African Heritage Month in Honduras

Here at Adelante, April is not just the Month of Microfinance–it’s also African Heritage Month in Honduras! To learn a little bit more about what we are celebrating, check out our new blog post written by three Adelante staff members of Garífuna descent: http://www.adelantefoundation.org/en/read-our-blog/42-from-the-field/170-african-heritage-month-in-honduras

Celebrating the rhythm of La Punta during the 216th Anniversary Celebrations of the arrival of the Garifuna to Honduras

We have now moved our blog posts to our website but will continue to feature summaries here! 

 

Julieta Castellanos Receives Women of Courage Award

Photo courtesy of La Prensa

Last Friday, Adelante celebrated International Women’s Day with our female main office staff and a group of ceibeña women looking to become more active in promoting economic empowerment among all Honduran women. While we enjoyed our own productive gathering, Julieta Castellanos was visiting the US to receive a Women of Courage Award from US Secretary of State John Kerry and First Lady Michelle Obama. She was among nine recipients from around the world to receive this award, and the only Latin American. The other courageous women hail from Afghanistan, Nigeria, Russia, Somalia, China, Syria, Vietnam and India (1).

Castellanos is the Rector of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (National Autonomous University of Honduras) and suffered the loss of her 22 year old son at the hands of Honduras’ national police in October 2011. Her son was kidnapped and then murdered in Honduras’ capital city of Tegucigalpa (2). Rather than allowing the tragic death of her son to defeat her, she has risen up further to promote human rights across the country. She continues to speak out against corruption, drug trafficking and Honduras’ high murder rates (1). Last year, Julieta Castellanos was also the recipient of the annual Martin Luther King Jr Award presented by US Ambassador Lisa Kubiske during an event sponsored by the Martin Luther King Jr Foundation and the Instituto Hondureño de Cultura Interamericana. The award recognized her for her work fighting for the “social and democratic rights of the Honduran people” (3).

During the ceremony, John Kerry made an argument that Adelante continues to promote everyday, “Women’s issues, as we know, are more than just women’s issues. They are families’ issues, they are economic issues, they are security issues, they are justice issues” (1). The impact that loans and education have on our clients reach beyond the women themselves, to their families and communities.

Adelante’s work to empower women has a ripple effect: economic opportunities for women offer their families a source of income within their own rural communities to deter migration into urban areas or the US. Often when I speak with the women who have been clients with Adelante for several loan cycles, they are proud of the confidence and self-esteem gained from their improved living conditions and the education received. The improved self-esteem is also often passed on to their daughters and granddaughters, impacting generations to come.

As Adelante continues to work in terms of economic empowerment, we value the importance of Julieta Castellano’s contributions to promote basic human rights throughout the country. To watch the full award ceremony and learn about the work of other Women of Courage, click here: http://www.c-span.org/Events/State-Department-Hosts-Women-of-Courage-Awards/10737438660/.

(1) <http://www.c-span.org/Events/State-Department-Hosts-Women-of-Courage-Awards/10737438660/&gt; March 8, 2013.

(2) Michael Solis. “Castellanos Speaks of Youth’s Dismal Reality”. <http://hondurasweekly.com/201206255480/International/5480-castellanos-speaks-of-youths-dismal-reality.html&gt; June 25, 2012

(3) <http://honduras.usembassy.gov/pr-042012-eng.html&gt; April 20, 2012.

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.

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(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.

Global Microcredit Summit 2011

Meeting Dr. Yunus, Founder Grameen Bank

The Adelante Foundation was recently represented by six top managers and seven board members at the Global Microcredit Summit in Valladolid, Spain.  Microfinance institutions from around the world were able to partake in workshops, courses, presentations and other events on using microcredit to eradicate global poverty.  Speakers at the Summit included some of the most influential practitioners in the industry, such as the founder of Grameen Bank in Bangledesh, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, co-founders Lynne Patterson and Carmen Valasco of Pro Mujer and Finca International’s founder John Hatch. Since the Adelante Foundation’s methodology is based on the Grameen Bank model, a special moment for our team was meeting Dr. Yunus.

