OI China PRAYER LETTER March 2013
“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labour in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain. ” ~ Psalm 127:1 (NIV)
Thank God for His keeping and blessings that OI Anhui has been in service to the poor and disadvantaged in China for 10 years on 21 Feb. 2013. The staff presented their heartfelt thanksgiving to the Lord by holding an internal service in Hefei. The picture was taken when they sang “Thank You Lord for Guiding us All the Way” in their traditional Chinese costume.
Client Yongqing Zhang runs an electronic parts plant in Suyu. He employs 47 full time employees and up to 400 temporary workers, depends on the season. 45% of his full-time workers are deaf or disabled. Most of his workers come to collect jobs and work at home. Mr Zhang is pleased that his business can support the local poor and marginalised.
Praises & Thanksgivings: •
Praise the Lord that this is the tenth anniversary of the establishment of Opportunity International (Anhui) Guarantee Company in Hefei. Anhui office held a small internal costume party on its birthday. Staff all dressed up in different characters of Chinese movies. OI China plans to hold an international event in April to celebrate the anniversary with the Board and donors and supporters of OI.
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Thank God for the wonderful Award granted by Huai’an Government for the services to farmers of the OIC Huai’an team. The government issued RMB 100,000 (approx. USD 16,000) to encourage OI China’s outstanding work in this first year of service.
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Thank God for the support of China Construction Bank (CCB) to our Anhui guarantee operation. While the bank stopped issuing loans to public before the Chinese New Year they gave special permission to release 14 loans of our clients. The loans allowed them to enjoy a peaceful Chinese New Year.
Prayer Requests: •
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Please pray for the health of workers in Siyang Branch. Due to the extreme cold and damp weather the whole office caught the cold. Pray for their speed recovery. Pray for the safety and wellbeing of Anhui. 309,000 residents in five cities in Anhui had been affected by the snow, according to statistics from local authorities. Ninety houses were toppled and 114 others were damaged as a result of the snow, causing direct economic losses of 84 million yuan ($13.38 mil).
OIC Consolidated Statistics Loans Issued in USD Job Impact (Created / Sustained) Training & Coaching (person / hr) Micro-insurance (policies)
2009
2010
2011
2012
3,729,753 17,817 2,146 / 6,610 n/a
6,369,255 20,982 2,000 / 5,998 n/a
8,165,500 37,013 2,412 / 7,951 n/a
8,848,143 34,887 2,904 / 10,516 442
2013 YTD (31 Jan.) 389,362 710 170 / 252 34
PrayerLetter 1303 www.opportunity.org.hk