TEE Attendees Observe 5Ws

 

Micro finance workers from  nine different countries visited fellowship groups of the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Savings and Credit Cooperative in Silang, Cavite  as part of the learning activities during the third Transformative Economic Empowerment (TEE) training session held in October 2013. The visit allowed the TEE participants to talk with micro entrepreneurs from the area and observe how weekly meetings of CCT micro finance recipients are held. 

The TEE attendees are from Sri Lanka,  Peru, India, Moldova, Zambia, Kenya, Thailand, Uganda, and the US.

CCT fellowship groups are composed of about 20 micro finance recipients who live within the same neighbourhood and who meet once a week to study the Bible and to pay their dues.  Weekly meetings of CCT micro finance recipients (referred to as community partners in CCT circles) throughout the Philippines follow the 5Ws format. 

 The 5Ws:

• Welcome (10 minutes). The covenant community builder (CCB, often called  loan officer in other micro finance institutions) or the fellowship coordinator calls the roll, greets those celebrating a birthday, and leads the singing of the National Anthem and the reciting of the CCT Partners’ pledge.
• Worship (10 minutes). Here the group prays and sings songs of praise and worship.
• Word (30 minutes). The CCB leads devotions using a study guide specifically written with needs of CCT communities in mind. Community partners may share testimonies at this time.
• Work (30 minutes). Here loan payments are made and records are updated. Savings build up withdrawals are also made during this period.
• Wrap-up (10 minutes). The CCB does a recap of important points made during the Word portion, gives a quick summary of the collection status, and leads a closing song and prayer.

 The TEE training session is a collaborative activity of CCT and the CCT Ka-Partner Network, a consortium of US-based organizations ministering to the poor through partnership with MF institutions or churches in other countries.  The founding members of the network are endPoverty, Five Talents, Hope International, and Peer Servants.

CCT MF Community Partner is CMA Awardee

Rosario Caparas,  pioneer micro finance recipient  of the CCT Savings and Credit Cooperative branch in Laguna has been named special awardee for innovation in the 2013 Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards (CMA) program. 

Nanay Rosario is co-owner of Buchi King Restaurant,  the signature product of which is buchi with non-traditional fillings such as cheese, strawberry, chocolate, white chocolate, and sweet cream. Her prizes are P100,000, life and health insurance coverage, a laptop, one-day computer training, and scholarship in an entrepreneurial course.  Nanay Rosario co-owns Buchi King along with son Christian Caparas and nephew Alvin Abaja.  

Formerly called the Citi Micro entrepreneur of the Year Award, CMA is now on its 11^th year. The awards program is funded by Citi Foundation and is held in partnership with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Citibank Philippines, and the Microfinance Council of the Philippines, Inc. 

Previous CCT winners in the CMA are Andresa Javines of General Santos City and Rabia Mangumpig of Cotabato City. 

CCT Pastor Dies in Road Accident

Ramil Nicolas, CCT area pastor for General Santos City 2, was killed as the result of a motorcycle accident on October 8.  He was on his way to speak at a community worship service at the Malakas branch when, according to eyewitnesses,  he overtook a multi-cab, got caught on its side mirror, and lost control of the motorcycle he was riding. He expired in a hospital shortly afterward. He would have turned 40 this November.   Pastor Ramil is survived by his wife Romelie, regional peer servant for General Santos and Saranggani, and  by their three daughters, Keziah Esther Rain, 5, Micah Asher, 4, and Genesis Sophia, 1 year and 10 months.

In a letter to board members and staff, Ruth S. Callanta, CCT president and founder, said: 

"I will always remember Pastor Ramil for his steadfastness.  If he set his mind on something, he followed it through to completion.  He is one of a handful of CCT staff who completed the difficult, rigorous leadership character formation program of Semilya sa Kinabuhi in Bukidnon where one learned patience, diligence, and the value of money by tilling the soil and doing other farm work with one’s hands.  This is where he met Romelie whom he courted with steadfastness and married a few months later.   

