I placed up 8 auctions last week that ended today which brought in a profit of $209.74 for this project. Add that to the $12 in the bank and there is $221.74 to use for new loans.

I went through and made $25 loans to the following four people:

Selau Finnety



The land is a gift from God, but making it productive it is up to the people to use it - this is what Selau believes. She is married with one son and is a strong and active young lady. She started with a small loan from SPBD and used it to buy weed killer and fertilizer for her farm where she grows taro, banana, taamu, yams, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Three days of the week she delivers her farm produce to the market. Her husband helps her in her farm and they are very happy to work because it gives them more income. They are looking forward to obtaining another loan to buy a second-hand pick up truck for delivering their produce to the market.

Susitina Sanele



At twenty nine years old, Susitina is just starting her family. She has a one year old daughter and a husband who works part-time as a taxi driver. Besides having good baking skills, she recently started an elei printing business (a traditional Samoan way of printing fabrics) using a small loan from the SPBD microfinance program. Her business is steadily growing and she is planning to expand it by purchasing more textiles and additional stencils to increase the variety of her designs. She is looking forward to a time when she becomes really successful with her elei printing business so she can also invest in her other passion – baking.

Ear Sreyneit



Mrs. Ear Sreyneit, 24 years old, lives with her husband and two children in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She makes her living by selling a variety of fruits such as mangoes, yams, grapes, and oranges at the local market. She typically makes around $50/day in revenue. Her husband, meanwhile, helps by driving a car to buy and transport fruit from a plantation, which is far from his village, then selling it to retailers at the market. This couple hopes to use the loan to purchase a car to transport their fruit from a plantation and the rest will be used for the business. Sreyneit is thinking about being a wholesaler one day.

King Tonou



Mr. Tonou is 40 years old, married, and the father of three children. He has been in rice agriculture for 10 years. His wife sells kitchenware. Mr. Tonou received his middle school diploma and was also trained in rice agriculture. He is currently the technical specialist in rice agriculture that assists the other farmers in his solidarity group with their fields. He began working in agriculture by helping his parents, first by raising pigs, and then with rice. He was able to plant his first plot on rented land with a loan from his father, but this year he did not have the necessary funds to plant, and therefore had to leave his plot empty until the next harvest.
The loan and his income will allow Mr. Tonou to better care for his children’s education, both are currently in school. He will also eventually be able to improve his family’s home and health. While he is able to properly feed his family, Mr. Tonou cannot afford the hospital fees or medicine when they become ill. He hopes to one day be able to build a house on a plot of land that he currently owns because since they are now living in his mother’s house.

I have enough in funds to make another 4 donations ($121.74) which I will do over the next few days. I also plan to put up another 10 or so auctions this week to keep the ball rolling...