About ECLOF

HISTORY
VISION
MISSION
GOD'S STRATEGY FOR LIFE
GENDER
POLICIES AND GUIDELINES

HISTORY

Beginnings

The Ecumenical Church Loan Fund (ECLOF) is a not-for-profit ecumenical organisation. It was incorporated in 1946 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Initially, ECLOF granted loans to rebuild churches in central and western Europe following the 1939/45 war.

Development

After European economies improved, ECLOF evolved in response to events within the global ecumenical movement and the need for assistance by Churches and Congregations outside of Europe.

New National ECLOF Committees (NECs) were set up. Like their European counterparts, these NECs initially managed ECLOF funds for the construction of church buildings, schools, clinics and community centres.

In the late 1960s, the global ecumenical movement called for greater social and economic justice. The global debt crisis of the 1970s and 1980s further challenged ECLOF to design the means to promote justice and self-reliance for the poor and marginalised.

As a result, ECLOF expanded its mandate and began to promote the use of loans for small-scale, grassroots, income-generating projects by churches, church-related groups and secular community organisations in the so-called ‘Third World', which is now usually referred to as "countries of the South", or simply, "the South".

Today

ECLOF continues to finance the construction of Churches, Schools and other Community Projects. However, the majority of National ECLOF Committees today are in the South, and their lending activities are concentrated on grassroots development projects. More details of the history and nature of ECLOF are in “Fifty Years of Fair Credit”.

VISION

ECLOF believes that Poverty, Inequality and Injustice are the primary enemies of Social Stability and Peace.

Therefore, the vision of ECLOF is to support the building of sustainable communities which:

- Respect the rights and dignity of each person, regardless of gender, race, creed, political beliefs or socio-economic status;

- Hear and heed the voice of the poor and excluded, and foster broad-based participation in decision making;

- Protect and sustain the integrity of God's creation;

- Meet people's basic needs and promote sustainable livelihoods for all.

MISSION

ECLOF's Mission is to provide Fair Credit for Human Development and Sustainable Communities, in witness to the Christian Faith.

To fulfil its Mission, ECLOF mobilises resources to:

- Make fair credit widely available for poor and excluded groups, who are committed to building sustainable livelihoods and communities, without discrimination to religion or race;

- Make loans to Christian-related organisations who do not otherwise have access to credit but who are committed to providing services or opportunities for poor and excluded groups;

- Facilitate the sharing of resources that strengthen understanding, solidarity and self-reliance in ways that do not increase external indebtedness.

ECLOF's main priority is poor and excluded groups who do not have access to fair sources of finance and who:

- Are motivated to work to change and improve their situation;

- Are able to use loans to generate income or improve the living conditions of the group and/or community.

GOD'S STRATEGY FOR LIFE

In 2000, the United Nations declared eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to guarantee basic needs for everybody. These secular goals reflect biblical ones, though God's 'basic needs strategy' is more radical, as Rev. Prof. Christoph Stückelberger, Director of the Institute for Theology and Ethics of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches and Chairperson of ECLOF International, explains.

The story that Jesus told of the Last Judgement is a tough one. It is about a vision of how things will be at the end of time when good and evil people will be separated. The sheep - those who have lived a good life - will be placed on the right with the promise of being with God. The goats - those who have neglected God's way - will find themselves on the left, and bound for eternal punishment. However, this story is not primarily about separation in some afterlife but about ethical behaviour and doing good here and now.

Here is part of what Jesus said:
Then the King will say to those on his right hand, "You have my Father's blessing; come, enter and possess the kingdom that has been ready for you since the world was made. For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger you took me into your home, when naked you clothed me; when I was ill you came to my help, when in prison you visited me." (Matthew 25: 34-36).

Elsewhere, in Luke's gospel, Jesus is even more radical and talks about not only visiting prisoners but also releasing them (Luke 4:18b).

Six actions of love
From these two passages, we can see that God's basic needs strategy includes six concrete actions of love:

• hunger → provide food
• thirst → provide water
• stranger (exclusion) → community (inclusion)
• nakedness → give clothing (protection, dignity)
• sickness → provide health care
• prison → visit and release the prisoner

This simple but profound list of basic human needs shows the things that we need to live in dignity. We do not require luxury or sophisticated life styles but food, clothes, a home, protection, security and community. God wants us to care first of all for the basics!

UN basic needs strategy
The UN General Assembly will evaluate the progress being made to achieve the Millennium Development Goals in September 2005, five years after their introduction. The MDGs include eight fundamental goals:

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development.

These goals include four of the six biblical goals leading to actions of love: food, water, clothes (housing, protection), health. However, two important biblical goals do not appear: the integration of strangers in the community, i.e., for the world to become an inclusive community; and caring for and liberating prisoners. The United Nations avoids mentioning sensitive issues such as migration, foreigners, political prisoners and the violation of human rights. However, according to God, basic needs include not only material goods but also community, liberation and spiritual goods. The UN excludes sensitive and politically controversial issues in order to unite humanity behind the eight other goals, which is understandable. However, God in Jesus openly calls for the liberation and inclusion of all people and, indeed, for the whole of creation.

It should be noted, however, that the UN goals also challenge the biblical list. For example, the MDGs contain the promotion of gender equality but Jesus does not explicitly mention this in his strategy. Implicitly, however, it is there and today it must be made explicit. God's call for love for all by all, as well as the call for justice, includes gender justice and gender equality.

God's offer
God's basic needs strategy should also be the foundation of ECLOF's work and the organization's point of reference and orientation for its own vision and strategy. God promises us that not only we will see God's Kingdom if we follow God's strategy but that God is accompanying us on the way with his spirit. That is a great promise and encouragement!

GENDER

It is a requirement that there must be equal gender participation at the global level and on NEC boards.

POLICIES AND GUIDELINES

The work at International and National level is governed by Global Policy and Guidelines and Minimum Standards of Performance. All stakeholders were involved in the development of these documents and have agreed to them.