Ending the Week with Inspiration and Abundance



 Maria Pascuala of VB "Rositas" crocheting a poncho



Happy Friday DHF Family!

I’d like to begin by thanking you all for your continuous support in every sense of the word: spiritually, emotionally, and economically. Over the past month and half our village banking project has transformed and grown in so many ways, keeping our entire Cajamarca office on the go and determined to bring abundance to our women.  As of October 2011, our village banking project is now comprised of 21 banks and 216 beneficiaries. Not only have we fulfilled our goal of forming 10 additional village banks, we’ve now surpassed our goal of serving 200 low income women in Cajamarca, Peru by 16.

Since January, Hope House has provided 394 educational opportunities for our loan recipients which are helping our women develop new skills that provide additional income to grow their businesses and sustain their families. Year to date, loan recipients have reported $2,923.13 in additional income and $1,083 in additional savings thanks to our trainings. Beyond the financial rewards, my conversations with women have opened my eyes to the spiritual rewards that our Microcredit Plus model is providing.



More than 40 loan recipients attending a jewelry class in the Hope House

Magdalena Chatilan of Village Bank “Progressing Women” commented that, “Crochet classes in community have elevated my spirit and self-esteem. I never imagined that I could make money producing crochet products. Now, I am more financially independent and no longer have to ask my husband for an allowance. I feel so blessed to be a part of this project.” After a culinary class in the Hope House where women learned how to make ceviche, Celia Lara of Village Bank “Divine Son” shared the following: “Cooking classes are my favorite. The recipes are so easy to follow. Everything that I learn in the Hope House, I put into practice and the money I make I reinvest into my grocery stand.”



Village Bank Promoters Juana Mantilla and Bertha Garcia hard at work.



Lastly, I’d like to share a new addition to the Village Banking Project. With the growth of our project came the need to include a second village bank promoter with the necessary skills to help our women manage their loans, savings, and businesses. Instead of looking outward, we were fortunate enough to look inward and hire Juana Mantilla, former Village Bank President of “God’s Blessing.” Juana had previously worked as a secretary for the Municipality of Baños del Inca, but with a change in mayor, was relieved of her duties and unable to find a steady job. As a single mother desperate to pay the bills, she began selling roasted chicken’s feet (a common snack food in Peru) near her home in the evenings. Thanks to a loan from our village banking project, she was able to purchase a grill and increase sales. Now Juana will be able to put her profession in practice and help women on their journey of abundance. Her contagious laugh, charisma, and dedication have brought a breath of fresh air to the office. And I am proud to say that DHF is now promoting a legacy of abundance by providing beneficiaries with an opportunity to create and share wealth.

As you can see much has happened in such little time. As we approach the final months of 2011, I’ll be sharing more stories of daily life here in Cajamarca and of our women’s transformations thanks to your contributions.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Des

And the Winner Is …..

Monday afternoon our entire Hope House staff and village bank members had their eyes glued to the TV screen to see who would be named best crocheter in Cajamarca by the hit daytime show “Lima Limon”. Two of our Hope House Instructors, Alicia Linares and her daughter, Rosario Yupanqui, were the front runners. Rosario presented three beautiful outfits with bright pinks, blues, and oranges— just like her personality. Her designs were one of a kind and I was convinced she would take home the crown. But when Alicia graced the stage, she surprised everyone with an elegant wedding dress that included gloves and a hat. After more than forty minutes of anticipation, the panel of judges finally made a decision. AND THE WINNER WAS…ALICIA LINARES! Along with the title, Alicia won S/. 5,000 (approximately $1,800) and will now advance to the finals where she will compete with women from Lima, Cusco, Arequipa, and other well-known cities. I’m so proud of both of our teachers and grateful that our women are able to learn a trade that provides so much abundance in their lives. Did I mentioned that both sent warm greetings to the Hope House and our women? I wasn’t able to record the programn but I took a picture of the TV screen just before they announced the winner. Rosario is located on the left and Alicia on the right.

Best,

Des

Lights, Camera, Action!



Alicia Linares and Rosario Yupanqui preparing to be interviewed.



Saludos DHF Family!

