Honduran Times Weekly
Tess Gool

It is well reported that although Honduras has many of the luxuries associated with developed countries it still remains a third world country... Outside major cities like Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula, the extent of poverty is evident as most families scrape by on less than $3 a day. According to the United Nations, 61% of the population in Honduras lives in extreme poverty.

When faced with such statistics, one cannot help but wonder how people begin to address the issues facing the poor. One of the most successful methods has been through the use of micro credit. Originating in Bangladesh in the early 1980's and founded by Muhammad Yunus, the Grameen Bank set about addressing the lives of those living in poverty by giving out small loans to groups of around five people to help them set up their own business and gain control of their income.

The Grameen Bank has been immensely successful and today has a network that reaches over 3,000, 000 suffering from extreme poverty. In recognition of this work, the Grameen Bank became the first and only business corporation to have won a Nobel Peace Prize, "for their efforts to create economic and social development from below".

At present, there are around 21 leading micro credit organizations in Honduras...the Adelante Foundation [was] set up in 1999 by Tony Stone and Ed Cohen. Tony...was approached by Ed after hurricane Mitch in 1998 about tackling the poverty in Honduras. They researched micro credit and felt this would be the best way of giving the poor a way out.   

Between meeting Tony and reading up on the facts, it is hard not to be impressed with the results. Adelante...helps the extreme poor in rural areas in Honduras and has grown to over 5, 000 clients a year. Tony and his Adelante Foundation really are making a difference to the poor in Honduras.

I met up with Tony in the 'Expatriados' bar in La Ceiba, a casual watering hole where it's easy to stop all types of internationals from all walks of life. "Old boys club" does come to mind, watching Tony having just arrived from the U.S. earlier that day, suitcase present, catching up with what seemed like old friends and fellow board members from Adelante.

Stone, in person, is very relaxed, easy-going, charming and slightly aware that the attention is on him and his achievements. He is constantly referring to others who have made Adelante what it is today. His wife, Kim Stone, is the first mentioned: her amazing energy, organizing fundraising and helping with volunteering. When Adelante started, she was on the front line, in people's living rooms, one child around her ankles, pregnant with another, making pitches for further fundraising.

Others such as Jose (Pepe) Herrero, who works for USAID, who happens to be in the bar at the same time, has been with Adelante from the beginning helped with the basic resources when there was nothing, like office space. And yet another, Guillermo Anderson, the well-known Honduran musician, also at the bar, is on the board of Adelante and has helped raise the foundations visibility.

It is clear that the Adelante Foundation's journey has been no easy ride and when asked if he would do it again Tony laughs with a clear "No way! However once you start with something like this the issue is too big to give up on". There is a lot of determination involved but when it comes down to it, as with any organization, the key is "to base your decisions on your mission, be clear on your method. I'll tell you a secret and if you print this, I guarantee anyone involved in micro credit will think you are a genius: the biggest problems in micro credit are and always will be human resources and data systems," Stone confesses.

In response to what has been the most difficult and the easiest aspect of his work, after a thoughtful pause Tony replies, "both...the listening...it's difficult to understand where people are coming from, make sure you do the right thing...is someone just needing to get something off their chest or is action needed? Working out how to encourage, the basic keys needed for management and leadership."

Tony is undoubtedly inspired by Muhammad Yunus, of whom he speaks with complete admiration, "one of the most amazing people I have met and very humble with it," and has helped Tony with advice on how to implement micro credit in Honduras. There are major differences between Bangladesh and Honduras that have had to be taken into account to make Adelante effective in Honduras. For example, although Bangladesh and Honduras are similar in land mass, Bangladesh has a much larger population and therefore Honduras ' rural community is much more rural than Bangladesh. This has meant that, in Honduras, it takes much longer to reach rural areas and education, culture change and adaptation take time.

Another key element to micro credit in Honduras (as with the majority of cases across the globe) is the independence from the state. "When these schemes are run by the government it is seen as a given, that the government should be doing this anyway, so people do not pay back the loans." With independent micro credit organizations the women pay back the loans because, "they are desperate for a change, given the chance they are not going to waste it, the key is to remember that for it to work, you have to make it work".

Adelante targets women in remote areas because they are usually the members in their society who, given the opportunity to change, will have the most impact. "Women are generally more likely to stay with children, therefore, when given the opportunity to improve their standard of living, it has a bigger impact, not just on them but future generations, their children as well."

Empowering women is all part of Adelante's method. When taking out their first loan, the women are put into groups of 5-6, called a 'solidarity group.' Then a combination of solidarity groups, 'Assembly' of about 25-50, come together every couple of weeks. Assemblies are usually where the biggest changes take place, where the women can elect their own chief, vice secretary, treasury and run everything independently without Adelante's help. "The ultimate goal is peer to peer education, which is proven to be very effective in adult education," as Tony explains. This links with the Grameen original philosophy of giving people the opportunity to own their future. The women all have module classes on a variety of topics, from health and self-esteem classes and how Adelante works.

Tony and the others who surround him and work for Adelante are people who are not only dedicated to the cause, but also really enjoy its process. As Mike Wiesner, Adelante's International Director of Development mentioned, "I love listening to the success of our borrowers.   Each and every story is inspirational and you cannot help but see the pride in these women as they show you their businesses and talk to you about how a small loan from Adelante gave them the opportunity to change their lives.   And the children, you can physically see the positive changes in their lives as they too are affected by this type of opportunity."

Tony mentioned how he is motivated by the opportunity to have a positive impact on people's lives. When asked what motivates him, he replies honestly and thoughtfully, "Guilt...giving back, making my mark. Growing up in Honduras (in an upper class environment), I never appreciated the true extent of the poor, so when given the opportunity to do something about it I couldn't miss it." He lives by a simple philosophy that not many find easy, "Be good, so good things happen to you".

With regards to the future, the response is the same as any business, "to expand, get more clients; we currently have around 5,000 clients, by the end of next year we want to expand to 8-9,000. In five years, to have around 25, 000 clients. We hope to progress, to be bigger and larger, helping more people enabling the company to run itself." Adelante is indeed in good hands.