newsletter, august 2014

NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 2014
2014
Readers,
It’s August!!! August brings our Independence Day
celebration. 69 years ago, Indonesia announced its Independence
from the Netherlands. We celebrate this special day differently in
each region but across the nation we all share in our gratitude and
honor the heroes who gave their lives for this moment. With the
happiness of celebration, we have stories to share with you from
PPMK
NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 2014
2014
Microcredit News
This month we received 6
loan applications from
women’s groups from a total of
40 women. Some loan
applications were from previous
clients who had finished
repaying their latest loan and
were applying for more
support. There were also
applications from new
women’s groups. However as a
small organization our cash
for this program is limited
and for this reason we had to
reject some of the applications
and select only the women who
needed the loans most. A
history of responsibility is an
important part of the
application process. For
previous members we check
their repayment history.
However, for new women’s
groups we gather information
about them by asking in their
community. So let us
introduce the women’s group
that received new loans from
us this month.
Sanggrahan Women
Group
This group consists of 6
women with various small
businesses. We are happy
to support this group again
this year. They have shown
positive improvement,
excellent repayment
responsibility and
commitment. They used
past loans from us wisely
and have made their lives
much better than before because their small businesses run well.
NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 2014
2014
A Story from the field
“ Keren!!Keren!!Keren!! I often hear women yell these words when
visiting local villages. In the Java language “keren” is a stove that is made from
clay. Usually they sell this product from one village to another village using
bicycles. Amazingly these women are able to bring so many stoves on a single
bike. Often they walk barefoot and push the bike full of stoves.
Today most people here do
not cook using clay stoves anymore
because we cook with gas stoves.
However, in villages we still find lots
of families that cook using
traditional stoves. Many of them are
afraid to cook with gas stoves
because they have heard and watched
news about gas stove explosions.
Explosions happen when people do not
know how to use gas stoves correctly
or because the stoves are not very
good quality.
Cooking with clay stoves has
positive and negative sides. When
you cook in a clay stove because you
use wood there’s lots of black smoke,
which causes pollution and makes
your kitchen walls and roof black.
But lots of people here say that when
you cook with a clay stove your
cooking is more delicious because it
has special flavor and smells.
NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 2014
2014
Last week I visited our women’s group in Pundong village. This village is
located about one hour from the city and I met Mrs. Tumirah and her family. She
and her sister make traditional cooking tools from clay and they also make
traditional stoves and grinders.
They make around 50 stoves a
week. After shaping them they
dry them under the hot sun.
Then they burn wood in them for
many hours. When it’s ready,
they still need to bring this
product to the market or to
villages to sell them. The price
depends on the size: small,
medium or large, which cost from
$0.5 up to $1.5.
They always smile even though they have so little. I learn a lot everyday from the
women we serve!!”
“The best and the most beautiful
things is this world, cannot be seen or be
touched, they only can be felt with the
heart. “
Helen Keller
NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 2014
2014
PPMK Gathering Event
We began the month
with a gathering event. It’s a
simple event but it has huge
meaning for us and our
female clients. In this event
the women we serve from all
different villages and who have
different small businesses all
meet in one room to get to know
each other. They use their best
dress to attend our
meeting. This event is our way to maintain our relationships with the women and
give information about our organization’s upcoming projects, new rules and other
important announcements. This year we announced our in-kind project, which is
the Toilet Project.
Mary Pohl one of PPMK’s board members who
attended this event gave a speech about water
sanitation and talked about the in-kind project we
have been planning. Tracy Webster gave a speech
about how PPMK started and our founder Jack
Wilson. Two clients also spoke about the PPMK
program and gave thanks to us for our work in
helping them out of poverty. Many also had requests
and questions.
NEWSLETTER, AUGUST 2014
2014
Mrs. Arif, confidently requested PPMK
continue to support them and make a special
program for education and she said that the
education fee is truly a huge responsibility.
Mrs. Suprihatin requested PPMK continue to
support her group. Even though it has been 5 years,
they still need support.
This event ran well. Thank you to all who made this
event become so meaningful:, Opt USA, Mary Pohl,
Tracy, PPMK staff, and volunteers. We hope to see
you again in the same event next year.
CONTACT US :
Email
: ppmkjogja@gmail.com
Website
: www.ppmk.net
Address : Jalan Imogiri Barat-Manding, Dusun Pule, Jetis,
Bantul , Yogyakarta, Indonesia