Our first stop on Thursday was visiting Step Ahead Bangkok, a micro-enterprise development ministry headed by YWAMers John and Kimberly Quinley, American missionaries who have lived in Thailand for the past 25 years.
The fruit from their many endeavors is evident in changed lives throughout the country. Our goal for the first day was visiting their micro-finance work in Bangkok in the morning and then seeing the Step Ahead Pattaya work in the afternoon.
We began by visiting the slums of Bangkok.
Step Ahead’s 1200+ micro-loan clients are mostly street vendors and mom + pop entrepreneurs.
Step Ahead clients live in the slums and typically received small loans averaging $100. With this money, they purchase supplies to invest in a small business, where they turn a profit and repay back the loans at over a 95% rate (higher than loan repayment rates in the USA).
We visited many of the Step Ahead clients and interviewed them, asking how their lives have changed as a result of receiving a micro-loan. Some of the people cried when telling their story. For most, it was the first time they have been able to really take care of their families. It was deeply moving to see how such a small loan amount (averaging $100) is making such a huge difference in the lives of the poor.
As loan clients repay their micro-loans, the funds are recycled and loaned out to other people living in extreme poverty, and so the circle widens.
John Quinley, founder and director of Step Ahead, gracious took time to give us a tour of his office, sharing the challenges and opportunities in serving those living in extreme poverty.
Step Ahead Bangkok has six people serving out of their office, including a Program Manager, a bookkeeper, and four loan officers who personally visit the 1200+ clients regularly. The goal is to have each loan office carry a caseload of 300 clients, but we spoke with one loan officer who has over 400 clients she personally meets with one at a time. Wow!
Step Ahead currently has 53 people on a waiting list who have gone through the application process and been approved for micro-loans, who are now waiting to receive a micro-loan. Step Ahead is working to secure additional funding for their micro-enterprise work. They anticipate the program being sustainable on its own after securing a total of 2000+ clients. As they now have 1212 clients, they are about 60% of the way towards achieving this noble goal.
Following our morning in Bangkok, we drove two hours to visit Step Ahead Pattaya’s ministry. It is incredible what is being accomplished there through women at risk of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. Approximately 25% of the population of Pattaya are involved in some way in the sex industry. Many women who are involved see no way out. But Step Ahead Pattaya is employing women through a company called Itsera, the Thai word for “freedom”. The Itsera women work five days a week making beautiful designer leather purses.
In addition to a good, livable wage, they receive benefits including health insurance, learning English, computer and personal development skills. The slogans for the Thai Totes are: “Who says you can’t buy freedom?” and “Freedom comes with every bag!”
We interviewed Mon, the Thai project manager for Itsera. Mon hires the women who work for Itsera, and leads the Bible studies and personal development training. Several of the women have moved out of the slums and are now renting their own apartments as a result of working with Step Ahead. One of the women we interviewed cried as she shared how her life has changed in every way.
