Assembly Meetings Offer More Than Education

Our new blog has English and Spanish! ¡Nuestro nuevo blog tiene versiones en ingles y español! 

As one of two new Development Interns in Adelante’s La Ceiba Headquarters, I recently ventured out to La Masica, Atlántida for my first field visit. As I observed the educational lessons during the assemblies I was reminded of my favorite childhood book, “It Takes a Village” by Jane Cowen-Fletcher. The story follows a young girl as she nervously looks for her brother in their village, and constantly finds him safe and sound in the care of different village members. During the assembly I watched children go from one woman to the next, vying for their attention as they climbed on their laps or stood patiently alongside their chairs, waiting to be given some type of sweet. To read more about Hannah’s time in the field and about our programs, check out our new blog here: http://www.adelantefoundation.org/en/read-our-blog/42-from-the-field/174-assembly-meetings-offer-more-than-education

Como una de las dos pasantes del Departamento de  Desarrollo en La Sede  de Adelante en La Ceiba, recientemente viajé a La Masica, Atlántica para mi primera visita al campo . Mientras escuché las charlas  educativas durante las reuniones de asamblea, me acordé de mi libro de infancia preferido: Se necesita todo un pueblo  por Jane Cowen-Fletcher. La historia sigue la vida de una joven mientras nerviosamente busca a su hermano en un pueblo y constantemente lo encuentra sano y salvo bajo el cuidado de diferentes miembros de la aldea. Durante las reuniones de asamblea, observé a niños vacilar de una mujer a la otra, compitiendo por su atención mientras se montaban encima de sus piernas o se paraban junto a sus sillas con la esperanza de conseguir un dulce. Para leer más de la visita de Hannah y de nuestro programa, haz clic aquí: http://www.adelantefoundation.org/es/lea-nuesto-blog/42-from-the-field/174-assembly-meetings-offer-more-than-education

Innovative Solutions out of Poverty

Our Board members and a few staff with Carmen outside her home which she has been able to invest in with a Home Improvement Loan

Last month, Adelante’s Board got a chance to visit a few clients of ours outside of La Ceiba. Not only did they get a glimpse into the lives of our clients, they also got a chance to make a few purchases for themselves! The trip started with a visit to Carmen’s home, where she produces delicious sweet breads and pastries that her husband later carries out to the market. Having already tried her pan de piña on a previous visit, I warned a few members ahead of time that it would be hard to buy just one. Carmen’s home improvement project continues to be a work in progress, and our Board marveled at how well she is able to manage her business from such a small working space.

Filena makes these decorative flowers out of recycled aluminum cans to then sell for a profit.

After leaving with plenty of fresh breads, several members joked about what other products they would get to buy at the next client’s home. Fortunately for them, Filena is one of our most creative clients. Filena engages in several business activities which she carries out from her home in a rural area outside of the city. She makes and sells flowers made from recycled aluminum cans, jewelry and crocheted clothing and decorations for the home.

Filena invests her loans in purchasing her materials and is always hard at work to create beautiful pieces. Her determination is paying off for her, as she is making progress in improving her family’s standard of living. She is now a recipient of Adelante’s Home Improvement Loan product for about $1,490. Her creative style made for great souvenirs for our Board Members, giving her a boost in her day’s profits. With such numerous skills, I was shockedd to learn that Filena’s talents are all self-taught, developed on her own through perseverance and commitment to improving her family’s standard of living. Thanks to the business loans that Filena has taken out with Adelante over the years along with assemblies every two weeks, she has been able to expand upon her business ideas to handle a much larger loan than an average Adelante loan.

Blanca shows off earrings and other jewelry that she makes from home.

Our last client visit of the day followed the trend of empowered women producing goods from their homes. Blanca makes and sells jewelry, crochet and flower arrangements at home outside of Jutiapa, presenting our Board members with another souveneir opportunity. Each of these three women have worked hard to identify and develop their own skills to get their families ahead.

This Friday is International Women’s Day, a day to celebrate all that women are, the advances we have made and what we need to continue moving forward. On March 8, Adelante will be celebrating Carmen, Filena, Blanca and the thousands of other women who have taken on the challenge of leaving poverty behind by investing in their own businesses. Their innovative solutions in the face of poverty are an inspiration to everyone at Adelante.

Are you interested in supporting this content, as well as taking on grant research and writing responsibilities and campaign development as our Development Intern? Check out our posting here and apply!

Happy Three Years to One of Our Best!

