Forgotten by her government and untouched by the world’s economy, Dona Rosita has spent * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these her life in severe poverty. Like millions of mothers in developing countries, she has never had a chance to improve the quality of her life. Now her children face * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these the same grim prospects:

• Malnutrition and hunger
• Illiteracy
• One room, dirt floor huts
• No electricity or running water
• No access to health care

But Dona Rosita is * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these a survivor. In her determination to ensure her family’s survival, she is already running * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these a small business, which allows * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these her to feed and clothe her family on a cash budget of $3 per week.

Gaining access to small amounts of working capital—as little as $50-$500—will allow * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these Dona Rosita to generate the extra income needed to ensure the survival of her children. With a $50 loan, she can finance * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these a variety of small-scale, income-generating investments. She might:

• Raise chickens or pigs
• Start a tiny grocery store
• Bake bread for market sale
• Start a handicraft business

She can double her investment in four months and will begin * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these to generate the savings she needs to lift her family out of poverty.

Sadly, most poor mothers don’t qualify * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these for a loan from a commercial bank, especially not for such a minuscule amount. Instead, they must borrow from traditional moneylenders, whose exorbitant interest rates devour * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these most of the profits.

Dona Rosita’s neighbors are * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these ready to move ahead too! To obtain working capital, they are willing * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these to take on the responsibilities of budgeting, saving, and repaying their loans. In short, they are * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these anxious to become better businesswomen in order to better feed, clothe, and ensure the health of their families.

FINCA has developed * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these a banking methodology capable of stopping severe poverty in its tracks called “village banking.” Collectively our thousands of village banking groups on three continents are developing * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these into a “World Bank for the Poor.”

Based on the principles of self-help and free enterprise, village banking offers * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these the poor not charity, nor handouts, but loans—with no collateral required, a reasonable rate of interest, and a safe and profitable place to accumulate savings. Village bank members are * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these fully responsible for their own success. They choose their investments, disburse and collect all loans, manage their savings, elect their officers, write their by-laws, and keep their books * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these . Village banks provide first-time borrowers with a $50 loan. For each subsequent loan, the borrower’s credit line will be * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these increased by an amount equal to her accumulated savings.

At FINCA, we’re working * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these every day to help alleviate poverty one loan at a time, one woman at a time, one family at a time. Won’t you join * choose answer * Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Past Progressive Future None of these us in helping our borrowers work their way out of poverty and open the door to a new—and more promising—life for their children?