On the screen in front of Jeff Borg’s class is a proud Bangladeshi woman in a colorful dress. The dress is a feast for the eyes, but the discussion isn’t about fashion. It’s business — her business.
She is one of thousands who use Kiva, a microloan program that is a lifeline for people in developing countries. In her case, a small loan allowed her to expand a clothing shop — buy a third sewing machine and hire another seamstress.
Borg, an FRCC political science instructor, knows a lot about microloans. He’s been making them through Kiva for 16 years.
A microloan is just what it implies – not a lot of money, but with a big payback. A small amount loaned through Kiva might allow someone to buy cattle to sell milk, to buy a loom to produce clothing, or to buy a computer to modernize a small business. Then the recipient will pay it back.
Microloans are just one way that Borg has put his social conscience into action aside from instructing students on how government works and how to get involved.
He’s an ordained Methodist minister who’s also certified in the Mennonite faith. For a time, he pastored the Fort Collins Mennonite Fellowship.
“Sometimes I called myself a Methonite or a Mennodist,” he said.
Borg studied theology at the Pacific School of Religion where he came upon liberation theology. The seeds for a future career were planted.
After 15 years in the ministry he went to graduate school intending to get his PhD, something that never came to pass. However, the year of studies, combined with his masters in theology, allowed him the opportunity to teach at FRCC.
He has taught a variety of classes in political science and also teaches an ethics class.
His career in teaching began with his retirement from his 15-year tenure as a pastor.
He said his experiences as a pastor helped him as a teacher: “Part of being a pastor is being an educator.”
He said he feels like his occupation hasn’t really changed, it’s simply transformed.
Instead of preaching to a congregation about important world issues through the lens of religion, he’s teaching a class about important world issues through the lens of political science. Similarly, he said his job as a pastor was to be friends with people, an aspect that has carried on to teaching.
Borg has been teaching full-time at FRCC since 2006, and it seems he’s not stopping anytime soon.
