Official Blog of FARMS International

This is one of a series of posts written by Jaime Garcia, a young missionary who we have partnered with for some work in Thailand. Within the congested city center of Chiang Rai, Thailand, resided a young boy named Aja. Throughout his meaningless childhood, he worked as a service station boy. Many like him, were well acquainted with the oppression and dangers of being a pump boy. Corporate gas stations usurped hundreds of young, uneducated boys to become pump helpers. Aja’s bare necessities were barely met by the measly wage. A decade later, he found himself still slaving at the station. His desolate future began to etch painfully into his soul. The vanity of the whole affair created an acute sensation of meaninglessness. He despaired, and longed for something, anything at all, other than endlessly rushing petrol into drivers’ vehicles. His heart was sick, yet his mind was brimming with dreams. Aja, his daughter, wife and mother outside their home they hope to replace Around thi...

This is one of a series of posts written by Jaime Garcia, a young missionary who we have partnered with for some work in Thailand. Jereun, his wife Surimath Yangyue, and their sons Jereun was a small-statured man, with a big smile, and all blackened teeth (a custom of the Hmong). Prior to receiving a FARMS revolving loan, he lived in a small grass hut. He did not possess any transportation, and was at the mercy of whatever storm engulfed him. In this dire time, he regretfully took out a loan from a secular institution. He was quickly overwhelmed by the exorbitant interest rate; roughly 130% of the original amount he owed. During the backbreaking season that ensued, he was placed into the vice grip of depression. He struggled to survive and feed his wife and children, while at the same time paying back the loan and the interest. Not only was the financial yoke bearing down upon his shoulders, but also the cruel fact of his land being signed over to the loan company for co...

This is one of a series of posts written by Jaime Garcia, a young missionary who we have partnered with for some work in Thailand. Akha ladies in traditional dress On the rolling hills of Chiang Rai Province, Thailand, a quaint village was nestled deep in the throbbing heart of the mountains. For centuries, this remote settlement had been called Mae Suai by the locals, meaning ‘the beautiful matriarch.’ During the 1960’s and 70’s, turmoil in the Laos and Myanmar forced tens of thousands of minority peoples to flee their villages. They slogged through precarious tangles of overgrown jungle, to cross the bloodstained, Thai guarded border. With great anxiety, throngs of newcomers arrived in ‘the land of freedom.’ Thailand became, for many, a place of asylum and opportunity, and for the Akha people, a rugged group of hunters and once-famed warriors, it became a place to proliferate their heritage unfettered from the oppression of their homelands. The Akha people were known for bei...

In this post we will highlight two participants of the a FARMS program in Thailand. Sing and Chantida Sing and Chantida have two boys and one girl. This is the first time that they have used the FARMS loan program and they have agreed to pay the money back in a years’ time. Their loan was for 60,000 Baht or about $1,715. With their loan they are funding their coffee production, linchee fruit trees, and their yearly rice planting. They needed the loan to plant more trees, to buy adequate fertilizers and other items needed to increase their harvest. The main reason for the expansion of their farm is to provide for their children’s college education. All three of their children are near college age. Normally, higher education is only a dream for tribal families. However, we see this dream come true for project holder’s children over, and over again. Your help makes this possible. Su Yuan and Nan Ti Gan Su Yuan and Nan Ti Gan have two young girls, 9 and 12 years old....

Suntalee and Kitti Safon Suntalee (holding her four year old boy who was born deaf) has been a Christian for some time. Her husband came to know the Lord about seven years ago. They applied for their first loan with FARMS to improve their coffee crop. Their loan was for $430. It is their hope, that they will earn enough from their project to send their little son to a school that teaches sign language. The mother is required to attend and the father is encouraged to attend also. The school is in a large city three hours away. Pray for this young family and for their little boy. Pray that God will bless the work of their hands and give them the desires of their hearts. Ying and Jiawseng Farm Ying and his wife Jiawseng have had several loans from FARMS. Their present loan is for $1,715. They are using the loan to improve their coffee yield with fertilizer application and irrigation. They also will use part of their loan for their yearly rice crop. This family has been extremely...

Micro-credit was hailed as a cure-all for poverty. Nevertheless, several recent studies have documented the true picture. Little evidence was found for the illusory claims of reducing poverty. In fact, studies have shown that instead of the poor being released from poverty, secular micro-credit programs have encumbered the poor with layers of debt! This horrendous outcome is not surprising to me. Why? Because the whole scheme was built on the backs of the poor. The poor pay for this help, by supporting those running the programs as well as funding the cost of their credit, enabling the financiers to become richer and richer. This unbiblical approach to poverty, funded by interest rates of 35% and above, is a travesty. One study reported that the poor paid over 21 billion dollars in micro-credit interest in 2012! But there is good news! FARMS International has a biblical approach to poverty. Local volunteers run our programs, so the cost is very low. Also, we do not charge interes...