Gabriel does well because he loves his job at Adelante. When asked what motivates him to do his best, he explains that he feels proud to be an instrument in Adelante’s mission to the rural poor.

This month we would like to introduce you to Gabriel Gomez, our 2012 recipient of the “Best Credit Officer” award. This week marks Gabriel’s third year working with Adelante as a Credit Officer from our La Ceiba Branch Office! He began work on February 14, 2010 and has since impressed all his co-workers here. Oscar Mejía, Manager of Operations, has worked with Adelante for eight years and recently commented on Gabriel, “He’s organized, dedicated and honest. He pushes himself and has a great handle on his job. And there’s a reason for all this, there’s a reason why he does his job so well–he receives great satisfaction from the work that he does and having the chance to work with the women he works with here.”

Gabriel begins most work days arriving a little early to his first assembly to spend some time chatting with his clients. To him, the relationships he has been able to develop with the women borrowers has been vital to his success.  Gabriel explains, “I always work to be more than simply a credit officer to the women; I try to be a friend. These women are my sisters and my mothers.” The respect that he has earned from his clients has served him well as the relationships he has created give the women he works with extra motivation to manage their loans and businesses well.

Here, Gabriel delivers a lesson on how to implement a new business idea into pre-existing businesses for an assembly outside of La Ceiba.

The first trip I made out to the field was to two assemblies managed by Gabriel. We arrived early, giving me a chance to gain some of the women’s confidence by chatting with them alongside Gabriel. Each assembly of women meets every two weeks to receive educational lessons from their credit officer and report on their loan payments. Beyond the formal purposes of these assemblies however, the greatest benefit for many women is having the chance to gather with others from their community who share similar goals of improving their family’s lives and create or strengthen bonds with others. For women who must often simultaneously take care of their children and the household while running their own business, the assemblies offer them a formalized social gathering to get some time outside of the house. The kids that tag along get the extra perk of playing with the other children who have come with their mothers.

Before working with Adelante, Gabriel had previously worked for a local bank. He says what he likes about Adelante that sets this job apart is that clients are not required to provide collateral to take out loans. What he sees as most meaningful is Adelante’s “trust in the word that they have given” and the fact that “they know that Adelante believes in them”. Because Adelante’s stated mission is to support the poorest of the poor women in rural Honduras to work their way out of poverty, Gabriel’s work often brings him face to face with difficult situations. When I asked him how he handles this he explains that his first step when a borrower has found herself with personal or economic struggles, he guides the women around her to support her in any way that they can, explaining “The pain of one has to be the pain of everyone else too. We can always offer moral support even when we don’t have the resources for financial support.”

The dedication that Gabriel commits to the women he works with has been paid back to him with the advice and support that they provide to him in his own life. This however, does not get in the way of doing his job. If anything, the strong bonds that he has created have allowed him to do his job best—last June, Gabriel received an award at our Annual Staff Retreat for having the best results at the close of each month. Nicolas Flores has been Gabriel’s direct supervisor since Gabriel was first hired three years ago. However, Nicolas finds that oftentimes, he has already knows what is expected of him and gets started before even being asked, “He is always one step ahead”.

When Grandmothers become Mothers Again

When I ask older clients how many children they have, the answer isn’t always as straightforward as one might expect. Some aren’t sure if they should include children that have since passed away, others don’t know if they should just count the children that are still living at home and others like Nicolasa must also include the adoptive children from within the community that she has taken in. But perhaps one of the most common factors is that many women, for various reasons, now are found raising the children of their children: the job just never ends.

With such high rates of adolescent motherhood in Honduras, many young girls are not fully capable of raising their children independently. This means that for many rural poor women, they start over again as mothers when grandchildren come along. This provides an added strain on older women who have worked since their own childhoods and no longer have the same energy to grow their businesses. By receiving small loans, older women can invest in businesses that allow them to work from home rather than having to make sales on foot.

Toribia is a grandmother from a Garífuna community in the department of Atlántida who lives with her 18 year old daughter and two grandchildren, aged 2 and 5. Six other children have since moved out of the house and her husband passed away when her children were still young. For years she has been selling fish in the community and refreshments and oranges from her home in order to provide enough for her seven children.

With Adelante loans, she has now expanded into selling clothing, which her 18 year old daughter transports to the nearby Cayos Cochinos to sell. With her daughter’s weekly trips to Chachahuate, Toribia takes up the responsibility of raising her grandchildren and her local business activities. By working together with her daughter, the two young children are able to be cared for while their mother makes the tiring weekly trips to Chachahuate by boat. The earnings made among their business activities allow the young grandchildren’s needs to be met and give Toribia a chance to improve her family’s standard of living.

