April News Update- Why "CASH-Transfers" can help reduce POVERTY

Savings Loans Association Chindwin Home Based Care (SLA) has always known from its early days of inception and needs assessments that one of the key solutions to help mitigate the impact of Poverty and HIV/AIDS at household level is through CASH-Transfers.

What is Cash-Transfer? Cash Transers can take many forms. They can be given to households as a unit becuase tehy meet poverty or vulerability creteria, to an individual such as an elderly person or disabled person, or to families based on the pressence of individuals such as children, girls , or orphans. Cash transfers can be unconditional-giving with out obligations-or conditional-tied to obligations of receipients t participate in work or training, education, health, nutrition or other services or activities-or they can be linked to these activiteis but not boligatory.

SLA supports Cash-transfer programs through its small innovative micro loans programs becuase tehy provide for current basic needs of adults adn children such as food and clothing. They can also contribute to development processes, by enabling or encouraging investment in assests that increase people's chances of breaking out of poverty in lthe long-term. Cash transfer programs can also have additional benefits sucha as women's autonomy and capacities, or strengthening capacities of local communites.

SLA has giving out Cash Transfers to 30 members with anverage of USD 200 per group and we kindly appeal for individuals and organizations to help SLA scale-up its program with another grant of USD 10,000 for supporting an additional group of women with cash-transfers that is paid back to the organization so that another group is assisted and hence the cycle of poverty reduction continues

For more information, please visit our webste www.sloansassociation.org or send us an e-mail on info@sloansassociation.org

Financial Satement- December 31st,2009

SLA have finally published it's first ever financial report-auditted by Alexis Murray-Jones. We are thankful for his time and passion to help us begin on the "right foot"


Cash Income/Expenditure schedule reveals an encouraging performance for 2009

 Average loan disbursed: $130
 Portfolio at risk: 3%
 Yield on Portfolio: ~45%
 Operational Self-Sufficiency: ~70%
 Borrowers per Loan Officers: 5
 Client turnover: 5%

Key Statistics

Exchange rate assumed: USD 1 = ZKW 4,500.

 Solid financial performance has allowed
$6,000+ to be donated to community
initiatives

 43% surplus margin highlights SLA’s efficient
operating structure and limited overheads

 SLA has not yet reached self sufficiency and
still relies on donations for most of its funding

Highlights

Income
External Donations 16,626 61%
Loan Repayments 10,707 39%
Fines & Penalties 28
Total Income 27,332 100%

Expenditure
Micro-loans 12,186 45%
Operational Costs
Consultancy 1,467 5%
Administration 1,031 4%
Transport 942 3%
Total Operational Costs 3,440 13%
Operational Surplus 11,706 43%
Community Donations
Supplementary Feeding 2,680 10%
Education 1,256 5%
Training 1,511 6%
Other donations 773 3%
Total Community Donations 6,220 23%

Total Expenditure 21,846 80%

Net Surplus 5,486 20%