2007年VOA标准英语-Micro-Loan Programs Help Poor Angolans Raise St

By Scott Bobb
Luanda
24 July 2007

Angola's civil war ended five years ago but today the country and its people still struggle to overcome the devastation¹ caused by the 27 years of conflict. At one point, 80 percent of the people lived off the informal economy and most survived on less than one dollar per day. Today civic² groups are helping³ them raise their standard of living through small loans which help increase their income. Correspondent Scott Bobb visited micro-loan projects in an impoverished⁴ neighborhood of Luanda and has this report.

Angolese worker counts her money in Luanda (file photo)

The house of Joao Honorio lies on a dirt road deep into the slums of Nocal, named after a nearby brewery⁵ in the industrial zone of northern Luanda.

Inside his house Honorio and his workers cut and shape metal sheets and bars into pieces.

On the road in front of the house they weld the pieces together to make doors, charcoal⁶ cookers and brick molds which are sold on the local market.

Honorio started three years ago with a loan of $60 obtained through Development Workshop, a civic group that has been in Angola for more than two decades helping to alleviate⁷ poverty through grassroots projects.

The program brings people, often neighbors, together in groups of 10 to 30. It teaches them to operate a business and to save part of their earnings⁸. They repay the loans over three months. After that they can borrow a larger sum and expand the business.

The program works with people who are economically active. They know how to make money but their only access to capital is through loan sharks who charge up to 300 percent. Many program participants are street vendors⁹. Nearly two-thirds are women who often are the main family breadwinner.

Honorio repaid his first loan and took out a new credit of $1,000. With that he expanded his business and now has three employees.

He says the loan helped him a lot. Before he could not afford half the materials. But with the loan he was able to buy a cart and machines.

Up the road, Francisco Alfredo and his partners make pots and pans, plates and cups by turning flat aluminum¹⁰ plates on lathes¹¹. lfredo started with a $150 loan and is now working with a $3,000 credit. His group produces several hundred pieces a day.

Alfredo says the business has improved his standard of living.

He says the credit helped him a lot, especially in his life and the life of his children. He has three children in school and thanks to the program he is able to pay their school fees.

Venancia Chicumbo monitors lenders for the Workshop. She helps them deal with the banking¹² system and other complexities¹³ of the formal economy.

Chicumbo says micro-credits provide a service to poor people who don't have access to commercial banks. Potential clients are identified through a selection process. They undergo four weeks of training and then are evaluated to see if they understand the process. After that, she says, they may borrow the money.

The program has benefited 13,000 micro-borrowers like Alfredo and Honorio. More than 90 percent of them repay their loans because of the group structure. If one member defaults, the whole group suffers.

A local bank is now providing the capital. The Angolan government wants to launch a similar program nationwide.

The program manager of Development Workshop, Fabrice Beutler, says Angolan society is still devastated¹⁴ from the war.

"Angola has been through 27 years of civil war, that infrastructure¹⁵, the social system has been destroyed. Even the basic solidarity¹⁶ system has been destroyed. We with DW, we are recreating the solidarity system," he said.

Development Workshop works with community leaders in poor neighborhoods to bring running water and latrines to their communities. It also teaches people how to obtain legal title to the land they occupy.

Beutler says the Workshop likes to organize people at the community level and teach them how to solve their own problems.

"We are trying to empower them, capacitate them, train them on how to present a project, for example, how to present a budget, how to identify a need. All this needs of course training with the local leaders," he explained.

The Workshop has other programs, for example, promoting peace and good citizenship¹⁷ among young members of the political parties. And it trains local government officials on how to deliver services and then brings them together with community leaders to identify and solve their most pressing problems.

Back at Antonio's shop in Nocal, some vendors have come to buy his pans which they will sell on the streets or in local markets.

Some of these vendors also started their business using micro-loans. As a result Francisco's $150 loan has helped generate a living for dozens of people in this corner of Angola.

1 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 brewery   

n.啤酒厂

参考例句：

• The brewery had 25 heavy horses delivering beer in London.啤酒厂有25匹高头大马在伦敦城中运送啤酒。
• When business was good,the brewery employed 20 people.在生意好的时候，这家酿造厂曾经雇佣过20人。

6 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

7 alleviate   

v.减轻，缓和，缓解(痛苦等)

参考例句：

• The doctor gave her an injection to alleviate the pain.医生给她注射以减轻疼痛。
• Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 vendors   

n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方

参考例句：

• The vendors were gazundered at the last minute. 卖主在最后一刻被要求降低房价。
• At the same time, interface standards also benefIt'software vendors. 同时，界面标准也有利于软件开发商。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

10 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。

11 lathes   

车床( lathe的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They showed keen interest in the various lathes on exhibition. 他们对展出中的各类车床表现出了浓厚的兴趣。
• To automate the control process of the lathes has become very easy today. 使机床的控制过程自动化现已变得很容易了。

12 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

13 complexities   

复杂性(complexity的名词复数)； 复杂的事物

参考例句：

• The complexities of life bothered him. 生活的复杂使他困惑。
• The complexities of life bothered me. 生活的杂乱事儿使我心烦。

14 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

15 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

16 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

17 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。