The issue of teenage pregnancy and motherhood in Honduras affects not just the children and the mothers themselves, but the parents of the young mothers as well. Dependency on parents is often sustained and grandparents must learn to adjust to a growing rather than shrinking household as their children get older.

While Toribia can count on a daughter who works with her to support the family, not all clients I have met are that lucky. Toribia’s daughter manages to support the business while getting ready to start her final year of high school. It is not uncommon within rural areas to find the young mothers and fathers of children without work or education, leaving much of the burden on the backs of hard working grandmothers and grandfathers.

Fulfilling Dreams of a Better Home and Business

Carmen is a client from the department of Atlántida who bakes bread and pastries for a living, a business that she has had for five years. When I first met Carmen, she shared with me that building a kitchen was her her most sought after goal. With the help of Adelante‘s Home Improvement Loan product, she is now able to make her dream a reality for her family. She began with Adelante about two and a half years ago with a loan for about $126 and is now receiving her second Home Improvement Loan, with which she is building a kitchen. With her first Home Improvement Loan for L15,000 ($762), Carmen was able to replace her doors, windows and the wooden beams that support her roof. Her new loan for L18,050 ($925) will allow her to build an annex which will serve as the kitchen and dining room for both her family and out of which she will continue her business.

On the right, Carmen’s kitchen is beginning to take form.

Carmen lives with her husband and four children between the ages of 7 and 12. Her home currently has two bedrooms and a small main room which serves as the living room and kitchen. The Home Improvement Loan will bring great changes to Carmen’s life, as it will allow her to have greater space to work while caring for her four children.

Carmen’s freshly baked pastry filled with pineapple jam

 

With her small oven she bakes various types of breads and pastries, including the Honduran specialty, semitas, and pastries such as the one tp the right stuffed with pineapple jam. Carmen also bakes cakes for her customers upon request. While Carmen bakes and attends to clients at home, her husband goes out to sell her bread and pastries at a local market. I got the chance to try one of her pineapple stuffed pastries myself and would definitely stop by frequently for her baked goods if I lived in her community.

In this small corner Carmen currently does all the baking for her business, in addition to cooking for her family of six.

The construction started in September and will continue slowly as the rainy season is starting up. When the project finishes, she will no longer have to divide her already small living room into two to make room for her business. Before starting with Adelante, Carmen had worked with other microfinance institutions but left when a friend invited her to join her assembly. As she continues to grow her business, she plans in the future to build a septic tank with the profits from her business. With each loan Carmen makes with Adelante, she is raising her family’s standard of living and improving her business to make her more self-sufficient.

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 a Longtime and Determined Client from Atlántida

Aida, an entrepreneurial client from a rural community in Atlantida

Aida has been with Adelante for five years now and has been happy to slowly increase her loan amounts over the course of more than eleven loans with us! She lives in her own home with her husband, her daughter and two of her grandchildren. Five other children live in the country while two more have left for the United States. She cares for all five of her grandchildren as if they were her own children and is particularly responsible for the two that live with her.

Due to the fact that her daughter has a disability which prevents her from raising her children, Aida and her husband have assumed economic responsibility for their 4 and 5 year old grandchildren, as well as for their daughter. Although her eight children are all grown between the ages of 21 and 36, its clear that her financial commitments expand beyond her and her husband’s needs. The rest of her children are already married and working hard to provide for their own families.

Aida began her own business around the same time she became involved with Adelante. Prior to doing so, Aida worked for 25 years selling lottery tickets by traveling around the nearby communities. Without loans from Adelante, Aida and her husband would not have been able to grow the inventory of their store and support the growing needs of their extended family, such as primary school expenses for their grandchildren. On the weekends, Aida continues to sell lottery tickets as she has done in the past while her husband attends to the store. When he is not busy at the store, her husband works on the small parcel of land that they own to grow corn, beans and cassava. The majority of what is harvested is for their own consumption but they also sell any surplus for extra income.

Aida’s entrepreneurial spirit has been further demonstrated by the several loans she has taken out with us. She uses her loans to stock her convenience store. Her very first loan with Adelante was for only L500 or about $26. After five years of working with Adelante she has been able to gradually increase her loan amounts and of course, grow her business. Her most recent loan was for L12,030 or $633. These loans have made a significant impact in her life by enabling her to earn more income and enjoy an improved quality of life.

Since Aida began her business she has also worked with other microcredit institutions. However, she says that she prefers to work with Adelante because our loan process is much simpler than others. This makes a significant difference for micro entrepreneurs who wish to develop a profitable business but are limited by loan requirements or confusing processes.