I couldn’t wait to share the wonderful news with all of you back home regarding two of our amazing Hope House instructors: Rosario “Charo” Yupanqui and her mother, Alicia Linares. Both came on board in February of this year and currently manage three crochet circles in the town of Baños del Inca. Upon interviewing both for the job, I was immediately captivated by their amazing ability to crochet and knit beautiful articles of clothing (in record time) as well as their sincere desire to help our women learn a craft that is both financially and spiritually rewarding. So what is all the good news about? This past Saturday I received word that both were finalists in national crochet competition hosted by the famous Peruvian television show “Lima Limón.” To understand the magnitude of this event, think the “Today Show” meets “American Idol.”  What made the stream of events even more exciting is that both received word via ambush. Charo, finishing her final touches on a poncho with crochet circle “Fuerza y Bendicion,” noticed from the distance an entourage of lights and cameras running towards her. When they finally made it to her she was already in tears excited to know that she’ll be traveling to Lima in less than a week to compete in the mother of all crochet competitions in Peru.  Alicia was at home preparing lunch when a knock at the door similar to a Publisher’s Clearing House moment lead to hugs and kisses congratulating her as one of three finalists in Cajamarca. In a nutshell, Charo and Alicia will be travelling to Lima on Monday, August 15, where they will present three of their best crochet clothing designs. A panel of judges will then select the winner who will then advance to the finals competing with women from Cusco, Trujillo, Lima, and other cities. Part of the competition consists of designing an outfit from head to toe based on a theme (wedding, carnival, etc.). The winner will receive a check for S/.5,000 (approximately $1,800) and a supply of yarn from the company Cisne. I’m confident either Charo or Alicia will be the winner. On Sunday the film crew asked me to tape a greeting explaining or village bank project and our teacher’s involvement in Hope House. By Monday all of Peru will know who DHF is! Let’s keep our fingers crossed and see what happens.

Des  

Crochet Circles In Review





Hello DHF Family,

It’s Des signing back in! I’d like to start the month of August off right with none other than crocheting! This past July we had some amazing experiences with our crochet classes, which have not only provided our women with extra income, but have helped unite our village banks even more. If you remember in February of this year, I noticed that our women living in rural communities had an extremely difficult time attending our Hope House classes in Cajamarca. The rise in bus fair and the commuting time can make, what should be an easy trip to the Hope House, extremely challenging. After asking the women about the kinds of classes they'd like to participate in, it was unanimous. HELLO CROCHET CIRCLES HERE WE COME!

We currently have 10 active crochet circles in which women select a design for the month. The Hope House contracts an instructor for three to four classes and women pay half the cost of their yarn. In the end, the women have a product that can either be sold or gifted with the end result either being a profit or savings. What started out as an attempt to help bring Hope House to more women is now a well organized program generating additional income that allows our women to help pay back their loans and reivest in their businesses, homes, and families. Many of our participants now have special orders. Others are either focusing their businesses on crocheting or reconsidering changing their current business. During the month of June, our crochet circles reported a total of $312.84 in additional income. I’m still crunching the numbers for July but they are sure to exceed $350.  I’d like to end this entry with a few additional numbers that will give you a better perspective:

·         Since February 2011 we have organized a total of 131 classes.

·         A total of $1,538.94 in additional income was reported.

·         A total of $667.74 in additional savings was reported.

·         More than 98 women have benefited from these classes.

So in conclusion, thanks to your financial contributions our women are living more abundant lives!

Recently formed crochet circle "Las Hortensias" celebrating the end of their first module in which they made beautiful blouses.



Crochet Circle "Las Rositas" completing their first month of classes.



Emerita and Marta from Crochet Circle "Las Margaritas" hard at work finishing the final touches on the baby sweaters.

Best,

Des

A Lesson in Abundance

Of the 168 days I’ve been working as DHF’s Field Program Manager, Friday was by far the best day of this entire experience. Literacy is one of the pillars of the plus side of microcredit. Currently we have 10 students who religiously attend class once a week in the hope of learning how to sign their name, read short stories, and complete simple addition and subtraction problems. In May of this year, our literacy teacher, Lily Perez, brought to my attention that almost all of our students were having difficulty advancing due to a single problem—poor vision. Being the problem solver that I am, I began to ask around Cajamarca about any vision campaigns, prescription glasses donations, or reduced rate vision tests to get our women help. With no luck, I decided to try one last place. When Maggie visited the project in April of this year she stayed at a beautiful hostal called Los Jazmines. The owners are German and have spent over two decades helping Cajamarquinos receive medical attention and services to improve their health. With my heart heavy, I visited Los Jazmines and shared our situation with the head receptionist, Miss Lucy. About half way through my story, Lucy interrupted me and mentioned that two years ago Los Jazmines had organized a massive vision campaign and box of reading and prescription glasses was leftover. After a few phone calls, Lucy shared the good news… the hostel was donating more than 300 pairs of glasses to our cause! All I wanted were 10 pairs and now I was receiving 3oo! So on Friday we tested our literacy circle students from Tartar Chico for their first pair of glasses. It was an amazing experience to see the women’s reaction as they were finally seeing for the first time in years. This was the first time in my life that I asked for something and in return received so much abundance. This Friday our second literacy circle, which meets in the Hope House, will be tested for their glasses. I’ll be sure to include more pictures.

