Children of Rural Africa needs $200,000 to fund the establishment of a micro-financing institution in Ipong-Obudu, a rural and agrarian community of several villages in Southern Nigeria. The inhabitants of this region, though hardworking farmers, lack incentives to upgrade their agricultural practices and thus afford basic education for their children. Through this project, we hope to establish rural banking and loan repayment systems to facilitate the disbursement of low-interest soft loans to these poor rural farmers, especially women. Already, CORAfrica is inviting Dr. George Crosby, a renowned horticulturist and professor of Plant Science at SUNY Cobleskill, to visit and share his knowledge with us in July 2007. He has experience in a wide range of crops and a specialization in irrigation systems.  

CORAfrica hopes to manage this micro-financing facility in conjunction with local faith-based institutions. We will offer programs that involve training rural farmers (men and women) locally in credit building with a focus on self-reliance, strategic marketing outfits, and massive production and storage of home food items. This facility will also advance farmers with materials such as fertilizers, agro-chemicals, seeds, farm equipment and other needs.  

For poor rural dwellers, it is nearly impossible to climb above the poverty level without outside help. Yet, they don’t need a handout, they need a way to make things better themselves. In Obudu, which has a population of 1,315,862 (2005 records), cropping agriculture is the single most important source of income for communities. Obudu has a high potential to increase social development based on its natural resources, such as mineral wealth, forests, and ranches that offer dairy and meat processing. Local resources remain untapped due to the poor network of local institutions in the region, making subsistence agriculture the mainstay of the people (Abue & Baldeh, 2000).  

With the belief that poor people are credit-worthy, we aim to provide financial services to those who wish to start or maintain a small business or farm - those who would normally not have access to banking facilities. With the help of our micro-financing services, farmers will have access to the resources needed to maintain a profitable lifestyle and send their children to receive qualitative education. 

CORAfrica would work with the following estimated overall budget for establishing a micro-financing institution in Ipong-Obudu in Cross River State, Nigeria: 
1.      Initial Capital/Revolving fund                           140,000
2.      Equipping an already existing apartment           10,000
3.      Hiring and training staff/salaries for one year    20,000
4.      Car/Motorcycles for transportation                   30,000                                     Total                                                                    $200,000