In October 2005, Calgary volunteer Cathie Garratt accompanied Mary Tidlund to Angola to visit our partner Development Workshop in Huambo, Angola. Since 2003, the microfinance program has grown from a few hundred to over 2500 of which 73% are women.

Cathie Garratt and Mary Tidlund visited the managers, officers and supervisors that implement the microfinance program, met with numerous groups of members that are part of the program in different municipalities in Huambo and visited the markets in which the members sell their products. The members are inspiring in their desire to build a better life for themselves and their families. There is a 98% success rate in this program with the majority of women launching successful ventures and paying back their loans so others can benefit from the program. Development Workshop in Angola is now taking this program to another level, creating a separate entity called KixiCredito.

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