HopeHouse Classes Back in Session

Hello DHF Family,



Delia Torres teaching jewelry class.



I’m excited to announce that the Hope House is officially open! Classes are in session! With great anticipation and careful planning I’ve been hard at work locating new teachers, new ideas, and new classes for our village banks. My hope is that our classes provide our women with new ways to expand their businesses and their bank accounts. Last week our newest addition to the project, Delia Torres, taught a class full of women three beautiful new earring designs and a fabulous bracelet. As we speak 15 loan recipients are learning how to make lemon pie with new Instructor Mari Marruffo…it smells so delicious! In addition to our traditional classes (Jewelry, Crafts, Culinary, and Crochet), I’ll be including Basic Computer Classes, Sewing, and Embroidery to our class listings in April.



Charo closing a deal with a customer.



In other news this past weekend Hope House Instructors and loan recipients, Charo Yupanqui and Alicia Linares participated in an artisan fair organized by the Instituto Nacional de Cultural (National Institute of Culture) in celebration of Artisan Day. You may remember that the mom/daughter duo participated in a national reality show in the search for the best crocheters in Peru. It was an exciting event and both Charo and Alicia sold more than $200 in crochet products. It was the first time that both began to view their work through the lens of an artisan. Thanks to the INC we’ll be participating in at least 3 more artisan fairs throughout the year!

Best,

Des

“What Progress Looks Like” & Other Reasons Why Our Annual Report is Actually Cool

Here in Austin, Cajamarca, & Chicago a team of folks are hard at work on our 2011 Annual Report, putting on the finishing touches -- at this point we’re in the whipped cream & sprinkles stage. Before I type another word – let me praise the goodness of Chicago’s own Tracy Kuramoto, our fantastic volunteer graphic designer. A true prince among men.

I know most annual reports are often met with respectful yawns. But I swear, ours is shaping up to be cool. Because we’ve got such good news to share -- 2011 was huge! We more than doubled in size in all key areas. It was inspiring to truly begin to see the evidence of stable, sustained prosperity in the lives of the women we serve.

One of those success points is another year of 100% loan payback. We think that’s amazing. Des, our newly married program director, blogged recently that Las Progresistas won our award for 2011 Village Bank of the Year…but we haven’t told you why they won. So, here’s a sneak peek of our annual report (look for it tomorrow on our homepage) and the back story of Las Progresistas to brighten your day.

Enjoy!

- Jennifer

WHAT PROGRESS LOOKS LIKE
DiscoverHope is proud to maintain a 100% microloan payback rate. A woman’s payback money directly circulates into additional loans for herself and her village bank. That does not mean, however, that no woman has ever defaulted on a microloan. That would be unrealistic. Instead, each village bank, as a group, takes ultimate responsibility to cover the microloan. Such adversity is rare, but when it happens, village banks persevere, overcome and ultimately become stronger.

Las Progresistas (Progressing Women) Village Bank is a fantastic example. Formed February 2010, the group faced problems when three members regularly missed repayment meetings and refused to contribute to their savings account. Naturally, group morale was low and a solution was needed. Instead of dismantling, the remaining members removed the incompliant women and invited trusted neighbors to fill the vacancies. They held fundraisers to pay off the former members’ debt. Las Progresistas now consists of nine members, all of whom are in the business of raising and selling small animals. A very strong team, they continue to organize small fundraisers but now use the proceeds to grow their savings accounts. During the holiday season members sold cups of delicious mazamorra, a popular hot drink made from boiling purple corn with pineapple, apples, cornstarch and lots of sugar and cinnamon.

Today, Las Progresistas truly live the definition of “progressing women.” In recognition of their perseverance, solidarity and strength, DiscoverHope proudly awarded Las Progresistas with the distinction of “Top Bank of 2011.”

Upon receiving the award, Isabel De La Cruz, the President of Las Progresistas said “We are proud to be this year’s Top Bank. As one of the original members I feel so blessed that instead of quitting, we decided to stay and make our bank a place where we can improve our businesses and learn new activities. Thank you, DiscoverHope.”

A FUNDRAISER, A WEDDING & A RENOVATION

Saludos DHF Family!

The DiscoverHope team is doing the “happy dance!”  We raised $5,000 through our Microcredit PLUS project on Connecther and a matching donation from the Stahl Family Foundation – enough to fund a village bank for a whole year! From the DiscoverHope staff and board, we want to say THANK YOU to all our supporters for helping us meet our goal.  We are deeply grateful to Lila Igram and Connecther for supporting our work and to the Stahl Family Foundation for their generous matching contribution.

During the past three weeks there’s also been a lot of commotion in   Cajamarca, Peru. I’m proud to announce that on February 6 , 2012 my longtime Peruvian boyfriend, Efrain, and I tied the knot in a simple civil ceremony with 8 guests in attendance. The ceremony itself was very INTERESTING to put it lightly. A typical ceremony lasts approximately 20 minutes. However, the Justice of the Peace felt it was his duty (I suppose because I’m a foreigner) to educate us on the Peruvian marriage code, line by line with anecdotes and tips on how to prevent an early divorce, resulting in an hour and a half lecture. Although our immediate family was unable to attend, we were surrounded by our “Cajamarca Family” who were perhaps more excited than we were to finally make it official.

