First off, half of the population in Talayuela, where we plan on ending up, is Moroccan Muslims. You read that right, nearly 5,000 of the 10,000 people living in the town are from a Muslim background. These aren’t refugees but they are seeking better opportunities than Morocco has to offer. The couple we spent a week with work primarily with these Muslim background believers in various capacities. They have a little church plant and the man teaches Spanish to Muslim women in the local cultural school that focuses on helping immigrants resettle. The woman also teaches English to both Spanish and Moroccan children which is where we both have backgrounds in.
Now, for the part I’m most excited about. I’ve loved the idea of an entrepreneurship school for as long as I’ve known about Opportunities Now in Myanmar. That’s why I went there for 3 months in 2013 and again for 7 months in 2014. The first time I went I learned what they were doing and the second time I went I learned the nuts and bolts of how it operated.
What I wasn’t excited about was the loans that many small business development projects provide. Personally I hate debt and didn’t want to create debt for others. While it is certainly useful in business at times in my opinion I’d rather avoid it at all costs and help other people avoid it. Spain has a program for young people under 30 where they just give out money for people to start businesses. There are a couple strings attached. One is that you have to stay open for at least two years and another is that you have to keep the same number of employees the whole time you’re open. In the case where you’re not able to stay open for 2 years, you have to pay back the money. Otherwise, it’s free money. They have a Spanish name for it that I can’t remember but they basically call it ‘lost money’ as they know they won’t be getting it back. It’s a program to try and help the economy build back up and especially help young people get jobs.
No comments:
Post a Comment