Microfinance with Education

What are the benefits?

Training

The Chalmers Center’s Training Programs are designed to equip holistic practitioners who desire to see the local church fulfill its call to be God’s healing, reconciling presence in the world. This transformational vision shapes all of our training programs. It is not merely a lack of knowledge that is at the root of poverty. Poverty is essentially about broken relationships – with God, self, others, and with the creation. Chalmers training; therefore, is about preparing Trainers who see themselves as agents of reconciliation. Our curriculum integrates gospel-centered themes that communicates Jesus’ role in healing and sustaining our communities.

The Chalmers Center certifies Trainers in our MWE Programs through online learning courses and self-paced field practicums. Trainers are authorized to use MWE Program materials at the community level (e.g. promoting saving and credit associations or training low –income people in business skills). Lead Trainers receive additional training from Chalmers to help them train other Trainers within their organization. Master Trainers are authorized to train Lead Trainers across networks and countries.

Mentoring

Experience has shown the Chalmers Center that the most effective training rarely comes from downloading training materials from the Internet and teaching yourself apart from a learning community. Instead, training that values relationship building and offers learning from a wide community of practitioners is more likely to equip people to be effective trainers. As an organization deeply committed to relationships and quality training, we provide mentoring as part of the licensing process for our MWE Programs.

Curriculum Access

Trainers have full use of the program curriculum in their country of service. In addition to providing the curriculum in English, the Chalmers Center will also provide access to any of our current language translations that are spoken within the licensees' country of service. Currently, the Chalmers Center has portions of its curriculum in West African French, Spanish, Kiswahili, Kinyarwanda, Thai, Marathi, Haitian Creole, Tagalog, and Telugu.

Trainers have exclusive online access to the following resources:

• Electronic copies of the curriculum for training people in one or both of the MWE Programs, including new modules and revisions
• Occasional papers on MWE use in the Majority World
• Articles and additional training materials related to adult education and participatory learning

Lead Trainers have access to the Licensed Trainer resources plus the following:

• Electronic copies of the Facilitator's Guides for training Trainers in one or both of the MWE Programs, including new modules and revisions
• Resources to help manage an MWE Program at the organizational level

Master Trainers have access to the Licensed Lead Trainer resources plus the following:

• Electronic copies of the Facilitator's Guides for training Lead Trainers in one or both of the MWE Programs, including new modules and revisions

Networking

Trainers are part of a global network of practitioners, having access to the experiences and best practices of a select group of people passionate about training others in holistic ministry.