Teachers, Nurses, Accountants, Engineers.
These are the young people who will change the world.
Only education can make it possible.
The "Vittana Effect"
When you make a microloan to a student on Vittana, you’re helping more than a single person. An affordable education gives young people the opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty and start creating real change for their family, their neighbors, and their whole community.
Education fights poverty
A Vittana microloan can triple someone’s earning power.
Isidro has been working at a dental clinic since he was 13 years old. However, because his clinic often treated poor families for free, he couldn’t afford to go to school. Isidro earned about $7 per day.
Over the years, Isidro sought out any training he could while continuing to work at the dental clinic. Through the generosity of a local NGO’s staff and a $2,000 Vittana microloan, Isidro was finally able to get his diploma after fifteen years of waiting.
Today, he works as a dentist at that very same clinic and proudly serves his community. Education has almost tripled his earning power to about $20 per day.
Education empowers women
Nearly two-thirds of Vittana’s students are women.
As a child, Mercy dreamed of becoming a teacher. She was good in school and loved books. However, when she turned 18, her parents informed her they could no longer support her education and needed her to work. She turned to something far less glamorous: selling roast chicken on a street-corner on the outskirts of Lima, Peru.
In March 2010, Mercy got a $350 Vittana microloan from 14 people. In less than a month, she was enrolled in school and is on her way to achieving her dream of becoming a teacher. Even more amazingly, Mercy decided within days of getting the Vittana microloan that her daughter would never go through what she did and opened an education savings account for her 4-year-old daughter.
In many developing countries, families place a higher importance on educating their sons over their daughters. Vittana gives girls and women an opportunity to level the playing field.
Education lifts up whole families
Family support is a top motivator for students.
Liezel’s parents worked hard to give her whatever opportunities they could. Her father works as a welder and her mother helped her with schoolwork.
She lost her main source of educational funding last year, so she turned to Vittana lenders to assist her in finishing school. Now, she will graduate in March 2012 and plans to work in marketing. Liezel is excited at the prospect of earning about $11 per day once she starts, a large step up from the national poverty line of $2 per day.
We asked Liezel what she planned to do once she graduates. She said, “I’m so excited to get my diploma. Next, it’s my turn to help. I want to make sure my younger brothers can finish school.”
Education transforms communities
Teachers, nurses, accountants, engineers — educated young people are the building blocks of the future.
Growing up in Ghana, Yohane worked hard to overcome many obstacles that society laid before him. His positive attitude and determination to succeed enabled him to rise above.
He is using his Vittana microloan to complete his education in finance. Yohane plans to become a banker and can earn $15 per day. However, his long-term goal is to be an entrepreneur providing student microloans – just like Vittana – to those who are struggling to further their education due to lack of funds.
Yohane will find happiness when he can give back to people in situations similar to his. His skills, knowledge, and network gained through his education will make his dream a reality.
“I am motivated by hard work, perseverance, and am passionate about helping people.”
Yohane Dogb, Ghana