"Psalm 37:25 reads, Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread. At CCT we have a policy of taking care of the family of staff who pass away while serving the Lord through this organization. We are committing to send one of Pastor Ramil’s daughters to school until she completes her college education.  This is our role in showing Romelie and the girls as they grow that our Lord is consistently faithful toward the children of the righteous.

"The Christian life is a paradox. It requires faith in a God who sees the future, and knows what is best for us even when we find today’s circumstances hard to understand.  Please intercede for Romelie and the extended Nicolas family  as they go through the deep pain of this sudden loss; please remember in prayer  as well the GenSan staff and community partners who were close to Pastor Ramil.  As we extend our love and sympathy we must also be reassured  that as believers in Jesus we have a blessed hope of His return and of a grand reunion someday with loved ones who have gone on to heaven ahead of us. 

In a Facebook post, Romelie said, "By faith, I know that the God who took my husband will be the same God who will take care of me and my three kids as we  face another chapter of our journey." 

Buchi King Owners Speak at TEE Opening Night

Christian Caparas, co-owner of Buchi King restaurant, speaking before micro finance workers from 
several countries during the TEE training in Tagaytay City, Philippines.

Alvin Abaja speaks of how he (along with cousin Christian) started Buchi King after he had a vision of himself
making buchi. 

Alvin Abaja and Christian Caparas, co-owners of Buchi King, a restaurant in Binan, Laguna, shared the story behind the  success of their growing business during opening night of the third Transformative Economic Empowerment (TEE), an international training session for micro finance workers.  

Alvin and Christian, who are cousins, manage Buchi King along with Christian's mother, Rosario Caparas.   Rosario is a pioneer member and micro finance recipient  of the Center for Community Transformation Savings and Credit Cooperative branch in Binan.

The cousins spoke of how they started their business after Alvin had a vision, during the pastoral prayer at their church one Sunday, of  himself making and selling buchi.  Soon afterward they started selling buchi to office mates and church mates.  When orders grew, they both resigned from their jobs with private corporations to be able to focus.  They opened the restaurant in December 2012. 

The  signature product of Buchi King is buchi, a ball of glutinous rice stuffed with a variety of fillings.  Traditional fillings are macapuno (coconut), ube (purple yam), and sweetened  mung bean paste.  The innovative cousins have made their buchi a hit with such fillings as cheese, sweet cream, chocolate, and white chocolate.  The restaurant also serves rice meals, pasta, and Chinese noodles.

Aside from being micro finance recipients, the Buchi King owners have benefited from CCT’s mentorship program where  Christian businessmen offer time and expertise coaching fledgling business owners in both spiritual and business matters. 

The TEE training where the cousins shared their testimony was a joint activity of CCT and the Ka-Partner network, a consortium of US-based organizations ministering to the poor. Attendees were from Peru, India, Moldova, Zambia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uganda, and the US.  

The founding members of the Ka-Partner network are endPoverty, Five Talents, Hope International, and Peer Servants.  

Ruth Callanta, CCT founder and president, said the training session allows the sharing of CCT’s best practices and stories, benefiting the poor of other nations.  

Participants in the TEE training session during opening night of the week-long activity. 

14 Couples Married in CCT Negros Mass Wedding

Fourteen couples were recently married in a mass wedding organized by staff of CCT Negros.  Of the 14, five are recipients (referred to as community partners) of CCT micro finance assistance, while the rest are children or relatives of community partners. 

Amie Balboa of  CCT Negros said the decision of the community partners to become legally married after years of being common-law husbands and wives  is an indication of spiritual growth and a desire to please God by living according to His will.   

Except for one, all of the couples had been living together for several years without the benefit of marriage.  The oldest couple had been living together for nine years and already had three children. 

The wedding ceremony was officiated by Pastor Rene Bajalan.  CCT Negros has organized and held a mass wedding once a year since 2003.