Heavy Rains and Hurricanes’ Impacts in Honduras and New York

Marta with her 22 year old daughter and 3 year old granddaughter

Marta Rosa is a new client from Choluteca on her first loan cycle. She became a part of Adelante to increase production of enchiladas and tacos that she makes and sells alongside her 22 year old daughter. Although Marta has been doing this for many years, last October’s heavy rains left her and her family homeless. Her two sons have not been able to secure steady jobs, being forced to settle for seasonal agricultural employment.

The devastating rains of last year remind us of why Adelante began in the first place—in response to the devastation left by Hurricane Mitch. However, for me, a native New Yorker, her story makes me reflect on the damage just recently left behind by Hurricane Sandy and last year’s Hurricane Irene. I was thankful to see Hurricane Sandy pass by a few weeks ago without leaving any or minimal damage to my own family and friends. Last year, my family was not so lucky.

I was in Quito, Ecuador on orientation last August when I first heard about a hurricane heading toward New York but the news I had read seemed to predict greater problems for New York City and other downstate areas than where my family lives outside of the capital of Albany. After getting to Guayaquil, where I would be studying during the fall semester of my senior year, I got a call from my parents. Although New York City had been spared much predicted damage, parts of Upstate New York and Vermont were not so lucky.

After losing power the day before, my family had been woken by police at their door around 1:00 am to evacuate their home in late August. They loaded what they could into their car but most of my belongings that I had left while I was abroad remained in the basement. In the rush of moving out of my apartment and packing for my semester abroad, I was left with little time to label or organize the boxes I was leaving behind. For the next two months, my parents stayed with family and received the support of members of the community who were not affected.

Down the street from my house on one side is a lake where I had learned to swim and on the other side, a river where I watched the Village of Scotia water ski shows and fireworks as a child. The rains that hit my town resulted in the overflow of the Gilboa Dam, flooding from the lake and river into my town and water eventually breaking through the foundation of my house. By the time I arrived back from Ecuador, the house was almost done with repairs and my parents had been able to resume their normal lives.

The devastation that my family and others were faced with was also often met with community support and generosity. When I spoke with Marta, many things raced through my mind. In her rural community, about an hour out from the closest city, were police officers able to be effectively assisting with evacuations? Even if they could evacuate people from areas in danger, would they all have had somewhere to go? Unlike my parents, she certainly did not have flood insurance to cover at least some of the costs. Moreover, Marta’s neighbors do not have the same capacity to support each other during these disasters that my family’s community does.

Marta has been renting this house from a neighbor since she lost her home in the floods last October. She hopes that her business will bring her the profits she needs to buy a new home in the future.

After losing her home, she was able to move into a rental owned by a neighbor, where she lives with her three children all in their 20s and her three year old granddaughter. Her husband passed away 15 years ago so they must all work together to cover their household expenses, which now include the cost of renting and will soon include her granddaughter’s school expenses. Her two sons both work in agriculture, typically finding work during harvest season. During other times of the year, it is harder for them to find work, making Marta’s business even more vital to the well-being of her family.

Marta and her 22 year old daughter run their business together making and selling tacos and enchiladas in the community. They share responsibilities in making the food, and her daughter goes out to sell their food while she cares for her granddaughter. After relocating and reestablishing their business after last year’s rains, they are starting to build up a new clientele. Marta is proud of the work she and daughter do, saying, “She goes out everyday to sell the food we make and now those who have tried it love it and go looking for her to buy more!”

Marta’s dream is to someday have a home that she can call her own again. In July she took out her first loan for $166. She hopes that with the new investment, she will be able to grow the business that she and her daughter have developed together and eventually be able to own her own home again.

Marta’s granddaughter, aged 3, poses for the camera while her mom and grandmother make tortillas.

Passing Success from Mother to Daughter

Lidia with her daughter Lia and her two granddaughters. The daughter of another client stands in front.