Aida tells me that although times have become more difficult now, she is thankful for the loans and her husband’s support, which allow her to make progress each day. She hopes in the future to be able to take out a Home Improvement Loan. Aida says that any home improvements would begin with her kitchen, which has a dirt floor. Her enthusiasm for home improvement loans is unsurprising, as many of our clients have expressed interest in them since we began offering these loans last year. Her success in establishing her own convenience store after more than two decades of selling lottery tickets demonstrates the dedication and perseverance that is common among our clients.

First Impressions from the Atlántida Department

Glenda outside of the assembly meeting in her community.

I started off my first full week in Honduras with day trips just outside of La Ceiba with a couple of our Credit Officers to get to know some of our rural borrowers within the department of Atlántida. During these first few field trips I went to the assembly meetings prepared for the clients’ hesitance to volunteer to be interviewed. In the five assemblies I have attended so far, when asked for volunteers the women preferred to volunteer each other rather than themselves. However once the interviews began and my notebook was put away, the women felt more at ease to answer any of my questions.

One such client is Glenda, a 46 year old woman who has been with Adelante since November 2009 and has benefited from the organization with six loans in total. Her first loan with Adelante was for L3000, or about $158. Since then she has been able to successfully grow her business and increase her loan amounts to the most recent one she has taken out for L10,030 or $528.

Glenda began her business three years ago by selling accessories and clothing after inheriting a store from her father. She then began her involvement with Adelante after a friend invited her to an assembly meeting. The atmosphere of the meeting sparked her interest and she tells me now that her favorite part about Adelante is going to the assembly meetings to see the other women and enjoying refreshments with them afterwards. She is happy and grateful for the unity and support that she feels connects them.

Glenda’s assembly meeting finishing with the Adelante slogan.

Adelante‘s lending methodology, which incorporates assemblies and solidarity groups, helps its clients to maintain a system of support and unity among them. Typically, our clients do this by forming their groups with people whom they already trust. Over the course of the assembly meeting, I could see clearly why Glenda had been quickly convinced that this would be a supportive atmosphere–the women were attentive and engaged with the information that their Credit Officer, Juan presented to them and arrived early and stayed late after the meeting to socialize with each other.

Glenda is using this most recent loan to stock up on merchandise including purses, pants and other clothing and accessories. At home she lives with her husband, who works for a government agency responsible for water sanitation and supply, and two of her three children who are now between the ages of 24 and 28. This means that although her children are older, she still maintains some economic responsibility for the two children who are living at home. She hopes to continue expanding her business so that she can invest in a car in the future. This would help her business significantly by allowing her to travel to stores and markets to buy her merchandise and easily transport it back to her own store.

From her story and those of the other women I was privileged to interview, I found inspiration in their resilient nature and determination to continue working hard despite the various barriers that lay in their paths. The women that I met do not fit any given mold. Although most of the women I spoke with have children, their marriage status varies. I was initially surprised upon receiving a mixed answer of “No… Well…yes, yes I am.”, when I asked one woman if she is married. With a wide range of living arrangements and family units among Hondurans as a result of economic situations and other factors, many women here appear to face even greater challenges to providing for their families and maintaining stability for their children.

Adelante addresses these and other issues by empowering women to take their economic problems into their own hands and either head their household’s finances or play a key role with other family members to address their family’s needs. In the coming months, I am eager to meet more of our clients and become familiar with our branches in Intibucá, Choluteca, El Progreso and Tocoa. I look forward to sharing with you another impressive story from the field in early September that provides a glimpse into the life of another client who has been able to continue growing her business with the help of Adelante.

Rural Development in La Ceiba

Rio Cangrejal & Pico Bonito national park

As La Ceiba geared up for its annual Carnival celebrating its patron saint, Isidore the Laborer, I decided to refresh my perceptions of the area by getting out into the field again. During the Carnival, thousands of foreign and national tourists arrive to partake in the festive celebrations.  La Ceiba is known as the ¨tourism capital of Honduras¨ given its proximity to beaches, white-water rivers, and national parks.  Moreover, the city’s nightlife district or Zona Viva holds the reputation as the best in the country. Although La Ceiba is rich in culture, nightlife, and natural beauty, many people who inhabit the city and the surrounding countryside are poor and lack opportunities to improve their quality of life.

