Hello DHF Family,
 |
| Mila, Sarela (HopeHouse Assitant), Alexandra & Tania |
We’ve been extremely busy here in Cajamarca and I’m glad to
say we survived Mother’s Day. Here in
Peru, Mother’s Day is one of the most important and celebrated holidays. Most
Peruvians travel home to be at their mother’s side and in most schools, plays
and musicals are organized in honor of mom’s hard work and dedication. This
year most schools and state institutions were given a 4 day weekend! On May 2nd, DHF and Multicredit
organized our 3rd Annual Mother’s Day Event in which more than 200
loan recipients were in attendance. Moms danced, played, and laughed forgetting
for a moment the endless list of chores that typically consume their day. We
raffled food baskets, high quality yarn, amongst other goodies. We also organized
once again our Bi-Annual Uniform Contest in which village banks crocheted
outfits demonstrating their skills, creativity, and sense of style. This year Village Bank “Fuerza y Bendición” (Strength and
Blessings) took home first place for an elegant white blouse and skirt
ensemble. Seeing the countless smiles made me reflect on how inspiring our
beneficiaries are to me. Besides taking on the task of starting a business,
most raise 2 or more children and even extended family.
In other news, I am proud to announce the arrival of three
Meadow’s Fellows from the University of Texas at Austin. Alexandra, Mila, and Tania are graduate
students hailing from the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the McCombs School of
Business who have come together to help DHF design two promotional videos of
our work here in Cajamarca and help us revamp our social media sites to keep
donors tuned into our important project
updates. It was a full-circle moment when the fellows arrived a week ago. Back
in 2009, then a first year LBJ student, I was selected as a Meadow’s Fellows to
help DHF conduct an internal audit of the village banking project. Thanks to
the fellowship, it landed me my job here in Cajamarca and the rest is history.
This week the girls will be writing blog entries about their time here in Peru
and provide more insight into our important labor of love with the women of
Cajamarca. So please stay tuned!
Best,
Des
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