Lidia Maura has been an Adelante client for five loan cycles now, or about 3 years. Her most recent loan was for L4,600 ($234). Although she has spent her life selling vegetables in rural communities outside of Tocoa in the department of Colon, she previously spent her days traveling all day to make her sales. Now, thanks to the help of Adelante, Lidia has her own stall in a popular local market, working from 6:00 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon.

Her five children, between the ages of 28 and 43, are now independent so she lives alone with her husband. During my visit she told me that she does not have the same concerns as the other women have who are still raising children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews. She tells me, “I’m old now and my only hope is just to finish the last years that God has given me comfortably.” Lidia’s satisfaction with Adelante is what drove her to invite her daughter, Lia Isabel into her assembly.

The assembly meeting that I visited was Lia’s very first with Adelante and she spoke with hope for a better future for her own two daughters. Although her husband works hard every day at his own job, Lia’s family has struggled a lot just to get by. When I asked her if there’s anything she would like others to know about her, she told me this, “We suffer a lot, we don’t have a house, we don’t have anything to call our own but we continue fighting.” Lia is optimistic about her new opportunity with Adelante. With her first loan, she plans to start up her own business selling clothing. We hope to see her progress as she works to provide greater opportunities for her two daughters who are two and four years old.

Lidia and Lia’s story is seen replicated throughout many assemblies, with mothers, daughters, aunts, nieces and cousins sharing with each other the opportunity to improve the standard of living of themselves and their entire family. One such client who has shared with her daughter the benefits of her loans with Adelante is Reyna, who lives in a rural community outside of La Ceiba. Reyna has had six loans with us, starting at L3,000 ($152). She has slowly grown her business selling clothing so that she can now take out loans for L5,250 ($266). Although this amount may still seem small to some, it makes a big difference for Reyna, who never had a full time job before. She says that she would occasionally wash clothing for local families for a small fee and do other small chores but that she could not provide a steady income to supplement her husband’s work as a day laborer.

Reyna with her daughter in their community.

Reyna’s youngest daughter is not a client of Adelante. However, her mother’s work is what inspired her to choose to study Business Administration as her career track at the local high school. She hopes to help her mother out and eventually have her own business someday.For now, Reyna just wants her daughter to stay in school and continue studying hard.

Reyna’s story demonstrates exactly how Adelante loans have a ripple effect, positively impacting those who live with and around the clients. While her daughter can learn the theories behind business administration in school, she can see firsthand the realities of running your own small business from her mother. The business education that Reyna, Lidia, Lia and the rest of our clients receive twice a month does not stop with them: The knowledge they acquire is passed to their friends and family, even if they are not Adelante clients.

Meet an AA Client from Choluteca

Scroll down to the third paragraph if continued from our August 2012 E-Newsletter

Home Improvement Loan at work

Lucila is a hard-working elderly woman who has been a client with Adelante for a year and a half.  Lucila lives alone in a humble home built nearly twenty years ago in a rural village outside of Orocuina, which is located in the southern department of Choluteca.  Several months ago, the wall of Lucila’s bedroom collapsed after a very severe rainy season that wreaked havoc in Choluteca last year.  Akin to the reality faced by much of the rural poor, Lucila did not have the income or the savings to repair the damage immediately.  Thankfully, Lucila quickly became an AA client with Adelante, which made her eligible for a Home Improvement Loan.  AA clients must have at least three loan cycles, make their loan payments on time, and attend assembly meetings consistently.  In March, Lucila was awarded a loan of L. 5,000 or $263 to build a new wall for her bedroom.  Since the rural poor often struggle to enhance their housing over several years, this new loan product is in high demand by our clients.

