Five Talents International announced today it will be funding an innovative microcredit programme in southern Sudan, an area that is transitioning from the ravages of more than 20 years of war.

Almost three years after a peace agreement, hundreds of thousands are still internally displaced and others who have found a home are looking to rebuild their shattered lives.

Working with a consortium of partners including the Episcopal Church of Sudan, Five Talents will be assisting a village banking project in Wau Diocese, which was started in September 2005, and currently has 270 members. This is one of the first projects of this type in southern Sudan.

"We have a Christian imperative to reach those who are living in extreme conditions," said Craig Cole, executive director of Five Talents International. "Life must get better for those affected by generations of war. Creating jobs is one way to transform these communities."

The services provided through this project will include adult education (beginning with literacy training), local savings mobilisation, business development training, biblical values in the marketplace training, small business development investing and rural microcredit provision.

"This programme starts by teaching fundamentals and, over time, members build on those fundamentals and are able to support their families through businesses," said Suzanne Schultz, Five Talents International Director of Programme.

Five Talents' consortium includes World Concern, World Relief, Economic Projects Trust Fund of the Navigators, Stromme Foundation and Integra Foundation.

"Because of the turmoil, many organisations are not working on the foundations for long-term development," Cole said. "We are one of a few organisations attempting to rebuild the economy and communities' ability to be self sufficient."

Five Talents hopes this programme will be a model that can be expanded and replicated into other parts of the Wau Diocese and across Sudan, if funding is found.

"It will take time and there will be business risk involved, but we feel this project can be replicated using the church network and other partners," Cole said.

Established in 1999, Five Talents International has provided funding for business training and thousands of loans, ranging from $50 to $300, in 14 countries across Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. Each loan finances a microbusiness that, in turn, supports up to six other people. A majority of the loan recipients are women.

Five Talents is based in the US and London, where hundreds of volunteers are supporting the ministry.