Overall, it was a surreal moment. I would have never guessed in a million years that after moving back to Peru I’d meet my life partner and be of all things MARRIED. Efrain is my perfect match. Our love of music, dance, cooking, and watching movies keep us laughing and singing even on our toughest days. Our next step is to process our paperwork so I can obtain permanent residency in March and eventually dual citizenship in the next two years. We’re also planning a religious ceremony in Ica (Southern Peru) in early July so that our families can celebrate alongside us and finally meet for the first time. I’ll be sure to keep y’all posted on the big family reunion.

Before ending today’s blog entry, I wanted to provide a quick update on the Hope House and our development trainings. For the past two weeks the entire village banking team has pitched in and dedicated a few extra hours so that our office could receive a much needed makeover. All spaces have been painted in lovely shades of blue in honor of DHF. The Hope House definitely feels and looks much more like a home. Trainings will officially begin in two weeks but several of our newer banks from 2011 will commence crochet classes in community next week.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend filled with happiness and abundance!

~Des

Year in Review: Celebrating 2011

Hello DHF Family,




VB "Friends Forever" displays Best Dish entry

 

I wanted to start the year off right with some great news about out village banking project. On January 27, 2012 DiscoverHope celebrated our 2nd Annual Village Bank Conference in Otuzco, Cajamarca. Once a year we bring together our local staff and village banks to celebrate their major accomplishments and recognize our project milestones. In attendance were 20 village banks, 185 loan recipients, and 50 family members.

To keep the event fun and lively, we organized a Best Uniform, Best Yell, and Best Peruvian Dish Competition. We also recognized our literacy and computer students with certificates of achievement. The prize for “Top Bank of 2011” went to “Progressing Women,” whose picture was placed on the 2012 Project Calendar.  Bank President Isabel De La Cruz stated, “We are proud to be this year’s Top Bank. As one of the original members I feel so blessed that our bank is a place where we can grow personally and improve our businesses. Thank you DiscoverHope.”

In 2011, DiscoverHope in collaboration with our local partners and staff at Multicredit, provided 204 WOMEN with 392 LOANS and 781 TRAININGS while maintaining our signature 100% PAYBACK RATE.  Thanks to your overwhelming support and contributions we exceeded our goals and our expectations! I’m definitely looking forward to another prosperous year helping women achieve their goals and paying it forward. This year we'll provide a variety of blog entries profiling our women and highlighting our work both in Peru and in Texas. Please stay tuned with more to come!

Juliana Rumay receiving certificate from Instructor Lily Perez.

VB Progressing Women receiving "Top Bank 2011 Award"

Best,

Des



"Philanthropic Groupon": Give $25 & DiscoverHope gets $50!

&

DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR MATCHING DONATION

One of the blessings 2012 brings is the awareness that when you are building or creating, you don’t have to do it alone. When you set an intention, and communicate it to others, they will come together to support you. That has been our experience with DiscoverHope since its inception. Hundreds of women have come together to build their businesses, incomes and lives. Thousands of supporters have heard our message and provide critical funding.

Today, Connecther comes to us with an incredible opportunity for DiscoverHope to receive a MATCHING DONATION of up to $2,500. If 100 people give $25 then we will meet our goal and can sponsor and entire village bank for one year with this effort. A new group of women will be able to participate in microcredit, take classes to build their businesses and positively change their lives and their family’s future prosperity.

Think of it as a "Philanthropic Groupon". You give $25 and DiscoverHope receives $50! Your donation will be matched DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR.

Please consider being 1 of the 100 people to give $25 to DiscoverHope's Microcredit PLUS project through Connecther. Together we can forever impact the lives of women around the world, and all for as little as $25!

Our deadline is Friday, Februrary 17 so we only have a few days left. Please share the message and help DiscoverHope continue our important mission of alleviating poverty through microloans, entrepreneurship and training.

Profile in Strength: Ofelia Lara

Good Afternoon DHF Family,

As I sit at my desk and write this blog entry, there are over 40 loan recipients in the next room crocheting with Hope House Instructor, Rosario Yupanqui. This month’s product is a beautiful and very stylish “yamper” or jump suit. If you were to ask me, “Of all the women in the classroom, who stands out the most and why?” I’d have to say Ofelia Lara of Village Bank “Divino Niño” or “Divine Child.” Ten days ago in a tragic accident caused by the local electric company, Ofelia’s home (and everything in it) burned to the ground in a matter of minutes. Ofelia and her family were devastated and literally left with the clothes on their back.

Last Friday, I visited Ofelia at her home and found her in tears. Despite such a terrible loss, she was especially thankful for the outburst of community support that soon followed, specifically, donations collected by her village bank members, hot meals prepared by the local elementary school, and visits from strangers offering her strength and moral support. As a token of my support, I invited Ofelia to attend Hope House classes during the month of November free of charge and donated a few blankets and extra clothes tucked away in my apartment. She should have word if the electric company will cover all damages by next week.

Despite everything Ofelia has been through, like clockwork, she arrives at our Hope House classes at least ten minutes in advance with her same contagious laugh and cheesy jokes. Today she said to me, “Desi, my Hope House classes are my therapy. Besides making extra money, I get to spend time with my friends, laugh, and go home feeling rejuvenated and with the strength to carry on.” Often time it’s easiest to focus on the financial rewards that educational trainings provide our women. But it’s just as important to consider the emotional and spiritual rewards that are created from the important work we do every day.

Best,

Des

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