Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 21, Number 6, 1 Iune 2004 — First Micro-Loan recipient uses funds to visit ailing daughter [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

First Micro-Loan recipient uses funds to visit ailing daughter

By Sterling Kini Wong Norman Asing needed to see his daughter, who was in intensive care in a hospital

in Nevada, but he was unable to eome up with money for the trip on such short notice. Luckily, Asing qualified for an emergency OHA micro-loan with a quick approval time and low monthly payments and interest rates. Asing, a self-

employed gardener for 30 years, became the first micro-loan recipient on March 30, and was able to use the money to visit his daughter, who eventually recovered fully. "I am so thankful for OHA," he said. "Without this loan, there would be no way I could've seen my daughter, and that would've been a disaster." Since its launeh on March 15, the Consumer Revolving Micro-Loan Pilot Program (CMLP) has approved 33 loan applications for a total of $161,000, directly impacting almost 90 beneficiaries. Although the program already receives 3-5 applications a day, Micro-Loan supervisor Dana Hauani'o said, OHA's loan staff is encouraging more Native Hawaiians to apply to the program because the remainder of the $500,000 allocated to it must be disbursed by June 30. After that date, OHA's Board of Trustees will review the program and determine

whether or not to extend it. The program provides small loans to pay for financial emergencies such as a death in the familv. automobile breakdowns or

home repairs. Applicants are also eligible for CMLP loans to pay for career development opportunities, including course instruction, certification programs or required equipment purchase for classes in their current career

field. The micro-loans are limited to $7,500 per individual for a maximum term of five years at a fixed interest rate of five percent. In order to serve the needs of applicants in financial emergencies, the goal of the program is to disburse loan funds within a week. "We understand that the most of the applicants will need this money immediately," said OHA loan officer Gilbert Fernandes. "If the loan process takes more than a week or two, the emergency will most likely be over." In order to expedite the loan approval process, the CMLP staff uses Internet credit report that ean assess a loan applicant's credit history within minutes. CMLP applicants must provide proof of Hawaiian ancestry through a copy of their birth certificate or by OHA's Hawaiian Registry Program. For information on the Micro-Loan Program, eontact Gilbert Fernandes at 594-1829. ■

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Norman Asing (center right) receives the first Micro-Loan dispursement from OHA Eeonomie Development Director Chip Mclelland, Administrator Clyde Nōmu'o and loan staffers Gilbert Femandez and Dana Hauani'o. Photo: Sterling Kini Wong