No Savings for a Rainy Day

Nearly half of Americans do not have savings accounts, according to a a story that aired on NPR's Morning Edition today. Click here to learn more and discover why this lack of a safety net is so detrimental.

As ASAP expands our work to bring Internal Savings and Lending (IS&L) home and works to alleviate poverty here in the US, the first step is to understand the problem. The face of US poverty has its own unique intricacies. Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo helped us understand global poverty with such mastery in their book Poor Economics.  It is primarily important that one gains a true understanding of the problem because a solution based on false assumptions is doomed to failure.

Rourke  O’Brien, from the New America Foundation provides some excellent insight, in his recent article “‘We Don’t Do Banks’: Financial Lives of Families on Public Assistance." Another amazing resource is the newly released Assets and Opportunity scorecard.  Click here.

Through IS&L,  ASAP has witnessed the transformation of rural communities in Africa since 2001. As we embark on the next leg of our journey, we look forward to learning more, gaining and sharing new insights.

Presidential Politics in Zimbabwe

South African President Jacob Zuma raises a toast with Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe.

Robert Mugabe, who has been president of Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980, is up for re-election this year. Here's an interesting article that explains some of the regional politics.  It promises to be an exciting year ahead.