Guest Post from Rebecca Schick, Intern at Soluciones Comunitarias, Summer 2011
I think I can speak for everyone when I say it was nothing short of a pleasure to hear from Berly Cordero today. We, a group of eight student interns working with Soluciones Comunitarias, were all ears and eyes when learning about the interest-free microfinance loans that Berly administers to local entrepreneurs and business owners in Matagalpa, just twenty minutes away from our home base in San Ramon. Soluciones Comunitarias is an organization that strives to empower entrepreneurs and communities through offering consulting services and access to products such as solar lamps, water filters and eye glasses to improve lives in rural Guatemala and Nicaragua. Our group of eight is currently working on a Financial Literacy and Inclusion project in Norther Nicaragua, so we were naturally enthused to talk finances. Berly shared with us an article that disregarded Microfinance as a sustainable method to support individuals affected by poverty. Although there are countless cases that hold up this argument, there are environments where microfinance can prove to be useful. We discussed with Berly the benefits of eliminating interest, which diminishes the risk of drowning in a cycle of debt. We immensely enjoyed and appreciated the words of wisdom about the culture of finance in rural, developing communities. The insights gained from this discussion will travel with us as we carry out our project and begin working directly with community members. Thanks to all and be sure to check out People Helping People Global, this awesome organization that does microfinance right!
I think I can speak for everyone when I say it was nothing short of a pleasure to hear from Berly Cordero today. We, a group of eight student interns working with Soluciones Comunitarias, were all ears and eyes when learning about the interest-free microfinance loans that Berly administers to local entrepreneurs and business owners in Matagalpa, just twenty minutes away from our home base in San Ramon. Soluciones Comunitarias is an organization that strives to empower entrepreneurs and communities through offering consulting services and access to products such as solar lamps, water filters and eye glasses to improve lives in rural Guatemala and Nicaragua. Our group of eight is currently working on a Financial Literacy and Inclusion project in Norther Nicaragua, so we were naturally enthused to talk finances. Berly shared with us an article that disregarded Microfinance as a sustainable method to support individuals affected by poverty. Although there are countless cases that hold up this argument, there are environments where microfinance can prove to be useful. We discussed with Berly the benefits of eliminating interest, which diminishes the risk of drowning in a cycle of debt. We immensely enjoyed and appreciated the words of wisdom about the culture of finance in rural, developing communities. The insights gained from this discussion will travel with us as we carry out our project and begin working directly with community members. Thanks to all and be sure to check out People Helping People Global, this awesome organization that does microfinance right!
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