Not only is Lucila grateful for Adelante’s Loan Program, but she is also an enthusiastic supporter of the Business Education Program.  At assembly meetings held every two weeks, clients receive educational presentations from their Credit Officers.  Even though Lucila has worked as a micro-entrepreneur for nearly her entire life, she still appreciates the business development themes, she explains:

Lucila, Adelante client

¨The educational lessons help us with our businesses, for example they explain how to manage and promote our businesses better so that we can earn more profits.¨

Before withdrawing her first microloan from Adelante for just L. 1,500 or $79, Lucila always worked as a small business entrepreneur, investing in different income-generating activities.  Currently, Lucila produces and sells snack foods and fresh fruit juices out of her home and door-to-door in her community.  In the past, Lucila worked with other lending institutions to support her small business endeavors.  Now Lucila no longer obtains loans from other sources, and she proudly confirms that she is a client exclusively with Adelante.  Lucila affirms, ¨With Adelante, there are not a lot of requirements to take out a loan, and it’s very easy, not complicated like with some of the other institutions I have worked with in the past.¨ In the future, Lucila plans to maintain her AA status in hopes of obtaining another Home Improvement Loan so she can keep upgrading her modest home.

Lucila’s Rural Community

Since each of her seven children are grown and live apart, Lucila is not responsible economically for anyone else but herself, though she does take pleasure in spending time with her family.  One of Lucila’s daughters lives in the same community, so she often keeps her mother company at the house.  Lucila’s children who live further away often go to her house to spend the night, and she enjoys visits with her grandchildren, nine in total.  Lucila is very fortunate to have a tight-knit family, but her children also suffer from poverty so having a micro business enables her to be independent in her old age.  Recently, Lucila received her fourth group loan from Adelante for 4,000 or $211, which she used to invest in producing more delicious homemade food and drink.  Lucila expects to keep boosting her profits over future loan cycles in order to continue improving her standard of living.

Honduran Emigration

Bety and niece pose at an assembly meeting in Cortes

Parts of this blog appear in our June 2012 newsletter.

Seven years ago, Bety’s husband left her and their newborn son behind in Honduras in order to immigrate illegally to the United States.  Her husband was successful and regularly sends back money to his family.  Bety is one of many Adelante clients who have family members working abroad, primarily in the United States.  Even though Bety has not seen her husband since he left Honduras, the extra income helps ensure a brighter future for their son, now seven years old.

Each year, thousands of Hondurans risk their lives immigrating to the United States.  They are fleeing a country plagued by extreme poverty, inequality, unemployment, and insecurity.  In Honduras, 67% of the population lives below the poverty line(1), and nearly a quarter survive on less than $1.25 (PPP) a day(2).  Facing a worsening national economy, with staggering levels of underemployment, Hondurans have few options available domestically to improve their lives. Given these facts, it is understandable why so many Hondurans perceive working in the United States as the only solution to their poverty.

Mourning the loss of a loved one who died at the Tamaulipas massacre

Most emigrating Hondurans face an arduous journey and are at risk of being intercepted by drug traffickers, kidnappers, thieves and gangs.  Hundreds of migrants have been kidnapped to further enrich criminal networks, often involved in drug crimes, in Mexico and Central America(3).  Many of such kidnappings have violent ends; let us not forget the Tamaulipas massacre in Mexico where 72 migrants were found murdered execution style, 30 of which were Hondurans. Despite the evident risk, it is reported that each day 500 Hondurans leave their country behind in search of a better future(4).  Even if they evade the most dangerous threats during their expedition and arrive safely to their destination, thousands of Honduran migrants are deported every year.  Last year alone, 22,367 Hondurans were deported from the United States(5), and between January and May of this year, already 11,500 have been deported(6).

An Adelante client from Colon, Adelaida, has a story that illustrates why so many Hondurans take the chance.  Adelaida worked just five years in the United States. By working abroad, Adelaida achieved her goal to buy a small piece of land and construct a modest house in her village in Honduras.  Now that she owns a home, Adelaida is satisfied with her earnings as a small business entrepreneur.  She is currently paying off a loan for L 7,000 or $368, and hopes to keep growing her business in order to sustain her standard of living as she grows older.  Income earned abroad plays an important role in driving the Honduran economy.  In 2011, Remittances to Honduras were estimated at over $2.7 billion(7).

