Dear
DiscoverHope Family,
As
we prepare for the annual DiscoverHope gala on
October 25,
I wanted to write you personally as I prepare for a return trip to Cajamarca
Peru from Sept 27-Oct 7. This time, I am honored to share the journey with my
fellow Board superstars, incredible Board Chair John Thornborrow and new
Boardie positive powerhouse Hector Dominguez.
I
truly hope you can join us at the gala where we will be returning
from fresh inspiration and community building in the northern Andes. I am so privileged to take this voyage
with these two mentors and friends.
John has been at the Heart of DiscoverHope since shortly after our formation as a nonprofit in 2006. He is one of
the most committed and compassionate people I know and has led our Board with
absolute vision for many years. John and his family are Legacy Donors who support an entire
community village bank of women to receive several loans a year as well as
customized business support to maximize their education and resourcefulness. I am truly excited for John to be greeted by their bank of
women (El Girasol “The Sunflowers”) and their families out in the field. We will be sure to capture the
beautiful images for the gala!
Hector entered our Board family with absolute dynamism this past spring. He brings the core leadership of a
practiced and successful entrepreneur who marries his passions of technology
and social impact. There’s nothing
more inspirational than learning from a World Changer who sees tech as a
solution to give power to help people globally. It will be quite an experience to watch him in our computer
classes and marvel at effect that $100 microloan can have for an entrepreneur.
For
DiscoverHope, this trip is about the beginning of a discussion about transition
into local sustainability. Our view is that good international development
means you give the power to people to use facilitate their enterprise. Sustainability for us is not only about
finances; it is about community well-being and leadership. We will begin the conversation with our
local partner to hire a local woman organizer to take the helm of HopeHouse
program development in the field. Des (our Program Director from US who lives
in the field) will step out of this role into more of a governance role and
train the locals to begin to assume coordination and management.
My
very first days in Peru were accented by powerful women making the most
unselfish of choices to raise their children on $2 a day. One unmistakable pattern I will never
forget in the hundreds of life-changing conversations was that every woman
spoke of her absolute willingness and desire to give her family a future. Give a handUP, not a handout. Give the power
to make a sustainable life for children.
And
here we are! I can’t wait to write
you from the field. Stay tuned and
so hope you can join us on Oct 25 to celebrate women entrepreneurs both inAustin and beyond.
Loving
Always!
Maggie
DiscoverHope Founder
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