Belize Day Two - Our First Loan

Last night I stayed in the Anglican Diocese’s guest house. It is about two blocks from Anglican Cathedral College and the school offices where I am working. Currently, I am the only visitor so the other fourteen beds are empty and I have the luxury of all six fans in the house. There is cable that picks up all the Denver channels and I was able to use the internet from a stray signal last night that has disappeared tonight. If this is development work, I can’t complain.

I spent most of the day printing and folding brochures for tomorrows meeting with entering high school students. We made our first loan today for $211.50 which will provide the registration fee for a second form, male student. I spoke for about thirty minutes to his mom who is a single parent and works as both a beautician and part time office cleaner. She has a monthly income of $350, which makes an upfront payment of $261.50 nearly impossible to make. Instead, she is now able to pay $22.31 a month for twelve months with an interest charge of less than $18 so that her son can attend high school. Once he graduates, he can expect to command more than double the salary that he would earn without a secondary diploma.