WHAT IS THE TOWNSHIPS PROJECT?

MISSION    
Poverty can be eradicated. Micro-credit is a proven
technology in the global fight against it.
Since May 1999 The Townships Project has been supporting South African microfinance institutions (MFIs) in township areas in South Africa. These MFIs make repayable, interest-bearing loans to entrepreneurs, primarily women, to operate a range of small businesses, to become self-sustaining and to break the cycle of poverty. As of November 2008, The Townships Project has changed the lives of more than 15,000 people with an investment of about $50 per person.  Our goal is to ensure that every South African who needs such a loan has access to it and to ensure that our South African partners become self-sustaining.

VISION
The Townships Project is tackling a difficult job - raising the infrastructure funds needed to build an early stage MFI. There are many NGOs (e.g. kiva.org), banks and government institutions that provide loan money for micro loans once an MFI is up and functioning, but finding the infrastructure and training support necessary to build the institution to that viable stage is a huge challenge.  We use a “made in South Africa” approach to this task, which takes into consideration the challenges posed by the highest HIV/AIDs infection rate in the world and a poor education and skills base. Despite South Africa’s highly-developed infrastructure and first world economy, 20 million struggle to survive on $2 or less per day. Neighbouring Zimbabwe offers a lurid example of what can happen if these problems are not addressed.

VALUES
The Townships Project is a registered charity in Canada and is authorized to issue charitable donation receipts for income tax purposes.  The United Nations Development Programme has recognized micro-lending as the singlemost effective mechanism in the front-line struggle against poverty in developing countries. In the words of Muhammad Yunus, winner of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, "I have come to believe, deeply and firmly, that we can create a poverty free world if we want to. I came to this conclusion not as a product of a pious dream, but as a concrete result of experience gained in the work of the Grameen Bank." The Townships Project shares this belief and will continue working to alleviate poverty in the townships of South Africa.

SUCCESS STORIES - Your funds really do make a real difference.

	Bongiwe Jakuja, Food Merchant Bongiwe, 34, started making fat cakes and meat dumplings from her home in 2005 so that she could look after her young family. She now employs two full-time assistants. She is married and lives with her husband, sister Thumeka (25) and five children, Nomone (15), Vuyiswa (10), Athini (8), Lukhanyo (6) and Lonwabo, 7 months. Her husband works as a day labourer and her income is essential to supplement his meagre earnings. Bongiwe dreams of expanding her takeaway business into a restaurant.
	Nozakhe Jacobs, Butcher Nozakhe is a butcher at an open-air table outside the Site B Train Station in Khayelitsha. Every morning she buys sheep lungs, cow lung pieces, sheep offal and intestines from the wholesaler. She then washes them thoroughly, cuts them all up, grades them and displays them and sells them. Nozakhe supports 7 of her 8 children from her butcher shop. She is on her fourth loan, having repaid three loans already, and has invested close to $800 in her business. Nozakhe dreams of buying a car so that she can restock her own table more easily and provide transport for others at a profit.

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