All In A Day's Work!

Hello DHF Family! So I feel the need to share with you how Nora's despedida (goodbye party) REALLy went down. Over a month ago, more than a dozen loan recipients approached me with the idea of staging a goodbye party. I truly felt it was my obligation to take on the challenge full force. After all Nora has done so much for our women and has made the Hope House what it is today. My first question was:  "How do you organize a party with over 100 women from different village banks who don't know each other that well?" Then it came to me...POTLUCK. Nora loves potlucks. During my three months here she's invited me to over six. With the help of our village bank promoter, we went travelling all over the city of Cajamarca knocking on doors and delivering invitations. Each of the 12 village banks was in charge of bringing a traditional peruvian dish for 20 people and a small gift for Nora to take back to Minnesota. In the beginning, the task seemed daunting but somehow, someway (don't ask me how), it just came together. The nuns graciously let me borrow their auditorium and sound equipment; our cooking teacher Celi agreed to make a gigantic cake to fed an army of 150; and in true peruvian style, each bank brought dishes that could serve up to forty people instead of a meager twenty. In the end there was plenty of food, cake, refreshments, singing, and laughter. The best part of it all was that each village bank along with our Hope House instructors had the opportunity to share their thoughts on how much Nora means to them. You could feel the love in the room. I was truly humbled. In the end, although I had food in my hair, icing on my shirt, and didn't touch a crumb of anything, I felt more alive than ever. I still don't know how I pulled this off. Nora you deserved this and much more. Your love and dedication continues to inspire me and I only hope that I can accomplish at least a fraction of what you've started here. Love you much!

~Desy