When the founders of Friendship Bridge, Connie and Ted Ning, visited Vietnam in 1988, they found the health care system bravely struggling with ancient equipment, little or no medicines, and an overwhelming number of people suffering from highly preventable diseases.

Shortly after they returned, they began to enlist the help of their friends. Soon, a few committed individuals with concern for the people of that war-ravaged country began carrying medical supplies and medicines to Vietnam in 1989. The effort grew, and in the spring of 1990, Friendship Bridge sent the largest single shipment of medical relief to Vietnam from the United States since 1975. With a tiny budget and using only volunteers, this tireless, innovative group sent several more shipments.

Seeking a more sustainable solution to the issue of global poverty, Friendship Bridge turned to microcredit, the provision of small loans to women to enhance or start businesses. With less than $3,000 and the cooperation of a group of courageous nuns at a convent in DaNang, the first microcredit loan group was launched in Vietnam.

In 1998, Friendship Bridge expanded its work to Guatemala, another country ravaged by war and fraught with poverty. In May 2000, with over 5,000 loans successfully in place in Vietnam, Friendship Bridge turned over its entire loan portfolio in Vietnam of $258,000 to its local partners to avoid the increasingly complex restrictions on foreign relief efforts in the country. At this point, Friendship Bridge turned the focus of its efforts to Guatemala. We continue to believe that microcredit has the most direct impact on the welfare of women and their families. The program in Guatemala is the focus of our efforts today. Currently, we have close to 14,000 women who take part in our Microcredit Plus program.

Friendship Bridge has always listened and tried to respond to the needs of the women it serves. From the first request for medicines at a women's hospital in Hanoi to the current information supplied about basic health issues, business development training, and school support for our borrowers’ children, Friendship Bridge has consistently elicited the needs of others and responded with compassion and programs that work to help women create their own solutions to poverty.