Adelante client, Mirtila

Since Adelante targets poor, rural women, narratives of emigration, remittances, and long distance marriages are not uncommon.  An Adelante client from Choluteca, Mirtila, has another familiar story.  Twelve years ago, Mirtila’s husband embarked on his trip to the United States, leaving behind Mirtila to care for their three young children.  Mirtilia’s husband never sent money back to his family and presumably has started a new life in the United States.  A young mother, Mirtila was left to raise her children with the help of her extended family.  Thankfully, Mirtila never intended to depend solely on remittances, she had already invested in a small business venture.

Mirtila is what Adelante calls an AA client, which means she has an excellent repayment record, invests in her small business diligently and attends assembly meetings consistently.  She is currently paying off L 25,000 or $1,316 in loans from Adelante, including a group loan, an individual loan and a home improvement loan. She explains, ¨What I like most about Adelante is that they offer their best clients excellent opportunities, for example, there are no other institutions that will give their clients three loans at the same time.¨  Microfinance has allowed Mirtila to seek out a livelihood in Honduras that ensures an income to support her family.

Even though Adelante has many clients who receive income from abroad, these hard-working entrepreneurs are not dependent on their remittances.  Bety, who is fortunate to have a husband who frequently sends money back, contends that her micro business has helped her to achieve an improved quality of life.  Before becoming a client, Bety worked on a banana plantation spraying chemicals.  Today, Bety has a micro enterprise selling merchandise outside of a textile factory, she asserts, ¨Now my work is better, I earn more with my small business and I do not have to work so hard.¨  Whether or not they receive the added boost of remittances, Adelante clients, like Bety, Adelaida, and Mirtila, are using the opportunity afforded by microloans in order to invest in small businesses and improve their overall standard of living.

---

(1) Source: ECLAC, Social Panorama of Latin America 2011.

(2) Source: UNDP, Human Development Report 2011.

(3) Centro de Derrechos Humanos Miguel Austin Pro Juarez A.C. Cuaderno sobre Secuestro de Migrantes.  December 2011.

(4) Source: La Prensa Hn. ¨Cada dia se van 500 mojados a EE.UU.¨ www.laprensa.hn February 7 2010.

(5) Source: La Prensa Hn. ¨Baja cifra deportados de EUA.¨ www.laprensa.hn January 3 2012.

(6) Source: La Prensa Hn. ¨Ya suman 11,500 los deportados¨ www.laprensa.hn May 29 2012.

(7) Source: La Prensa Hn.  ¨Aumento de remesas ha side de $41 million¨  www.laprensa.hn. December 26 2011.

Elodia, Then and Now

Continuation from E-Newsletter Starts at Third Paragraph

It is rare to have the opportunity to report on a microfinance client’s progress over the course of several years through qualitative interviews.  At Adelante, our investment in personnel to document stories from the field has given us this worthwhile insight.  Four years ago, General Manager Sophia Anderson, was starting her career with Adelante as the International Development Coordinator when she met Elodia in the department of Choluteca.  Elodia shared with Sophia the challenges she faced before becoming a client and the goals she hoped to achieve after taking out her first microloan in 2007.

Elodia & son, 2009

Back in 2008, Elodia was producing tortillas and selling Avon products to members of her local community.  Five of her six children were living at home and her husband was working as a chauffeur.  Before receiving a loan from Adelante, Elodia could never invest much in her business since she lacked the necessary capital.  With her first loans, she was finally able to boost her micro enterprise, and her goals of renovating her home, sending her children to secondary school, and purchasing a car might one day become a reality.

Elodia’s new patio

Today, Elodia is paying off her second Individual Loan for L 25,000 or $1,316, and fills several large tortilla orders daily to regular clients.  She even attained a very lucrative contract to supply 3,500 tortillas a day to a hospital in Choluteca. No longer needing to reach distant communities, Elodia decided not to invest in a car.  Instead, Elodia used her first Individual Loan to buy a tortilla-making machine for L 5,000 or $263.  With her second Individual Loan, Elodia made a huge investment of 31,000 or $1,632, she explains, ¨I have accomplished a lot over the years, for example, I bought a corn mill so I can make flour, this allows me to save money and also gives me extra income because I can rent it out.¨ Thanks to Elodia’s booming business, the family renovated part of their home and built a new, covered patio with hammocks and chairs where her assembly group meets every two weeks.