 ~Des



Week in Review: Butterflies, Tiaras, and Blouses

Hello DHF Family,

It’s Desireé signing back in. This week it’s been business as usual here in the Hope House. Due to high demand and constant requests by our jewelry students to build butterfly earring holders, we finally obtained the materials (thanks to Carmen Pajares who traveled to Lima two weeks ago) and made it happen. With 26 participants, the women we’re all about business. Each uniquely painted and designed their butterfly to reflect their sense of style. And I must say, there was paint everywhere but with a little soap and water, our classroom looked just as lovely as before. Now our jewelry students have beautiful displays that they can use when either selling jewelry or organizing new models that design in the Hope House.

In other news, yesterday’s theme was tiaras. Here in Peru, for birthdays, first communions, quinceañeras, weddings, and other special occasions, women often like to wear fancy up-dos with glitter, flowers, and the works. In 30 minutes our students learned how to make a simple and economical flower tiara that can be sold at S/.30 (approximately $7.00). Instead of renting a tiara, now our women can either make one or gift one to a family member or neighbor in need.

Lastly, today we started a three class module for the month of June in which crochet students will learn how to design a fashion-forward blouse with flowers. We had visitors from our newest bank “Las Hortensias.” They were excited to finally visit the Hope House and meet our crochet instructor, Charo Yupanqui. The students take their classes very seriously and already have offers to buy the blouses they are just now starting to make. I’ll keep you posted once they fiso you can see the final results in two weeks.

~Des

DiscoverHope Proudly Hires New Executive Director: A Letter from Founder Maggie Miller

Dear DiscoverHope Family,

Thank you to your continued support, this spring marked the fifth anniversary of DiscoverHope! We are fortunate to have grown at a pace that has far surpassed our goals and expectations. On behalf of the Board of Directors, I am so proud to share with you that an organizational dream has come to fruition. To compliment and encourage the upward movement DiscoverHope has experienced, we are elated to announce that we’ve hired a new rock solid, light-filled, Executive Director— Jennifer Edwards.

The privilege of a lifetime is being who we are. On my list of decisions that have enriched and changed me forever, being the Founder and five-year Executive Director of DiscoverHope is right there at the top. Creating and growing an organization from the still small voice of an idea into where we are today is indeed an Odyssey. The entrepreneurial journey is intoxicating, exciting, intense, tough, lonely, electrifying, uplifting, and an endless list of emotional expressions that span the continuum of being human. In any journey, the fabric of the people woven into that adventure is forever changed. I see clearly that DiscoverHope is the living example of loving transformation that people gift to this world. Every one of you has helped people radiate!

Inevitably, the natural questions of “what now” and “what next” will be asked. There is no juicy gossip in the Austin pipeline on this one. What next for me, as Founder, will be to continue my role with DiscoverHope as an integral part of the Board of Directors. I am truly excited to fulfill this strategic role and will be focusing on our vision, growth, fundraising, and program development. I hope my conviction and faith in this organizational decision being the right one is highlighted by the fact I wrote myself out of my own job.

Just as DiscoverHope was created by listening to the inner vision of the still small voice, once again, after seven years (including two spent living in Peru) of pouring my heart and soul into the fabric of DiscoverHope, I KNOW we are in a very healthy place to allow someone with an incredible set of experiences to take over the operational helm of leadership. Through my own prayer and reflection, it comes down to the fact that sometimes you “gotta get out of the way” to allow fresh perspective and new growth. So many young nonprofits don’t get the chance to experience this next level of growth. I feel ecstatic that DiscoverHope has grown to the place where we can hire an expert Executive leader to continue guiding our team and simply shift over my role onto the Board where my greatest strengths will compliment the organization.

Replacing yourself is an intriguing learning process. As we sorted through resumes (more than 200!)— the one requirement was to find someone who could hold the internal Light of DiscoverHope that is so inherent to our family.

Jennifer Edwards shines with the executive energy we were seeking. Under her guidance, we look forward to growing into a more mature, well rounded nonprofit. Jennifer has spent her career working to help people achieve success and has expertise in fundraising, operational excellence, and strategic planning. She boasts more than 15 years of nonprofit executive experience in Central Texas; most recently as the founding Chief Executive Officer of United Way of Williamson County. Other organizational leadership positions with Helping Hand Home for Children, Paramount Theatre, and United Way Capital Area highlight her ability to lead and strengthen nonprofit fundraising. Jennifer is a special woman and we are very grateful to have her.

You are endlessly special to me and I know that in Jennifer, you will continue receiving the reflection of Love that you deserve. For those of you who have grown accustomed to getting some doses of love and light from me, I’m still here for you! I hope that as Founder/Board Director/Friend I can count on each of you to continue to hold and grow this vision with us through your continued generosity of time, talent, and financial contributions.

Please celebrate this exciting chapter of growth with us knowing that we believe in the decision with every ounce of who we ARE.

I have so much Love for you,
Maggie