After the conference, the delegates from our team in Honduras reflected on what they had learned and ideas for the upcoming 2012 year. One theme that resonated with many of our team members is the use of educational loans to improve opportunities for our clients and their families.  Unfortunately, insecurity attributed to delinquency is escalating in Honduras, and improving economic opportunities for young people is an important solution to this social problem.  Income earned by our clients is spent on education for their children, but paying for secondary school, university, or skills- training still remain a challenge. Offering educational loans to foster better opportunities for the children of our clients is an area of interest, and as General Manager, Sophia Anderson, puts it, ¨This way we might be able to reduce the number of young Hondurans that wind up becoming delinquents because they weren’t offered a better opportunity¨.

The relationship between microfinance and agricultural production also surfaced as a crucial component to reducing rural poverty.  The provision of loans or training sessions for agricultural production would enhance income generation from agriculture.  Many farmers already work with credit, but some are still excluded for a variety of reasons.  A step towards developing this type of loan product would be determining where microcredit would be most needed.  In the upcoming year, the Education Department is already planning to offer interactive workshops on agricultural production in order to boost profits and improve household food security.

Climate change is a global issue that will affect every nation in the future.  Using microfinance to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was another topic that emerged during the Summit.  Loans to purchase products that reduce emissions, such as solar panels or high efficiency stoves, also have the added benefit of moderating household expenses.  Claudia Nunez, Director of Accounting and IT, remarks, ¨A high efficiency stove is a product option that is being implemented by many institutions to help the problem of climate change and also clients’ economies¨.  Climate change can not be neglected since the underprivileged will suffer the most from the impacts of a warmer climate.

Lastly, the summit reiterated the importance of offering clients the opportunity to save with microfinance institutions.  National regulations often prohibit the development of savings accounts with unregulated banking institutions, which is a challenge faced by many microfinance institutions globally, including the Adelante Foundation.  This is the case in Honduras, so one potential solution being investigated is becoming a regulated institution. However, this change would never be undertaken if it would compromise our mission to serve Honduras’ rural poor.  The Summit reaffirmed our commitment to solving this problem so that our clients can save more.

Honduran team and Board of Directors, Valladolid, Spain

Each of the team members that attended the Summit reflected on how the Adelante Foundation is achieving its mission to improve the quality of life of the rural poor in Honduras.  The ideas and themes presented here are just a few of the highlights that transpired. Jose Luis Saldivar, Zone Supervisor and Agency Supervisor for the El Progreso branch, affirms, ¨I enjoyed the Summit because that’s where ideas are born and this is a big help to microfinance institutions from around the world¨.  In considering how the Adelante Foundation compares to other similar institutions, our team felt that while there are improvements to be made, we should be proud that we are so strongly committed to our mission.

Discord & Human Rights Violations in Bajo Aguan

African Palm Plantation, Colon

International press has recently brought attention to the agrarian conflict in an area known as Bajo Aguan, which is in the Honduran department of Colon.  The Adelante Foundation team has received inquiries from our generous supporters about the on-going land crisis.  For this reason, we would like to take this opportunity to inform our followers about the discord and human rights violations taking place in Bajo Aguan.

The conflict involves a land dispute between peasant farmers and wealthy landowners.  Peasant groups are occupying African palm plantations that they believe belong to them, arguing that the land was illegally sold to wealthy landowners in the 1990s.  Over the last two years, dozens of people have died, many of those killed were peasant farmers who reclaimed their lands as part of the movement.

In recent months, CNN and the New York Times have published articles on the violence in Bajo Aguan, and international organizations have been recognizing human rights violations since the conflict erupted.  A fact finding mission to Bajo Aguan, undertaken by several international organizations, documented the repressive tactics aimed to quell peasant movements, from intimidation to murder.  The director of Human Rights Watch released a statement calling on the Honduran government to conduct an impartial investigation into the killings of peasant farmers.  Amnesty International urged its supporters to take action against the forceful eviction of peasants.  These and other organizations are concerned about the state’s failure to protect its citizens in Bajo Aguan, and they criticize the Honduran government for not developing a comprehensive resolution to the dispute.

