but about the 6 kmn point, I noticed that the pick up bus was only 100 metres behind me. So I picked up the pace was passing folks, and then at the 8 k, about 30 secs before I arrived, they closed the course and were guiding runners onto the Bus. Wow, I was shocked. I refused to get on despite being a bit manhandled by an over eager official, and took off my number and said I would make my own way back. I then continued running on the sidewalk to the turnaround point and then back to the stadium. I knew that it was tight whether I would make it back within the 115 minutes that they said was the maximum, but stopping at 8 k was simply not a choice.
I felt for Kande though,who was ahead of me, and although she completed the first 10 in 49 minutes, 3 secs ahead of her they dropped the barricade. She is more JP than me so she followed the instructions to get on the bus.
Must confess it seems a bit unfair when the general rule of thumb in racing is to pace yourself in the beginning and then pick up the pace once you are warmed up.
So, although I techinically beat my wife, I must take my hat off to her as she has only be running a couple of years and is much faster than me and has proven to be formidable in fundraising!!

Thanks for your support. The poor are helped because of it,
Lowell