Liz Bara is co-founder of A Self-help Assistance Program (ASAP, www.asapEmpowers.org), a non-profit organization created in 1992 to cultivate self-reliance and foster cross-cultural understanding.  Based in Zimbabwe from 1994-2005, ASAP's projects improved household income for over 200,000 families in Zimbabwe and Malawi during a period of hyperinflation and economic collapse. This was accomplished mainly by training communities to create, manage and monitor grassroots microfinance Savings Groups. 

ASAP's first Savings Group project was funded by The McKnight Foundation. The demand was overwhelming, resulting in subsequent, repeated Savings Group project partnerships with CARE, CRS, Concern World-Wide, NZAID, Plan International, and the UN - creating resilience and hope during desperate times when families struggled to survive. 

Today ASAP's Tools For Empowerment project is based in Newnan GA. Savings Groups are an essential tool in ASAP's toolbox -  as we continue our work to harness the resilience and determination of the economically active poor to overcome hardships and thrive during uncertain times.