www.GDCU.org: - Notes From the Field

Meet our Students: Noxolo Ngubeni Noxolo Ngubeni has a beautiful smile and a good sense of humor. She is a natural-born leader, elected President by her peers of 'Stars of Tomorrow' Young Women’s Banking Club at Sizathina High School.



Noxolo posing in her room with her business Stock			Outside her home in Loskop, South Africa.

Noxolo is 18 years old and in her final year of high school – just months away from graduation. You must pass a large series of tests to graduate in South Africa. Noxolo’s mother passed away in June 2004 after six long years of nursing her through illness. Her father passed away when she was very young. She now stays with four cousins. Her aunt and uncle occasionally come to visit. But, they live and work in Johannesburg to support the family because there is no work in Loskop. Her aunt didn’t believe Noxolo when she told her over the phone that she would be receiving a small loan to open a business. Now that she has seen the purchases and initial profits for herself, she is beaming with thankfulness and great pride in her niece. Noxolo’s excitement and pride were infectious as she received her first loan from Microfinance for Youth for R250 (approximately $41). She now runs a small business from home and school selling candy, chips and cookies. She is very proud to be a business woman, and hopes to one day become a nurse. Noxolo has not paid her school fees this year (R65 or approximately $11) and her school uniform is threadbare. With her new business, she is eager to assist her aunt in covering these costs, and is very grateful for the opportunities from MFY. Noxolo says, “Thank you for helping us as we are poor. Now we can buy small things on our own.” First Loan Disbursements Wednesday, March 16^th was a very exciting and auspicious beginning for the MFY team here in South Africa. It was the culmination of all the hard work done by 39 students and two teachers at Sizathina High School – the day of the first disbursement of loans. These 22 young women and 17 young men - our target group of 14 to 20 year old orphaned and vulnerable youth - are among the world’s first youth with the opportunity and courage to take a business loan. These are very hardworking and impressive young men and women. They have been in training since September 2004 (with a few months of holidays in between). They have covered market research and analysis, writing a business plan and basic business accounting. They have attended weekly and biweekly meetings to demonstrate their discipline and hard work. The classroom where the loan distribution took place was packed. In addition to the 39 students, over 25 guardians attended, as well as many Sizathina teachers and administration, there to demonstrate their support of the project. Over $1835 in loans were distributed, an average of $40 to each young woman, and $55 to each young man. Zulu acapella choruses filled the air in celebration on multiple occasions in thankfulness for the opportunity given the students to raise them out of poverty. The first repayment date of the loans was set for one week later, and I am very pleased to report that 100% of the groups repaid their weekly loan amounts. The high standard of discipline we believe will allow this success to continue. Many thanks are due our amazing teachers Miss F.N. Zwane and Mr. G.B. Nzuza for their hard work, discipline and vision to assist these students as they work to overcome their poverty. A group of young women excitedly share their loan money received. In most cases, none of these students have ever seen or had possession of so much as the average loan of R240 (or $40).