Even though Elodia has accomplished so much, she still has many goals she would like to achieve in the future.  Elodia is hoping to see her children graduate from secondary school, especially since she earns enough income to support them.  She is optimistic that her youngest son, 10, will continue his education, and that her teenage daughters will eventually return to finish their studies.  Elodia wishes that two of her daughters would have waited until finishing secondary school before getting married and having children.  Elodia’s eldest daughter, 21, recently returned home after working in San Pedro Sula, and has just re-entered school in order to finish her diploma.  Elodia is adamant that she will encourage and assist any one of her children to attain a better education.

Elodia in her kitchen, next to corn mill

Two months ago, Elodia lost that very profitable contract with the hospital, so her business has hit difficult times.  Elodia is working hard to find new clients in order to replace lost income, but luckily she still has several orders daily of 40-50 tortillas.  In the meantime, Elodia uses her spare time to produce inexpensive jewelry.  While diversifying her business is important, Elodia is confident that she will soon be busy again with her tortilla enterprise; in fact, she has decided to make another big investment.  Before meeting Sophia, Elodia had constructed a separate kitchen for her tortilla business, and now three years later, she is ready to renovate it.  Elodia contends, ¨It’s important to always have goals, it never ends! I would like to renovate my kitchen in order to have a better work space.¨ To get started, Elodia plans to have a new, wood burning oven installed, which will reduce the quantity of wood and also eliminate in-house smoke pollution.

Meeting Elodia was an inspiring example of how much can change for one woman over the course of three years.  I hope in the future someone else will take the opportunity to look back on the client stories I have written and follow-up to see how the women are doing.  This qualitative material is invaluable in demonstrating the difference Adelante is making in the lives of thousands of women and their families.

Meet a Resilient Micro Entrepreneur

Gregoria holding Yuca to make nuegados

Continuation from E-Newsletter starts at 3rd paragraph

Gregoria is a dedicated micro entrepreneur in the department of Choluteca. Gregoria produces and sells ¨golosinas¨ or popular snack foods, such as chicharron (pork rinds) and nuegados (fried yuca dumplings). Since receiving her first loan from Adelante over four years ago for L 2500 or $132, Gregoria has diversified her business to sell a greater variety of snacks and has invested in raising animals, especially pigs and chickens.  Currently, Gregoria is paying off a loan for L 6 000 or $316, and plans to continue growing her business with Adelante, commenting, ¨It’s a big help, with every loan I am able to increase profits, which allows me to support my household.¨

Gregoria's kitchen

Gregoria is a single mother and has six children, but three of her children are already independent and live apart in the same community.  Gregoria is still responsible for her two youngest, ages 12 and 18 years old, but also has a son who shares a small house on her property with his wife and three young children.  Thanks to the increased income earned from her micro enterprise, Gregoria’s 18 year old recently graduated from secondary school, and she intends to send her youngest next year.  Gregoria has also made several improvements to her home over the years, but there are still renovations that need to be undertaken.  She hopes to secure a Home Improvement Loan from Adelante in order to replace the roof and redo the kitchen.  In addition to enhancing her family’s overall quality of life, Gregoria’s micro business enabled her to overcome great adversity when her property was flooded by the torrential rains that caused a state of emergency in Choluteca last October.

Gregoria and members of her assembly group live in a community that borders a lagoon near the Pacific Ocean.  Last October, several days of torrential rains caused the lagoon to overflow, flooding the entire community.  Adelante reported on the impacts of the relentless rains in Choluteca, noting that clients like Gregoria would be given extra time to make payments on their microloans.  Remarkably, the women in Gregoria’s assembly group returned to their businesses as soon as the flood waters receded, requiring only a 15 day extension to get back on track with their loan payments.  Gregoria accredits her ability to recover from the flooding disaster to the success of her small business, which allowed her to accumulate savings and afforded her income to rebuild and clean up.

