Celebrating the Joy of Motherhood in Cajamarca!

Good Morning DHF Family!

After getting some much needed rest and relaxation, I’m excited to share the highlights of our 2^nd Annual Mother’s Day Celebration. Yesterday was a refreshing and very gratifying reminder of why we dedicate so much time and energy into our village banking project here in Cajamarca, Peru. Our women are simply amazing and true testaments of what it means to sacrifice and persevere all in the name of motherhood.

To sum it up in a few words, it was afternoon of pure fun and relaxation. For three hours, more than 215 women from 22 village banks were able to forget about the stresses of raising a family and running a business and simply laugh, play, and spend quality time with their fellow bank members. Women played familiar games such as the egg toss, the balloon run, and  the three legged run. They also enjoyed artistic numbers prepared by kids who attend HopeHouse childcare services on a regular basis. The event culminated with a raffle in which we gifted two large baskets filled with rice, sugar, cooking oil, and other essential food staples. I've included a video of the event so you can see first hand how the events unfolded.

Organizing such an event was a huge challenge and required the help of our two Village Bank Promoters, HopeHouse Assistant, a Multicredit Intern, and yours truly. By the end of the day, we had filled 235 glasses of chicha morada (purple corn refreshment) and prepared 250 sandwiches, 300 appetizers, and 350 alfajores (small cookies filled with manjar blanco or dulce de leche).



HopeHouse Kids dancing a huayno for our moms.

For this blog entry we thought it would be interesting to share the thoughts and opinions of our two Village Bank Promoters, Bertha and Graciela, about the event. Both spend the majority of their day helping our members manage their loans and savings accounts and organizing personalized business consultations when challenges arise. Due to the nature of the work, the two have developed a close working relationship with all of our women.

 Bertha’s Words:

“Today was such an amazing day for me. When I visit the women’s businesses, they often share the hardships of being a mother. Many of our women are single parents with three of four children. In life we always need a moment to forget our problems and simply relax. Today seeing the faces of our women with smiles and laughter made me feel happy and proud to be a part of this incredible project. Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms in the United States!”

Graciela’s Words:

In Peru, Mother’s Day is one of our most important holidays. A mother is the heart of a family.  She is responsible for raising the kids, maintaining the household, and often the primary bread winner. Today I was happy to be a part of the event. I had so much fun planning the activities and dancing with the women. I am use to seeing our women hard at work at their businesses and to see them laugh, dance, and play is refreshing. I’m so appreciative that DiscoverHope is helping the women of Cajamarca progress and provide a better future for their children. “

I’d like to end the blog entry thanking all of you for your generous support throughout the year. Our Mother’s Day Celebration would not be possible without you. As you prepare to celebrate the mothers and grandmothers in your life, I hope you also remember the women of Cajamarca who think of all of you on a constant basis.

Best,

Des

Mother’s Day is always a big event at DiscoverHope! 97% of the women we serve are mothers (or grandmothers) and May 13 is a revered Peruvian holiday. Family members from near and far will gather at Mom’s house on Sunday afternoon for a big shared feast.  Often the first born child will begin the meal with a tribute toast to mom, thanking her and expressing the family’s adoration.  And afterwards – music & dancing!

DiscoverHope is getting into the spirit by honoring our village bank moms on May 9.  We’re planning a fun fiesta with games, dancing, singing, and small presents for all the mothers and their families.  Afterwards, we’ll post a video (www.lendhope.org) so you can experience the joy of the event. 

As you ponder your own expression for Mother’s Day, please consider making a gift to DiscoverHope in honor of a mother in your life and the mothers of DiscoverHope.  You can honor a loved one by completing the dedication acknowledgement section on our donation page, and we will send a personalized Mother’s Day letter on your behalf.

 

DiscoverHope is building a family of inspired people – and nothing is more central to our mission than honoring the mothers we serve, like Rosa Montoya from Village Bank Mujeres Emprendedoras (Women Entrepreneurs).  Please join us in celebrating mothers and make a donation today!   

“DiscoverHope has offered me a wonderful opportunity to provide for my family. I now have the skills to advance my business and earn more money in the process. My vision is to eventually open a restaurant in my hometown of San Marcos. For the first time in my life, I believe that whatever I dream I can actually make a reality.”     
                                 – Rosa Montoya, 37 year-old mother of two

Please join us in celebrating mothers and make a donation today!   

 

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.