Working for Peanuts: How Microenterprise Gives Women a Hand UpBy Leslie Ann Jones  It’s hard to imagine that a 50-pound bag of peanuts could change anyone’s life, but in northern Ghana, that’s exactly what is happening. There, the Northern Empowerment Association has teamed up with women in rural villages on a massive peanut project designed to lift the women out of poverty.
.jpg) NEA’s peanut program is simple but effective. It begins by loaning a bag of peanuts to a woman enrolled in the program. She plants the peanuts, cares for them, harvests the crop, and returns three bags of peanuts to NEA: one for her seed for the next year, one to pass on to another woman, and one to pay back the initial loan. The rest of the harvest is hers to keep for food or profit. After three years of support, NEA weans the women from the program and leaves them as successful, self-sustaining individuals.
 To date, NEA workers have taught over 1,000 women how to cultivate peanuts and sustain themselves on the profits made from the harvest. As a result, many of the women have moved from village outcasts to influential members of society, and they are able not only to feed and clothe their families but also to send their children to school and to pay for medical treatments.
NEA gives people the means to provide for themselves, a gift that lasts much longer than a free meal every now and then. It’s the difference between having a fish fry and teaching people how to fish. One meal can only temporarily alleviate hunger pangs, but learning how to fish provides meals for a lifetime.
 NEA is just one of thousands of ministries committed to developing the poorest of the poor and equipping them with tools for success. Microenterprise, the practice of providing small loans to help people start a business venture, is booming these days, and Christians aren’t the only people getting in on the action. Even Citigroup has a microloan division, and the practice is successful because it builds local economies as well as people.
In 2006, Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for his work among the poor in Bangladesh. Known as the “Banker to the Poor,” Yunus insisted, “charity is no solution to poverty.” Instead of offering charity, he provided microloans with reasonable terms to the chronically poor so they could change their situation.
The beauty of the system is its small nature. Investing in an entrepreneur takes as little as $25, and the low-risk loans appeal to skittish investors in a volatile economic climate. Yet, you don’t have to be a banker to contribute to microenterprise ventures across the globe. Both World Vision® and Samaritan’s Purse® have a gift catalog filled with practical gifts that help people stand on their own feet. Just $75 buys a goat for a family, providing both food and income, and $35 purchases farming tools and training. Stocking a fishpond costs a mere $50, and fishing gear rings in at $30. Pooling your money with a Sunday School class or small group Bible study can net $3,000 for a fishing boat. Purchasing one of these gifts is a very real way to fight the poverty epidemic that plagues our world.
If you prefer a hands-on approach, sharing knowledge and skills can be as easy as joining a short-term mission trip with your church. We can do more than build houses and teach Vacation Bible School on our trips. Maybe you could teach some women how to sew, or paint, or embroider. If you have a green thumb, consider passing it on to others. A packet of seeds, land, time, and water can provide people with food to eat and to sell. The possibilities really are endless.
If you have a penchant for handcrafted purses, jewelry, or baskets, supporting women who are learning to support themselves is just one WorldCraftsSM purchase away. Consider throwing a party showcasing the WorldCrafts catalog, or shop for unique birthday gifts at worldcraftsvillage.com to help release some women from poverty while you shop.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by poverty and the issues surrounding it, but with microenterprise it’s possible to make a tangible difference in people’s lives. Whether you purchase a sewing machine for a seamstress in India or teach Honduran women how to plant a garden, you have the means to fight poverty. One bag of peanuts doesn’t sound like much, but for the women who receive them it makes all the difference in the world.
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Leslie Ann is a freelance writer living in Iuka, Mississippi, with her husband, Dennis. Last January, she spent a few days at one of NEA’s work sites in Ghana, where she was blown away by the difference that 50 pounds of peanuts can make.
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