An asset to Gregoria: a pregnant pig; notice the lagoon in the background

Gregoria’s property flooded with over 4 feet of water from the lagoon, and her kitchen, which also serves as her snack preparation space, collapsed.  She was fortunate to get her animals to a safe, dry location, but she and her family had to sleep in a shelter for two weeks.  Each day they would return to check on their animals and belongings in order to prevent further damages.  Gregoria’s daughter-in-law, who is also a client with Adelante and lives on the same land, explains, ¨Every year there is a little bit of flooding, but this year it was like nothing I had ever seen before… it’s especially dangerous for the animals because of the spreading of disease.¨ Maria Doris, another member of Gregoria’s assembly group, was not as lucky; she lost 41 chickens and 21 chicks to disease.  Another client, an elderly woman named Marcos, opted to stay at her home rather than move to a shelter. She recounts, ¨I had to go out to the highway, waste deep in water, in order to collect food and medical supplies from relief efforts.

Amazingly, these resilient women in Choluteca bounced back from the damages they incurred and did not get behind on their loan payments.  Gregoria, like many others in her assembly group, is thankful for her small business, which has provided her a stable source of income and thus the ability to recover so swiftly from the worst floods to have hit Honduras since Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

A Small Start to a Brighter Future

Graciela Ramirez & her pulperia

Graciela Amador Ramirez is a determined single mother and member of the Los Prados assembly group in the community of the same name.  Graciela resides in the municipality of Namasigue, which is approximately 30 minutes outside of Choluteca, in the department of Choluteca.  Over the course of four loan cycles, Graciela has developed a pulperia (convenience store), starting out with a loan of only L 2000 or $100.00.   This microloan from the Adelante Foundation enabled her to purchase a small quantity of products, and over the last two years, she has grown her pulperia into a well-stocked store.

Raising her three children alone has been a struggle for Graciela, but through her participation as a client with the Adelante Foundation, Graciela is better able to meet the needs of her family.  The profits accrued from her micro enterprise have ensured that her eldest son will graduate secondary school this year.  Recently, Graciela withdrew her biggest microloan to date, L 6000 or $300.00, and she plans to continue augmenting her loans in order to bolster the product inventory of her pulperia.  Graciela is appreciative of the opportunity given to her through microfinance, boasting, ¨the Foundation helps you a lot, the loans allow you to work harder and little by little improve your life¨.

Graciela & son in front of their home

Graciela’s home is located across from the community sports field, making her investment in a pulperia a wise small business decision.  Graciela confirms that she had always wanted to establish a pulperia, but never had access to credit to make that vision a reality.  Previously, Graciela could only sell a small quantity of snacks when sports games were held across from her home.  She confesses that at one point she even had to take out a loan in order to support the basic consumption of her household.  Graciela started out small, but now she has a well developed micro business, including a fridge and freezer, which she purchased over the course of her loan cycles.

Although she has confronted many challenges as a single mother, Graciela has been able to provide two of her three children with a secondary school education.  Currently, Graciela is funding a private school education for her son in Choluteca, where he lives with Graciela’s sister in order to reduce transportation costs.  This is an impressive accomplishment since Graciela’s son’s education costs L 1000 or $50.00 per month.  Graciela’s improved income will ensure that as soon as her son attains his diploma, she will be able to send her 14 year old son to secondary school as well.  This is an achievement Graciela feels would not have been possible without having received microcredit from the Adelante Foundation, and subsequently starting a profitable small business.

Thousands Affected by Relentless October Rains

Photo Credit: La Prensa Honduras

In the month of October, heavy rains caused landslides and flooding all over Honduras. Across the country, 29 people have tragically lost their lives, and nearly 70,000 have been affected (1). Dozens of roads, highways and bridges have suffered damages, disrupting travel and hampering relief efforts.  Losses to agricultural production include an estimated 18,963 acres of crops throughout Honduras, part of which are basic staples, such as rice, beans and corn, hindering national food security (1).  Public sector engineers are currently assessing the total cost of damages to infrastructure endured during the month of October.  The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates 1.2 million people have been impacted by October’s torrential rains in Central America (2).

