Microfinance Focus, October 8, 2011: The Rotary Club of Alexandria Sporting, Egypt use microcredit loans, literacy classes, and a sewing workshop to meet the needs of low-income community members, helping women in particular to start businesses and learn useful work skills.

The Rotary Club of Alexandria Sporting realized that they faced a huge obstacle in providing vocational service. They realized that this problem could be solved through microlending.

"We gave loans to deprived women supporting large families," says past club president Heba Kabel. Club members made loans of about US$85 to 20 entrepreneurs to launch small food or cleaning businesses. The loans were paid back in instalments over the course of a year, and the money was then loaned out again -- turning the club's initial investment of about $1,700 into a sustainable microcredit program.

The club also financed literacy classes, helping 75 women learn to read and write, and a sewing lab, which drew 45 women to sewing lessons every month. Kabel notes that the club put a priority on efforts that would help community members increase their chances of finding a job.

Kabel, a Barclays Bank employee, also tapped into her own vocational skills by offering free lessons in financial literacy to several women whom club members had met through the vocational service initiatives. The financial advice helped the women make informed decisions about their new incomes, teaching them to allocate some for savings and giving them a better chance of sustaining their small businesses.

The Rotary Club dedicates the month of October to focus on the Avenue of Vocational Service. Through this program, Rotarians contribute their professional expertise and skills to address societal problems and needs as well as to support career planning and other vocational activities.