by Sarah Slegh, ACT:S Faith & Justice Fellow

This fall, join us in exploring how to live an active faith by rallying your local group around an issue most urgent to the world’s poor – AIDS, Malaria, Microloans, and Trafficking. For each issue, we’ll explore how faith and justice are interconnected while working together to reach an audacious goal. Here’s a glimpse of one of those issues: 

Microloans can help save the world.

You’re probably thinking, “that’s a little extreme.” Maybe so, but most people are not drawn to the term Microloan or Microfinance (I know I wasn’t). It sounds too business-oriented and my mind shuts off with the idea of finance. But honestly, micro loans can be a major player in battling poverty and can be a prevention tool for all kinds of child vulnerabilities, including trafficking.

I travelled to Cambodia this summer with a few other ACT:S student activists to see first-hand how microloans are impacting the individuals, families, and communities where they are being used. Parents are being empowered to provide for their families, children are now able to receive education and are less vulnerable to child labor or trafficking, and communities are developing economically – all through individuals receiving small loans that remind the of their potential.

Microloans might not necessarily be saving the world Avengers-style, but through the ripple effect, personal transformation is becoming community transformation. After seeing the way microloans can be a solution for those who are stuck in the cycle of poverty, we decided we need to do something AUDACIOUS.

So here is what we are doing:

We are working to empower families across the world so they can have a better future. By rallying together with those in your community, you can help ignite contagious movements around something that is more than just “giving money to the poor” but is actually giving dignity as the hard-working poor lift themselves out of poverty. That is much more impactful and sustainable than simple hand-outs.

This fall we’re launch the “ACT:S+MICRO” campaign, created entirely by ACT:S creative activists. The campaign will also feature a documentary film from our experience in Cambodia. Here’s our first trailer:

Are you passionate about empowering families? Sign up to rally your local group below. We’ll then equip you with free resources to connect faith and justice, connect you with a larger community of groups and issue experts who are exploring how faith and justice are interconnected, and ultimately work together to ignite movements. If you pick “microloans,” you’ll also be the first to get a copy of our documentary film later this fall.