Updated on 25 June 2008

On the Wiladat of Bibi Fatima (A.S.), The World Federation is pleased to launch the first phase of the new World Federation Economic Development Programme by committing to sponsor 70 Mumineen in Sri Lanka.

One of the goals of The World Federation is to assist our Shia brothers and sisters worldwide by working to improve their financial well being. One way is to create long-term sustainable incomes and to enable people in under-privileged areas become independent and self-sufficient.  Although giving cash, food, or clothing donations helps these people in the short term, it offers no solution to the ongoing problems that result in the lack of income generation.  Without an income, these individuals do not have any means to provide for themselves or their families and The World Federation is committed to helping uplift Mumineen worldwide.

This programme approaches the method of bringing about economic upliftment to provide capital investments in order to create an income for a deserving brother or sister.  In addition, this programme will put emphasis on encouraging the individuals and families to save, to allow them to create their own capital and reduce their reliance on others, creating financial independence.

The President of The World Federation: Al Haj Dr Ahmed Hassam stated: ‘We are delighted to put forward this unique programme to the community to build on the work we have done in the past on economic upliftment. The aim of the programme is to provide the capital needed for an individual to generate an income, and inshAllah to remove him or herself from the cycle of poverty..’
     
What is The World Federation Economic Development Programme?
The programme has been established using the concept of microcredit.  Microcredit means small scale loans in order to create small scale enterprises.  In other words, advancing zero percent loans with the aim of uplifting the individual.

In addition to providing loans, this programme will also put emphasis on providing relevant training and skills to allow these individuals to continue creating a stable income on a long term basis.  Training programmes will be created and delivered based on their needs. 

Therefore The World Federation believes that creating such a programme for deserving people will create a solution to the poverty trap that many are in today.  The loans given to the borrowers will be recycled, given at 0%, so that funds repaid by an individual will be used to fund another, resulting in a longer term sustainable fund for economic upliftment from which multiple families and individuals can benefit.

A one-off donation therefore will be re-used repeatedly in years to come and inshAllah this will mean the framework be laid for this work to continue in years to come.

Shan-E-Abbas Hassam, The Assistant Secretary General for Relief & Economic Development explained the key concepts behind this programme: ‘We are aiming to provide short term loans for our Mumineen so that they can afford the capital needed to generate an income. We will aim to select individuals who have a robust business plan with experience of the area and enthusiasm to learn. Not only should we provide the capital, but we will need to work on ensuring that relevant training is given.. The key therefore is providing the capital and building the capacity of the deserving to achieve financial independence in the long term.’

Who Will Qualify for the Programme?
The scheme has been developed to provide financial aid to those Shia Muslims who meet all of the following criteria:

• The individual must genuinely be seeking to develop themselves financially

• The individual must be a Shia Muslim

• The individual must have a low income and currently not be able to afford the capital outlay to begin earning

• The individual must complete and sign as application form and business plan

The Benefits of the Economic Development Programme
By providing micro credit to deserving individuals, there are several benefits to these people.  Some of these include:

• Increased income
• Increased independency and self confidence
• Reduction in social exclusion
• Improved education for children
• Reduction in severity of poverty
• Reduction in reliance on others
• Improved healthcare

There are also several benefits to providing 0% loans.  Some of these include:

• A loan versus a handout will encourage the borrower to think through and create a feasible business plan, creating a higher likelihood of a longer term revenue plan.
• A loan would encourage the borrower to pay back the loan in the future
• A loan would encourage the borrower to use the capital investment appropriately
• A loan at 0% will not have any conflicts with Islamic Sharia
• The loan will not be used to threaten repayment, and we must be understandable if repayment is delayed and work to find a steadfast and just solution.

How is Success Measured?
One of the main ways will be to see if the deserving who received a loan is earning and uplifting him or herself out of poverty.  This will be done through gaining regular and consistent progress reports of the individuals and carrying out impact assessments.

We will provide donors with a progress report during the first two years to inform them the difference their gift is making to the life of the recipient and his or her family and children.  

Where has The World Federation started?
Currently the economic development programme has begun in Sri Lanka.  The Shia community in Sri Lanka is extremely needy and is one of the poorest communities in the country.  The World Federation is also working on Tableegh in Sri Lanka and is looking to increase the awareness of the Shia Ithana Asheri faith in the country.

However, this is only the beginning.   The World Federation plans to sponsor deserving individuals in various parts of the world.  The goal is to establish a long term sustainable fund that can be recycled so that several individuals in these needy countries are able to begin to generate an income that will enable them to be independent and self reliant for themselves and their families.

The World Federation is asking for donors to develop a one to one sponsorship for these individuals.  You, as a donor will be allocated to a deserving person who will use the loan to become a small scale entrepreneur.  You will be provided a progress report for the first 2 years.   By becoming a donor to this worthy programme, you will be giving a person a chance to break their cycle of poverty, and improve the lives of their families. 

To view an example of 14 of the 70 individuals sponsored on the scheme in Sri Lanka, please click here

To sponsor a deserving individual:

To Donate in Canada or USA, (via NASIMCO), click here

To Donate on The World Federation website, click here

To Donate payment in Europe (via CoEJ), click here

For more information please email relief@world-federation.org