The Sudan Challenge: What's Ghana got to do got to do with it??

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Back to Ghana -- in the first phase of this year's activities in the Sudan Challenge. Wait a minute! Ghana? Sudan? Sure, they're both in Africa, but what does going to Ghana have to do with Bhar el Ghazal in Southern Sudan? The link is the launch of GBA's HelpLink -- a unique way to empower local organizations to create and grow successful microfinance programs.

During 2008, Global Business Assist volunteers configured loan administration software that has been made available by the Grameen Foundation. My trip to Ghana is to start the implementation of this project in Ghana -- where a successful micro-finance operation is already running. By automating the administration of the loans, the Ghana program will be able to expand the program to include the hundreds who are waiting to get in.

Later, we hope to take these Ghanian loan administrators to Southern Sudan, to help set up the same system there. That's the connection!

All of this is possible because of the hard work of volunteers like Stephen K., who has worked on the configuration for months -- and the runners who raised money while participating in the 2008 Bank of America Chicago Marathon.