What is the S.A.L.T. Program?

I was recently blessed to be able to go on a trip to Haiti as I detailed in this blogpost - http://microfinancelending.blogspot.com/2013/09/trip-to-haiti-2013.html

In this blogpost, I will give some more information specifically about the SALT Program and how it works.

SALT stands for Shared Accountability Lending & Teaching. This is a program that gives out small loans to help poor people make a living on their own.

What is the S.A.L.T. Program?

In the words of Christian Aid Ministries:

Our goal is to provide sustainable Christ-centered solutions, and to break the cycle of physical and spiritual poverty that grips communities around the world today. We believe this is best accomplished by giving opportunity for men and women to put their God-given abilities to work. These are not individuals looking for a free handout, but simply people in need of both capital and training. 

The primary purpose of SALT microfinance is to help men and women find eternal life through Jesus Christ. Secondly, we want to walk with them as they make the transition from poverty to providing for themselves. 

One of the greatest hurdles that confronts aid organizations today is the challenge of providing sustainable solutions. Poverty continues to grow, and many countries have become addicted to continual foreign aid. Our vision is to provide a path out of the seemingly endless cycle of poverty that plagues many families around the world. Our desire is to help the struggling by giving them opportunity to provide for themselves. 

To accomplish this, we offer business and spiritual teaching and provide loans to develop small enterprises. These businesses are intended to supply a steady income, enabling families to purchase good food, decent housing, and education for their families. As these businesses expand, the effects spread beyond the family into the community and local economy.
In-Text Citation (Christian Aid Ministries, 2013) *1

The Problem: Relief


To illustrate the problem with relief, I will use the story of mosquitoes. A few years ago a news article written by Wall Street Journal told about a village in Africa that had a big problem with malaria. A church group had came to this village and saw the problem and wrote back home about the problem and the need for mosquito nets. The church back in the states gathered together enough money to buy 10,000 nets to send to this village in Africa. When the report was brought back to the states when this church group came back everything was cheery and rosy. The report detailed how the problem had been solved in this village. Then a year later a news reporter from WSJ decided to visit this village and check up on the progress of these mosquito nets. What he found was appalling. The problem with malaria was worse than ever and the unemployment in this village was much worse than it was before the church group had come down to "solve the problem." What this news reporter shared was the fact that the 10,000 mosquito nets brought down from America had put out of business a local mosquito factory. This in turn created higher unemployment in the village. On top of that, when the next rainy season came around there was no local mosquito net company to purchase mosquito nets from.

The Solution: Development

To illustrate the solution of development I will use the story of rickshaws. There was a small group of villagers in Asia who worked everyday carrying goods on top of their heads for a local company and barely made enough money to live on. One day, one of these workers had an idea that he shared with the other villagers. His idea was for each worker in their group to set aside a dollar each week and combine it into a group pool of money. A few months later the group had enough money set aside to loan money to one of the workers to be able to purchase a rickshaw. This continued until each worker had purchased their own rickshaw. Once this was accomplished they had enough money to send their children to school and to give to others' needs. Then this worker had another idea. Since they were making more money than they had before they could each contribute a greater amount to the savings account and in turn purchase trucks to haul their goods. This was a successful venture that solved the problem of poverty by just setting aside a little money up front to solve the problem for future generations.

Job 29:16 says, "I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out." In this verse Job shows the need for discernment. We can apply this verse to the problem of poverty to discern the difference between chronic poverty and critical poverty. The way we do this is by focusing first on the cause rather than just the effect of poverty. A few critical basic points to microfinance lending in countries like Haiti are:

• It is important to discern to right tool to use before trying to help.
• It is probable that the people of Haiti don't really need everything exactly like we have.
• It is necessary to identify the cause of poverty first and then decide what the best tool to use is.
• Which tool is the most important? The most important tool is absolutely the one that fits and fixes the problem.
• Different tools are necessary at different times.
• Take the time necessary to discern which tool is the correct tool to use.

The tools that I refer to above are the tools of relief and development. The tool of relief is necessary when the problem is a direct or indirect result of a calamity (e.g. 2010 Earthquake). The tool of development is necessary when the problem has developed over time and possibly many generations.

The problem with providing the tool of relief when the tool of development should be used is that it tells the poor that they are incapable of solving the problem on their own. This also creates a shift of focus from their resources, gifts, and capabilities to our resources.

In recap, I have shared what the SALT program is along with the problem with relief and the solution to poverty by using development. This trip to Haiti was an incredible time to learn through my serving about the problem and solution to poverty. I hope to continue learning how that God created each individual capable of solving most of their own problems when they have the correct tools to do so.

Resources & References:

1. https://www.christianaidministries.org/programs/22