Revolving Loan Fund Results to Date
In Armenia In Armenia unemployment runs at a crippling rate of 40%. Thousands of Christian families are caught in a spiral of poverty. But with small loans, they can start businesses... This is a report on a very simple, but successful, development project.
In February 2001, Elam began a pilot project with $2,500 to provide small loans in partnership with Armenian churches. The aim was to strengthen the Church in Armenia through enterprise opportunities which provide a livelihood for people to allow them to remain in the country and have a better standard of living. The pilot project was very successful. In the first year of operation 54 loans were distributed. The latest figures up until November 2003 show 94 loans have been distributed, 46 have been repaid, 46 are on-going and only two have failed.
In August 2002 a new revolving fund of $15,000 was established. Initially the project aim was to disburse the loan fund to 250 vulnerable people. At the end of the first year, 283 had benefited from the loans. At the end of the second year 402 families have received loans. Most are repaying their loans in less than one year.
The project has been an outstanding success and has blessed and encouraged literally hundreds of families in Armenia. It has given them hope and confidence in their abilities and challenged them to take calculated risks to better their situation. The bottom line is that families and individuals that otherwise would not be able to survive are creating businesses and cottage industries that is allowing them to provide for their daily needs and therefore enables them to remain in the country and play an active role in the life of the church.
In one 
case, a Church member got together with four friends and they each took a loan of $50. They pooled the money together and set up a shop. This shop has now been very successful and he has opened up a second shop. This individual is also the pastor of a small local Church and they have a vision to build their own building. They obtained a donation of $700 and with $2000 of their own money they are building a new Church building.
One of the most exciting elements of this project was the potential each loan recipient has to preach the Gospel by their actions, not just by their words. Every church involved in the loan fund have reported that the project has been a beacon of light as unbelievers have seen hard working honest Christians prospering and helping the community.
All the Churches have requested an increase in the size of the revolving fund as many more people would like to participate in the program but no additional funds are available. If it would be possible to raise some more funds then many more people could benefit from this project.