Diary from the field - cycling from Vietnam to Cambodia

Head of Lendwithcare, Tracey Horner, has embarked on a challenge of a lifetime. For the past seven days Tracey, along with ten other CARE supporters, has cycled from Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam to Battambang in Cambodia (a gruelling 460km) to raise vital funds for CARE's poverty-fighting programmes. 

Before peddling off into the Mekong Tracey met with one of Lendwithcare's newest microfinance partners, MACDI, who are based in northern Vietnam. 

What follows is her diary from the first six days.

Green Microfinance - supporting renewable energy in Vietnam

Biogas facility in Vietnam © MACDI 2014

In recent years a growing number of ‘green microfinance’ initiatives have encouraged eco-friendly microenterprises and supported the use of renewable energy. One such programme is implemented by Lendwithcare’s partner in Vietnam, the Microfinance and Community Development Institute (MACDI). MACDI provides loans to rural households so they can install household plants that use animal waste to generate biogas, a clean fuel that can be used for cooking, lighting and heating.

More from Lendwithcare in the Philippines | The impact of Typhoon Haiyan

Day 12 and Tracey retells the stories of the Lendwithcare entrepreneurs she has met whilst in the Philippines ...

I had to accept that we were not going to get to Leyte or any of the other worst affected islands due to the bad weather. There has been an area of low pressure over the Philippines for the last couple of weeks which has been causing constant rain and high winds and severe flooding in some areas. 

CARE/Peter Caton

Best wishes for 2014 and a massive “Thank you” for your support to lendwithcare

2013 was a busy and at times a challenging year for lendwithcare. It was also a hugely successful one thanks to your continuing support. 

We did it! £3m of lendwithcare loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries!

The past year has seen phenomenal growth at lendwithcare.org. At that stage we were celebrating £1m of loans made. In March this year we commemorated the doubling of that monumental amount! And I am thrilled to tell you that last week, on 30^th August 2013, we smashed through that and our 3 millionth pound was lent by Sharon from Suffolk to Mrs Essowouna Simbama from Togo! Thus far, lendwithcare lenders have:

•        Made over 80,000 loans
•         To fully fund over 5,000 entrepreneurs
•         From seven different developing countries