I joined an Adelante Credit Officer to visit microloan recipients outside of La Ceiba in the municipality of El Porvenir.  La Ceiba’s early growth was propelled by the Standard Fruit Company, which exported fruit crops from the city’s port.  Agricultural exports continue to be an important feature of the economic landscape around La Ceiba, and El Porvenir is notable for its vast pineapple plantations.  The town also shares a shoreline with the Caribbean Sea, which attracts tourists, especially during Holy Week.  Without grocery stores, markets or commercial centers, many residents depend on La Ceiba’s city center for many goods and services, but with the spread of micro-entrepreneurs, this is changing.

Vilma & youngest daughter

Vilma has been a client with Adelante for four years, and is currently paying off a loan for L 13,000 or $684.  This energetic mother of four has three different business ventures: a small restaurant, convenience store, and merchandise stall.  Vilma has big plans for her micro businesses and hopes to bring better prices and a greater diversity of goods to her community.  In the future, Vilma would like to turn her small convenience store into a bodega or small supermarket and move it across the street to another piece of land she owns.  With the extra space, Vilma and her eldest daughter would like to start an internet cafe.  She also plans to use her next loan from Adelante to invest in more sandals and used clothes for her merchandise stall.  Vilma’s entrepreneurial spirit is inspiring and exemplifies how microcredit helps spur greater economic activity in rural villages.

Francisca, Adelante client

Farther along the highway and not far from the popular wildlife reserve Cuero y Salado, another client, Francisca, also illustrates the impact of microfinance.  Over the years, Francisca has succeeded in educating each of her four children, ages 15 to 23, thanks to the income earned from her micro enterprise.  This is an impressive feat considering she is a single mother.  On her property, Francisca runs a snack stall, and her two sons, who both graduated as mechanics, have a car and bike workshop.  Her youngest child is still in secondary school, and her oldest is a teacher at a local primary school.  Not only has Francisca earned a living in her rural village, but she has also helped her children to achieve an education and contribute to the local development of their community.

While La Ceiba is revered for its extravagant Carnival, natural splendor, and relaxed attitude, we must not forget the plight of the rural poor.  That’s why Adelante was founded in La Ceiba in 1999 and began disbursing its first microloans in 2000.  At present, the branch office in La Ceiba is helping more than 1,335 clients work their way out of poverty through small business loans.  Over the years, Adelante has given hope to thousands of women across Honduras, and it all started in La Ceiba over a decade ago.

A Resourceful Team

Brenda Lizeeth Oliva Milla is a proud member of the Adelante Foundation assembly group in the community of Belaire, Atlantida.  Brenda resides in a rural setting outside the town of Jutiapa, approximately one hour from La Ceiba, Honduras, where she sells locally popular meals and cosmetic products.  Recently, Brenda began her third loan cycle and is eager to continue growing her businesses to improve her family’s overall quality of life.

Belaire Assemby Group

At only 30 years old, Brenda concerns herself with supporting the demands of her bustling family.  She and her husband have been blessed with six children ranging in age from ten months to 14 years.  Before receiving her first loan with Adelante, Brenda and her husband lived hand to mouth selling small quantities of produce.  They were unable to save money or receive a loan from a bank in order to increase inventory and sell more goods.  Upon taking out her first loan of roughly $150.00 or L 3000, Brenda invested in selling popular meals such as fish platters or beef tripe soup called Sopa de Mondongo in Honduras.  With the extra income earned from this small enterprise, Brenda was able to bring electricity to her home.  She cheerfully recounts, “I bought all the wire and everything to get electricity in my house, so now when I turn on the lights it’s a reminder of the loans”.

With her second loan cycle, Brenda decided to purchase cosmetic products which she resells to members of he local community.  Now on her third loan cycle of $250.00 or L 5000, she plans not only to continue to invest in her existing endeavors, but to buy and raise a few piglets in order to sell for a considerable profit in six months.  Brenda talks about her loans with great pride and confidence.  She understands the importance of reinvesting and expanding activities.

Brenda is fortunate in that her husband fully supports her participation as a client with the Adelante Foundation.  In fact, when asked who is the boss in the household, Brenda contends, “we are a team, but I am the boss; after all, the house is mine!”  She and her husband work was a team in order to buttress their sales and better serve the growing needs of their children.

Each of Brenda’s school-aged children attend a public primary school in the community. Previously the family lacked the resources to make the most of their education.  Now, income is spent to improve the family’s overall nutrition and to buy much needed clothes and school supplies for her children.  In the future, Brenda hopes each of her children will be able to attend and complete secondary school, but she knows that with six children she and her husband must continue working hard in order to meet this impressive goal.