Helping the Poor in the Most Effective Ways Possible

        Most Christians understand that helping the poor is one of the fundamental blocks of the Christian life. However, too many Christians give their money indiscriminately, and often much of the money given is spent on fundraising and paying salaries to American administrators.

For twenty-five years, we have searched for efficient methods of helping the poor, where the dollars spent will have the greatest impact. Two of the most efficient methods we have discovered through trial and error are rural medical clinics and interest-free microloans.

Presently, almost all our charitable work is being done in Honduras, one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere.

Rural Medical Clinics

Camalotales is a typical rural community situated in the central mountainous region of Honduras. To find it, you have to turn off the main road and drive about 20 minutes down bumpy, unpaved roads. But what happens if you have no vehicle and you have a medical emergency? Perhaps your baby is due or your child is sick—and you’re having to walk. To begin with, for the typical resident in Comalotales, the walk to the nearest health clinic in a larger town is at least an hour away. On top of that, the health center in town is always overcrowded, so it will be hours before a doctor or nurse is able to help.

This picture is all too common for the rural people of Honduras. In 2019, the Society of the Good Shepherd (the charitable arm of Scroll Publishing) built a health clinic in Comalotales to take care of this need. We have built similar clinics in various other rural locations in Honduras.

What makes rural health clinics so cost effective is that once we build the clinic, the government of Honduras will staff it with one or more doctors and several nurses. The government pays the salaries of the doctors and nurses. The government also provides medicines and vaccines for free or at a nominal cost. The cost for a doctor’s visit is also nominal.

Every year, through these rural health clinics hundreds of people either have their lives saved or else have a serious health emergency treated. So a one-time gift to help build a rural medical clinic keeps giving year after year.

Microloans to Help Small Businesses

        Making interest-free micro-loans to the poor to enable them to expand their small businesses is one of the most efficient ways to help the poor. There are several reasons why:

        In most developing countries, the poor are trapped in a downward spiral. As the saying goes, The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. The reason for this can be summed up in one word: capital. The rich have it. The poor don’t. It takes capital to reverse the downward spiral of poverty and to begin an upward spiral. A micro-loan makes that capital available to the poor.

        Although the income derived from microbusinesses is small, the cost of living for those running such businesses is also small. As a result, just a small amount of credit can provide a significant percentage increase in earnings and make a major difference in these peoples’ lives.

        Microcredit enables the poor to build a decent life. It enables them to shed the old hand-out mentality and the revolving cycle of poverty that goes with it. Micro-loans enable the poor, with God’s help, to stand on their own feet through their own hard work. Unlike many other secular and Christian microloan programs, we charge no interest on our loans. Those of us who work at the administration end of this program in the United States, work without pay. That way, 100% of your donations to the Honduras ministry goes directly to the work in Honduras.

        Unlike some charitable gifts to the poor, the funds used for micro-loans are not exhausted once made. Instead, the same money is recycled and used to make indefinite micro-loans to others.

Making a Donation

When you make a donation below, the funds go to the greatest immediate need in Honduras. However, before you check out, you will see a box titled “Ordering Instructions.” If you wish for your donation to go to a specific project, you can type that in that box. We will then use your money as you direct.

To read our latest newsletter about the Honduras ministry, click on newsletter.