Micro Loan Programs

Alice with Mentors International

Alice sells fish. She has been carefully listening and applying lessons from her mentors. She started with a microloan of about 105 US dollars. Carefully, she invested the money into larger quantities of fish at a lower rate. This strategic decision allows her to make higher profits when she sells her fish.

Alice serves as the leader of her loan group. She encourages others to work with Mentors Ghana. She personally knows how mentoring and the financial solutions of small loans can make a big difference: “I thank Mentors Ghana and God for these great blessings. I know that if I am honest and work hard, I will receive many more great blessings.”

Lilian with Mentors International

Lilian has been teaching soapmaking with palm oil to women in a village near Tolon. For over a year, she has been learning business skills from Mentors Ghana. Lilian has invested her microloan into supplies for her soapmaking business. She knows that many women lack the knowledge or trade skills to make products for sale. She wanted to pay it forward and has been traveling with mentors to teach the soapmaking skills.

Not only is it helping women learn a useful skill, but these families are also able to be more hygienic, as they have access to soap. Lilian’s soapmaking business is one of many examples of small enterprises that are being created with the support of mentoring and financial solutions.

Breaking the Cycle of Poverty

Over 4.3 million people have benefited from Mentors International’s programs with nearly $77 million in loans distributed. Families now have decent housing. Their children are in school. They have at least two meals a day where one had been their norm. With a stable present, families can start building a future - and helping others in their community in the process.

Nearly $77 million has been loaned through the micro-lending program with a 97% historical repayment rate.

Fighting Human Trafficking With Mentors International & Microloans

False employment is often used to deceive potential victims of trafficking who are hungry, poor, and searching for a better life. When someone can sustain themselves and their family, they generally aren’t desperate for employment and are therefore less likely to be a target for traffickers.

Because of the connection between poverty and trafficking, our incredible partners at Mentors International create opportunities for women and men in developing countries to support themselves. Mentors International offers small loans to survivors in aftercare homes and people who are susceptible to being trafficked. Survivors use this small loan to create or improve their businesses.

Mentors International is both the bank and the school. A personal ongoing mentor helps her explore how to make their business as successful as possible.

Loan Center in the Dominican Republic

The doTERRA Healing Hands Foundation® worked with Mentors International® to establish a new loan center in the Dominican Republic. This loan center supports an artisan program for individuals who have rescued from sex trafficking by Operation Underground Railroad.

It offers business education classes, combined with mentoring and microloans, to give these women the tools they need to increase their incomes and to create viable businesses. They will go on to make a difference in their communities and experience the true dignity that comes through self-reliance.

These classes and efforts do far more than mere handouts ever could. Bringing our life-changing programs to those rescued from sex trafficking is the primary purpose for our journey into the Dominican Republic.