Monday, September 29, 2014

Collection Day



Today we made the rounds with the PHPG team here in Granada. We split up into two teams. Juan Carlos, Joe, and Berly visited individual clients and Juan Carlos Jr. and Manuel different loan groups. We snapped a few pictures along the way.

                     A road in the community of Nueva Esperanza frequently traversed by PHPG.
 

                                          Juan Carlos and Berly going to visit one of PHPG's clients.


                 The team discusses what it takes to run a business in the local community.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Savings Program in El Diamante






It’s an exciting time to be a part of the PHPG team! We are currently working on several projects in addition to the rounds we make on Mondays and Fridays. One of the projects is a savings program for 24 of our clients in the community of El Diamante. This is something very beneficial given that most do not have access to banks. The program also helps the savings collective become more autonomous. 

We first introduced the concept of a savings program back in the month of June and we have made a great deal of progress. The PHPG team is looking to introduce the same project in other communities where we distribute loans in the near future. 

The main idea here is that in the future the community will take deposits and (after having saved up enough to begin lending) make loans to community members to support their businesses and to undertake projects to help improve daily living. This could include building a well, or funding a bakery in the community. These neighborhood projects are a nice improvement and a great way to advance living standards and quality of life.