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Winnipeg, Man.
MEDA launches new ethical investment fund


Mennonite Economic Development Associates launched a new ethical investment fund at its annual convention Nov. 4-7 in Norfolk, Va.

The Sarona Global Investment Fund lends money invested by North Americans to enterprises in the developing world. It is named after the Sarona dairy, the first business to receive a loan from MEDA.

Founded in 1954 by Mennonite refugees in Paraguay, the dairy took its name from the German word Saron (Sharon), a plain in Palestine noted for its beauty and fertility. For the refugees, their cattle stock was improved, milk yields increased, agricultural practices were enhanced and jobs were created. Today the dairy is privately owned and operated.

Rudolf Duerksen of MEDA Paraguay presents a cheque for $1,000 US for the newly-created Sarona Global Investment Fund to MEDA chair Preston Hofer.

The Sarona Fund received a its first investment from MEDA Paraguay for $1,470. The Fund builds on the MEDA Global Investment Fund, a program begun in the 1970s to lend money to low income people. Since then, about 25 individuals and organizations have contributed to the Fund, bringing the total of the Fund to $5.2 million. MEDA’s goal is to see the Fund grow to $14.7 million by 2003.

MEDA has received permission from securities commissions in the US to offer investment opportunities, in the form of term deposits and limited equity partnerships, to the general public. Arrangements with Canada securities commissions are pending, and are expected to be completed by January 2000.

In a review of the last fiscal year, convention-goers learned that MEDA had received a record of over $1.4 million in donations; 500 people received business training and 294 jobs were created through ASSETS, a program for low-income North Americans; MEDA signed contracts worth $7.5 million US to assist people in the developing world; and an office in Peru was opened. A Saturday evening auction raised $99,000 for MEDA.

MEDA lends out over $8.9 million a year to over 8,000 clients to start or grow businesses.

Wehmeyer (left) talks with Eastern Mennonite University student Jason Berg following her convention address

Peggy Wehmeyer, religion correspondent for ABC News, gave the opening address, speaking of her 18 years in journalism. Wehmeyer, the only national religion reporter in the US, said religion is absent from television news in the US because many journalists are uncomfortable with God, religious groups don’t know how the media work and journalists are taught to be skeptical. In order to encourage the media to improve their coverage of religion, people should contact media outlets and study the news to see what makes a good story. She said her first calling as a journalist is to be “fair, objective, accurate and honest”.

In the second address, John Dalla Costa, president for the Center for Ethical Orientation and author of The Ethical Imperative: Why Moral Leadership is Good Business, encouraged convention-goers to seek the ethical bottom line, not the fiscal one. He decried the “lean and mean” philosophy of layoffs and downsizing characteristic of business in the 1990s. In his speech, “A global ethic for a global economy”, he said, “The supposition is that mean is normal, and not something that we should question”. But seeking fairer outcomes and caring for people “is good for business”. Businesses should follow ethical principles, including respect for human dignity, “valuing human capital, hopes, dreams and creativity”. Creating conditions where people need to work 60-80 hours a week is a breakdown of human dignity. “It’s not just about not losing a hand at work. It’s also about not seeing your kids, or a marriage breakdown” due to workload.

He also spoke about the importance of striving to be honest, fair and just. “We need to recognize that obligations come with power . . . to find ways to address inequalities”. Pointing to the collapse of Canada’s east coast fishery, he called for a commitment to the environment, noting that that situation shows how “ecology and the economy have come together”.

The convention concluded with an address by Bishop Leslie Francisco, pastor of the fast-growing Calvary Community Church in Hampton, Va., who noted that a successful ministry needs to be like a business, striving to “have a spirit of excellence, to give God the very best.”

Next year’s convention will be held Nov. 2-5 in Vancouver.  – John Longhurst, MEDA

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Last modified December 10, 1999.

© 1999 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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