Photo Credit: La Prensa Honduras

In Southern Honduras, where the rains were most intense, surging rivers flooded whole communities. Landslides and flooding made roads impassable, and even collapsed a section of the Pan-American Highway, which connects Tegucigalpa to Southern Honduras.  The highway closure not only caused economic losses to commercial enterprises, but also obstructed efforts to send aid to the area. The department of Choluteca experienced the worst human impact, with 27,227 people affected, 1,880 dwellings damaged and 3,311 flood victims housed in shelters.  Large tracts of sugar cane remain underwater, and the Ministry of Agriculture reports that some 2,000 producers of various crops are affected in the southern zone (3).   Relief aid has been contributed by various countries and international organizations, such as the UN World Food Programme, as well as by the Honduran government, which spearheaded a solidarity campaign to raise funds for flood victims.

Data from COPEC report on damages

The rains that have disrupted life for so many Hondurans this October were largely not the product of a hurricane or tropical storm. On October 10, weather forecasters announced a low pressure system hovering off the Pacific coast that would produce torrential rains over several days.  Last week, Hurricane Rina raised fears of further destruction when the tropical storm strengthened into a category 2 hurricane.  Fortunately, the storm did not provoke significant damages, but Rina did generate heavy rainfall in the Bay Islands and along the Caribbean Coast of Honduras.

The relentless October rains have affected clients in each of the eight departments where the Adelante Foundation operates.  The road conditions have deteriorated during the month of October making travel for both clients and Credit Officers a challenge.  In the department of Yoro, travel between the departmental capital of Yoro and the city of El Progreso became precarious, as a result of potholes and landslides along the major highway that connects the two cities.  In the department of Colon, heavy rains caused flooding in several areas around Tocoa and Trujillo, delaying a pending field trip I had planned.  During the week of October 24, the Adelante Foundation held a bread making workshop for clients in the department of Intibuca, and although the workshop was a success, disrupted travel routes caused by heavy rains prevented some clients from attending the event.  In addition, Intibuca has suffered enormous damages to agricultural production, with an estimated 6, 875 acres (36% of national losses reported) of primarily corn and bean cultivation (1).  Across Honduras, downpours prevent many people from venturing out to purchase goods, which reduces small business sales for the Adelante Foundation’s clients.  While the rainy season comes to a close in parts of Honduras, the hurricane season and rains still impact the Caribbean coast through November.

Lagoon alongside a client's home, El Botadero

The onslaught of rain in October left the team at the Adelante Foundation branch office in Choluteca very concerned.  Credit Officers were unable to reach 25 assemblies, where overflowing rivers made several communities completely inaccessible.  The office supervisor, Pedro Ortiz, comments ¨all of our clients have been affected, their homes, their businesses, by illness, the situation for October loan payments is going to be complicated¨.  The prognosis looked bleak, but once the rains calmed and the rivers receded, the assessment indicated that remarkably only 6 solidarity groups were so severely impacted that they could not pay their next installment.   These clients have been given an additional 15 days to make their microloan payments from mid-October.  However, Pedro contends, ¨they are not going to be able to recuperate in 15 days, in some cases they have lost their homes, their businesses, so it will take time, but eventually they will recuperate¨.  If clients are unable to pay their loan installments, the microloan will be refinanced in order to help them get their lives back on track.  The rainy season on the Pacific side of Honduras is coming to an end, but the struggle continues as flood victims try to rebuild their lives.

At the beginning of October, I met clients that reside in the community El Botadero, in the department of Choluteca, which borders a lagoon near the Pacific coast.  This assembly group consists of four of the six solidarity groups that were severely impacted by the heavy rains.  During my next trip to Choluteca, I will meet with these courageous women again and report on how they are recovering from the flooding that has devastated their communities.  What are your thoughts on the relentless rains affecting Honduras and their impact on clients of the the Adelante Foundation?

