Cinco de Mayo in Nogales may never be the same! Nineteen Rotarians from Districts 5495 and 5500 joined Rotarians and other guests from Nogales to bring our celebration number to nearly 50 to kick off our Rotary micro credit program. Hosted by our micro credit administrator, FinReg’s President Juan Baca, and his Special Projects/Rotary manager Art Cordova, the event was coordinated by Global Grant Host Club Nogales Sur, and International Partner Tempe South. Along with a prestigious group of Rotarians and town luminaries, Nogales’s Mayor Cuahtemoc Galindo was also present for the ribbon cutting to open the Rotary/FinReg Micro Credit Office. After the office opening, the group proceeded to the host hotel and dinner along with Mexican-style entertainment.

 

The opening of this office is the culmination of three-plus years of effort to establish this program in Nogales, two other micro credit programs are currently operating in Hermosillo. Our District has a total of $277,092 of operating capital that has financed nearly 6,000 loans for a total $1,412,029 in paid-back loans. To date, there is no loan loss and the majority of borrowers, 98.7 percent are women. These funds, as is the nature of most Global Grants, have come from a number of different districts and their clubs, individual donations and matching funds from the Rotary Foundation.

 

Future Rotary micro credit lending locations in Sonora, Mexico, that are being worked on by the Micro Credit Committee are Agua Prieta, Guayas, San Filipe and Puerto Penasco, with funds being currently collected for a grant in Agua Prieta.

 

Want a micro credit presentation at your club? Want to increase your membership and keep those members that you already have? Contact me and a member of our micro credit committee will come to your club and show your members how a small amount of money loaned makes a big difference to overcome poverty. In addition, we will start making trip tours to visit borrowers in Hermosillo and Nogales in October and to meet the staff of FinReg. Tours are limited to 8-to-10 individuals on a first-come basis, are a two-day trip to Hermosillo and one or two days in Nogales. Most costs are covered by FinReg. Contacting those individuals that have attended hands-on tours reveals that 99 percent stay Rotarians after they have seen the difference that we make.

Please contact Abe Feder 602.622.7289, or abefeder1@gmail.com to schedule a club presentation or to book a spot on a tour.

 

PDG Abe Feder
District International Service Chair