Micro Credit and Finance

At Thirdway our overall aim is to improve the economic and social situation of the people by increasing access to income-generating activities and by providing required training to manage their activities. Our microcredit programme is aimed at helping all needy people in all segments of the society. Our set up would look different from others. There shall be a compulsory business education programme to be followed prior to the taking of the loan.
We shall serve existing local professional groups in the informal economic sector as well as the working poor in the cities. These groups include:
• Kete weavers
• Fishermen/fishmongers
• Farmers, Salt miners
• Traders (with an emphasis on women)
• Carpenters, Masons
• Apprentices from vocational institutions
• The working poor in the formal sector
This is in line with our holistic and integrated approach to solving problems through our 5 prong approach to development. (Read our methodology under about us on the website). If people are poor and cannot send their children to school, it does not make sense putting up the school. We should be able to help the parents send their children to school. Apart from school, the people should be able to earn a living and lead a normal life hence the micro credit project.
Micro credit programmes extend small loans to very poor people for self-employment projects that generate income, allowing them to care for themselves and their families. These initiatives can come in a variety of packages, serve a wide cross section of client base and their product can be delivered in a free standing mode or as an integral part of the services provided by a Community Based Financial Institution or a Credit Union.
In general terms, they fill a gap left by mainstream commercial lenders who simply would not even consider lending to certain potential borrowers for a variety of reasons, thereby leaving them with no choice, other than to seek alternative sources of capital which inevitably incur extremely high rates of interest. Those reasons could include (individually or in combination):• The amount is too small - most commercial lenders are not interested in making small loans.• Tainted or no credit history - most commercial lenders are reluctant to deal with young and/or first time borrowers with no credit history and certainly tend to shy away from lending to those they deem to be poor credit risks• The loans are largely unsecured - most commercial lenders will require some form of asset based security whereas loans made by micro financiers may require no security other than a promise to repay.

Methodology and Approach:
Essential or a compulsory requirement of our scheme is to educate the clients on entrepreneurial skills/ basic business development and human rights the later very vital especially for our women folks. In addition compulsory savings is pre- condition. These education precedes the giving of the loan this is to ensure maximum success.

GHANA
In Ghana, hostile economic and political environments have resulted in the implementation of a package of economic programmes, which limit the social and economic possibilities and rights of our people of Ghana and the environment in particular. It limits especially our children to basic education and health facilities as well as to the enjoyment of adequate care and protection from their parents. The spectacle of street children and chronic child labour are constant reminder of the regrettable violations of the social and cultural rights of the children.
The rate of unemployment and a reduction in real wages and salaries have increased the burden that our women have to shoulder in trying to support a living for the family. Other features of the economic deterioration are; Rural-urban migration, Criminality, Poor education, many school drop-outs, Prostitution, teenage pregnancy etc.
The growth of sprawling informal sector settlements in our cities and towns is another evidence of how economic policy has impoverished and dehumanised our young men and women.
Appeal:
We need your financial support. It is also possible to adopt a number of participants or invest directly into our microfinance and training scheme. We now have a large constituent of potential clients who deserve our services. We have been operating at a very small scale but we have reached the point where there is an increase demand for our services because of the different approach in mind set and delivery. One time donation or regular donations are welcome.
We need help as well in capacity building by donating office and administration equipment or paying for our internet connections and not forgetting volunteering in other areas especially with our website related duties.
We shall not discriminate in giving out credits but women will form greater part of our clients.
Most of the local self-employed start their income-generating activities on a very small scale, usually with no outside assistance. They keep operating-costs low by using handmade or second-hand equipment and family labour. Businesses often operate from within the home. Unfortunately, they often have no future, since they have no access to capital beyond sources from family, friends, or professional moneylenders.
Usually, a small amount of capital can already produce growth. A modest loan according our findings buys a box of merchandise, a few tools or fertiliser for an acre of land, and this can yield enough to sustain an entire family. A fisherman can increase his income considerably by working with improved and relatively cheap nets, bought with a one-off loan.
Though micro-finance is successful, many people in rural areas do not have access to these funds. Institutional and human capacity to deliver services is lacking and investment is needed to build this up in an effective way.
The goal of a micro-finance project is to create income and employment in poor communities through the development of local micro-enterprises and, in the process, increase the financial well-being of borrowers, their families, and the community at large. Specifically this is in line with the Thirdway organizations mission of realising economic and social rights in a more practical form. We believe in order for the parents to take care of their children’s education they need money to pay for the education among other things.
We have project proposals available for individuals and organizations.
BENEFITS:
Assisting people with micro-credit will lead to the creation of new income in local communities. The advantages of the professions in which the self-employed are involved are:
• micro-enterprises are simple to operate;
• they use locally available skills;
• they are labour-intensive and create significant employment;
• they improve the income of the working poor, especially women;
• they can serve as a basis for community participation and the empowerment of clients;
• they can pay market interest rates charged on loans, which can help a project cover cost and reach more people.
About Thirdway:
Thirdway is an international volunteer-driven organization advocating human rights through active, hands-on programs. With our focus in West Africa, particularly Ghana, we develop projects that promote self-sustainability in education, micro-credit, and human rights awareness among local populations. We apply highly interactive programs requiring strong motivation and determination at the local level to create foundations which can eliminate a population's past dependence on foreign aid.

Ultimately our goal is to increase independence from the bottom up while significantly decreasing the need for international aid organizations such as ours.

Critical to our success are ongoing connections and partnerships with individuals and groups around the world. Operating out of our modest offices in Amersfoort, the Netherlands, Ho in the Volta Region, Ghana other virtual offices around the world we collaborate with volunteers and staff in many different countries to develop our initiatives. We practice the indivisibility of human rights through global collaboration, which enhances our operations and objectives, and connects the people of Ghana with international students, teachers, and volunteers in order to develop mutual understanding between cultures and self-sustaining developmental aid and support. Since our establishment in 1998 in The Netherlands and 2001 in Ghana, Thirdway Human Rights & Development NGO has implemented a soap-making project training over 50 women to become economically independent, has built and maintains the Klaas Haven School Complex, and manages a micro-credit financing program at Anyako, Keta, Accra, Ho and in Kasoa providing funds to the parents of the school children at Kasoa We specifically target those who share our commitment to self-sustaining developmental aid and indivisible human rights to join us.
There is no shortage of rhetoric about the importance of human rights in responding to poverty and hunger. This is the time to turn words into action