Photo credit La Prensa Honduras

The Adelante Foundation’s branch office in Tocoa serves the department of Colon with microcredit, which contributes to poverty alleviation in rural Honduras.   Clients from Bajo Aguan have been affected by the persistent tension in the area.  The main problem cited by our clients is the general climate of insecurity, which encourages delinquency and petty crime.  Women face a greater risk venturing out to sell their products, and the recent instability has impacted their small business sales.  Under the current circumstances, many people are reluctant to leave their immediate neighborhoods. President Lobo has escalated military and police presence in Bajo Aguan, stationing personnel permanently in order to maintain security. An Adelante Foundation client admitted that the military occupation is not a solution to the land conflict, a sentiment presumably shared by many residents of Bajo Aguan.

The current land dispute has its roots in the 1970s, when the Honduran government launched an agrarian reform campaign, redistributing lands to various peasant cooperative associations in Colon department.  In the early 1990s, these lands were sold to wealthy landowners eager to expand African Palm cultivation.  Dinant Corporation is the most prominent actor in the dispute, with over 22 000 acres of African Palm plantations, which is over one fifth of the agricultural lands in Bajo Aguan(1).  African Palms are cultivated in order to produce palm oil, which is exported as a biofuel and also used in the production of numerous household products and processed foods.

Photo credit Norwegian People's Aid

Peasants claim that the lands in question were illegally sold, an assertion supported in a report published by an International Observation Mission, which documented  human rights abuses in Bajo Aguan.  The most notable peasant group to have emerged is MUCA (Movimiento Unificado del Aguan or the Unified Peasant Movement of Aguan), which is demanding land sales from the 1990s be voided. Prior to the coup that ousted Manuel Zelaya in June 2009, an agreement was negotiated in an attempt to resolve the agrarian conflict.  Following the coup, the agreement was never enacted by the interim government or by President Lobo’s newly elected government.  MUCA aimed to pressure the Lobo administration by undertaking land invasions of selected plantations in Bajo Aguan.  These actions have sparked a wave of violence against the peasant movements, and since President Lobo was elected, over 40 peasant farmers have been killed, and several others, including private security forces, police, military, and innocent bystanders have lost their lives in Bajo Aguan(2).

In September 2011, the National Congress of Honduras approved a deal that attempts to resolve the discord.  The state will buy land from Dinant Corporation, allowing members of two peasant groups to purchase land with state guaranteed bank loans.  Dinant Corporation is expected to earn 546 million Honduran lempiras (or nearly $29 million) from the state’s land purchase, if the transaction occurs this coming January(3).  However, other peasant groups claiming lands have been left out of these negotiations.  Furthermore, the militarization of Bajo Aguan is of great concern given the documented collaboration between state security forces and private guards in repressing the peasant movements(4).  No arrests have been made for the murders of peasant farmers, extending impunity to perpetrators of violence. Last month, a human rights observatory was permanently established in Tocoa in order to document on-going human rights abuses in the area.  Hopefully, the mounting international attention on human rights violations will push the Lobo administration to confront these injustices.

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(1)Malkin, Elizabeth. ¨In Honduras, Land Struggles Highlight Post Coup Polarization¨ New York Times.  Sept. 15 2011.

(2)¨Honduras: Investigate Killings of Peasants¨. Human Rights Watch.  Sept. 9 2011.

(3)¨Inauguran observatorio de DD HH en Bajo Aguan¨ El Heraldo. Nov. 15 2011.

(4)International Observers Mission. ¨Honduras: Human Rights Violations in Bajo Aguan¨ International Fact Finding Mission.  July 2011.

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?

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(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.