Research for Week of Sept 14

Friends - Welcome to old and new people on the FV Research Team. You all play an important part in what we are doing. We've gone VERY quiet over the past year, mostly due to me moving to BOston to go to Harvard and not having a good enough work/life balance to prioritize and delegate. This is improving. We are now led by a team of GREAT Volunteers in PA and a team of people like you all.

I can't thank you enough for any time & energy you are able to put into this.

If you are on this list and are no longer able to help, just let me know. Or you can unsubscribe if you are so upset w/ my lack of communication. :) As always, thanks for your grace and contributions.

For all of the team, refresh how this works, including how to submit research, etc. Instructions can be found from our initial Post to this blog. You can view these instructions here.

This week - we need research claimed in the following areas:
1) Researching Microfinance organizations working in Zimbabwe. We had an assessment done on microfinance groups working in Zambia, which was VERY helpful and will continue to be used there. But we are looking for Zim now. Here are two links that Annie found for her Zambia research that she noted were helpful. According to the Microfinance Gateway, (http://www.microfinancegateway.org/resource_centers/savings/studytour/zambia) and http://www.gdrc.org/icm/country/africa-zambia.html. Note from Annie: It was an undated site, so I'm not sure how current the contact info is. When available, I gave additional contact info and noted the date if there was one.

In particular, I'm looking for contact details, summary of activities, and what kind of microfinance work they do (different loan options, model of structuring the loans, etc). A spreadsheet is most helpful.

2) Someone to research psycho-social support organizations workign with churches for grief counseling and support for kids, particularly those working in Zimbabwe AND/OR Zambia. Special notes shoudl be given to groups working in Ndola, Zambia or Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where our operations are focused in each country. A lot of technical terms, I know. But my wife Katie and I are working with a team of pastors to assess their current abilities & resources available to them to help counsel kids w/ Biblical principles. The technical language is what may be most helpful for searching.

If anyone wants to claim either of these, simply comment and let the group know which ones you'll take. Feel free to double up, then just communicate with each other via email or on the blog. If it's more helpful, we can always create a Facebook Group or Google Docs.

THANKS! Know that your voices will be VERY helpful as we work to better equip churches with resources they need to meet the physical & spiritual needs of children orphaned by AIDS in their communities.

All the best,
Ryan