Hongqing Chen
Hongqing Chen, a Portfolio/Risk Manager, recently joined Wokai’s Seattle Chapter. Click here to see her profile on Wokai.org!
On a freezing December evening, I braved south Seattle’s icy roads to visit Washington CASH (Community Alliance for Self-Help), In my quest to get involved with microfinance, I’d read their two most recent annual reports, and thought, ‘Wow, they are working on a shoestring budget and still making a big difference in many people’s lives!’ So I was especially excited to learn more.
Images courtesy of Washington CASH.
By the entrance sat a group of volunteers, wrapping donated gifts. I walked down a hallway into a classroom with about 40 people. They had notebooks and pens ready, and focused closely on the evening’s lesson about personal credit scores.
Next, I met with Cheryl Sesnon, Washington CASH’s CEO. Cheryl’s office was more like a teacher’s studio than an office for CEO. A classic lady, Cheryl wore a warm smile and a red blazer. She answered my questions about operations, funding cost, loss rate, and future development. I was surprised to hear her say that Washington CASH had no shortage of money to lend out. (How nice! I thought. Then again, no bank is short of money to lend. The problem is that they are all afraid to make loans now.) Knowing that I came to learn how microfinance works and operational details, she emphasized that I needed to be first and foremost focusing on helping borrowers when working as a volunteer here.
What intrigues me most about Washington CASH is how it adopts the Grameen model. When a borrower shows up at the door, Washington CASH requires him/her to attend an 8-week long class about basic finance, organization, marketing, and other entrepreneurial skills. The borrower will then find several classmates to form a group, with a president and treasurer, to help each other to be successful and diligent in repayment of the loans.
I’ve been assigned to work with a group of four borrowers that Cheryl has not yet certified. The group consists of four borrowers with such interesting businesses:
- A house cleaner using non-toxic products. (She was a returning borrower)
- One person in the personal health enhancement business (Also a returning borrower)
- A photographer who wished to borrow money to buy lighting equipment.
There are three volunteers assigned to the group (two young ladies who had been long-term volunteers, and me.) Each borrower filled out a questionnaire with their business ideas, and what they had learned so far through Washington CASH.
Hopefully our group will be certified in the next session! I am so excited to learn more about how microfinance really works on an individual level.
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