Hope House Set-Up

Welcome!
So last week I was visiting new village bank groups in the process of forming and this week I have done none of that. Most of DHF Hope House things were moved in at the end of the week and this week has been set-up time, which unfortunately isn't as interesting to write about as new village banks. This year Hope House is located in a shared space, a beautiful educational and health complex that is run by a small group of nuns. We are really so fortunate to have so many resources at our fingertips; computer room, sewing machine room, and an oven, just to name a few. I am in the process of creating our first monthly class schedule for March and all of our returning teachers have been impressed with the new space. Classes start March 8, so around that date there will be more stories and photos of what Hope House looks like with an active group of women learning new skills. As for now, it is a tidy space that is just waiting to be used.

Paz ~ Nora

Get your Complementary Tix to Spring Into Hope, March 24 7-9pm

Join us for Spring Into Hope on March 24, from 7-9pm at Mercury Hall near downtown Austin! Come enjoy complementary food and drinks, including wine from event sponsor Winery on the Gruene, music by Noelle Hampton, and plenty of parking for all. We'll be creating magic in the green of the Spring!

Please click on our Eventbrite link here to confirm your attendance or visit www.lendhope.org

So Grateful for all of you,
Maggie

New Businesses that want to Bloom

Yesterday Elizabeth and I went out to visit 2 groups of women that are in the processing of forming a village bank. I want to give you a little taste of what some possible future businesses forming new village banks look like:

One woman sells beauty products door to door out of a catalog.
Another woman milks cows and sells the milk, while also raising other small animals for sale at the market.
A third woman sells skewers of chicken feet in the afternoons in front of her house.

2010 Start!

Yes, DHF in Cajamarca is off and running, sorry for the week absence. Between then and now was Carnaval, crazy water and paint fights that keep normal folks from doing normal things. As soon as Carnaval ended I went out with our new village bank promotora, Elizabeth, to visit possible new village banks. It felt great to be out in the field again, like coming home. Granted, we are forming new banks with new women this year, but the common thread of poverty and hope are evident among the women we talked to. DHF Hope House is coming alive as boxes and sewing machines were taken out of storage this week and have made their way to their new home.

Stay tuned as things unravel and transform in the next week or two!

Paz ~ Nora

Married and Back in Cajamarca!

So the past month or so has been anything but work or microcredit. On January 2 I married my Peruvian soulmate and left for a backpacking honeymoon trip throughout southern Peru and Bolivia. It was a whirlwind of family, joy, excitement for traveling new mountain roads and experiencing a whole new part of South America. We are safely home, bringing a backpack of dirty clothes and wonderful memories. As I return home to DiscoverHope and microcredit and village banking, I invite you all to join me on the journey in this new year of creating positive change in the lives of Peruvian women.

Posted here is a glimpse of our Peruvian wedding celebration, a bit different than the normal U.S. wedding, but then again everything in Peru is a little different than back home.

Paz ~ Nora