Loan Disbursement Day

July 25, 2007

It’s disbursement day in Mandritsara. Clients have come a long way for this, and they’ve been waiting outside since early morning. Most are dressed up, not quite as fancy as Sunday, but more than typical Tuesday-wear. All have brought their guarantor along, which means that two people are forgoing their income generating activity to be here. This town is literally at the end of the road. Having now made the multi-day trek myself, I have a renewed understanding of what it means to be remote. I also understand quite well why traditional banks have always ignored the region: They probably couldn’t find a single client to fit their rigid requirements.

Marceline is finally called by the cashier. At the same moment, she is also called upon by her hungry baby. Not thinking twice, she whips out her breast and nurses her daughter with one arm, while signing the contract and counting money with another. In Mada's conventional banks, such multi-tasking would never be tolerated, assuming she was allowed in the door at all.

She appears to be signing a loan agreement, but it is so much more. This is the first time a financial agency has ever extended its hand toward her. The affirmation of her trustworthiness, morality and business acumen has been built by endorsements coming from her own community. It looks like a loan, but it really the preservation of a woman’s dignity, the support of a mother and family, and the launching of a business that will serve a community in desperate need.

( For my food friends:
What's in season? Sakou, oranges, bananas)