---

(1) Resumen de Danos Registrados Por Condiciones Provocados PorLa Zona Intertropical de Convergencia. COPEC. October 25 2011.

(2) ¨UN Agencies Step Up Assistance to Flood Ravaged El Salvador¨. UN News Center. Oct 25 2011.

(3) Alvarenga, Fanny. ¨Mas que 8 mil manzanas de cultivos afectadas por las lluvias¨ La Prensa. Oct 20 2011.

Welcome to Choluteca!

Historic center of Choluteca

The scope of the Adelante Foundation reaches southward towards Choluteca, where a branch office is located, serving the department of the same name. During the colonial era, Choluteca was a strategic trading post and an important economic centre.  However, the economic and political power shifted drastically after the development of the banana industry along the Caribbean coast of Honduras.  Today, Choluteca is a major transportation hub for vehicles traversing Central America due to its proximity to Nicaragua and El Salvador.  The city centre maintains a quaint historical sector, including colonial buildings, narrow streets, and appealing parks.

While the interior of Honduras is mountainous, Choluteca is part of the fertile lowlands that make up the Pacific region of Central America. The rich soils allow small land owners to cultivate a variety of crops, including corn, beans, and fruit trees, and the Pacific Ocean affords a bountiful supply of seafood and fish.  Major regional enterprises include sugar cane production, melon cultivation, shrimp farming, and livestock.   A salient feature of Choluteca is the omnipresent heat, where temperatures hover around 95º F or 35º C, making it one of the hottest departments in Honduras.

Hilda's 5-year old

I spent a week at the office in Choluteca, and on my first day out in the field, I joined a Credit Officer to visit the rural municipality of Yusguare.  In the center Yusguare, I had an insightful encounter with a new client of the Adelante Foundation.  Hilda Reyes is the single mother of a 5 year old boy, and lives with her parents and brother.  Hilda sells ¨saldo¨ or prepaid minutes for cell phones, and less than two weeks ago, Hilda received her first microloan for L 4 000 or $200.00.  In addition to investing in her existing small business selling cell phone minutes, Hilda decided to purchase a small quantity of soft drinks to sell from her home.  Hilda’s home is conveniently located across from the community soccer field and basketball court.  Hilda explains, ¨People are always coming over here asking for soft drinks or snacks, so I decided to invest part of my loan in drinks¨.  Hilda is excited to be a client with the Adelante Foundation so she can develop a pulperia (or convenience store) over future loan cycles.  Almost all of Hilda’s siblings have left Yusguare for large urban areas, such as Choluteca and Tegucigalpa, in search of work.  Hilda would like to stay in her community to raise her son instead of migrating to the city, and with microfinance she can make that desire a reality.

On another day out in the field, I met an elderly woman who moved from the city of Choluteca twenty-five years ago in order to start her small business at the border crossing with Nicaragua.  Border crossings are impersonal places, where the objective is to transit through as quickly as possible in order to get to your final destination. I always knew people lived at border crossings, but this particular frontier, called El Guasaule, seemed like a friendlier place after meeting Enma Lagos.  Enma runs a small restaurant and pulperia adjacent to her home, and is on her sixth loan cycle, recently withdrawing an individual loan product for L 20 000 or $1 000.00.  Enma has taken out loans with other institutions, but she strongly prefers the loan program of the Adelante Foundation.

Enma & her pulperia

¨There are other institutions around here that offer loans, but it’s how they treat you, like how the Adelante Foundation treats its clients, it’s not just about a loan, the Foundation also wants to help you with your business¨, she comments.   

The microcredit received from the Adelante Foundation enabled Enma to start a second small business, the pulperia.  Now with two small micro enterprises, Enma has two sources of income to ensure that she will live comfortably in her old age.

In the past, few opportunities have been available to bring the stories of Choluteca’s clients to the supporters of the  Adelante Foundation.  As an International Field Correspondent, I look forward to sharing the stories of the inspiring women of Choluteca through my travels.  Be sure to check back frequently for many tales from the steamy south fo Honduras.