Meet Martha, our new Matagalpa Loan Officer

A little while ago we told you about our Loan Officers who are working in Granada, and about Melo Lopez, who is one of our Loan Officers working in Matagalpa. Now, we have an additional member of the team working with us in Matagalpa.

So, meet Martha Carolina Diaz Meija! We first met Martha as a loan beneficiary, but she quickly showed a facility and attitude that suggested she would be a real asset if she were up for it. Fortunately, she is!

Former Regional Coordinator Eric with Martha

Martha was working as a small business operator selling sweets and other sundries around Matagalpa. The loan she received from PHPG was put to work by allowing her to buy her merchandise in greater quantities upfront, allowing the business to turn in a greater profit. She has two children, who are surely fortunate to have such a hard-working, industrious mother!

As we discussed previously, Melo is PHPG’s Loan Officer for the city of Matagalpa, meaning the clients who live and operate in the urban area itself. Martha, then, is our Loan Officer for those in the department of Matagalpa who live outside the city proper.

Martha will be working with our rural beneficiaries, such as those who live here in San Juanillo

This is an important position, of course: we at PHPG feel it is important that we actually go out to the communities we work with, and Martha is a very capable representative for us in that respect!

Martha, and all of our Nicaraguan staff, are treasured and important members of People Helping People Global. The majority of our Nicaraguan staff were former beneficiaries of our programs. This is something we’re proud of: it means that the people we work with were so happy with the relationship we developed that they wanted to help us continue doing what we’re doing. And naturally, we appreciate that we’re able to help empower these very talented individuals with a job that they can use to support themselves and their families!

It’s beautiful, really. PHPG helps people help themselves with interest-free loans, who then go on to join PHPG to help other people do the same. It’s exactly the kind of virtuous cycle we want to see in the fight against extreme poverty!

Happy New Year! ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!

Onward to a new year!

Hello all! It has been a while since the last post, hasn’t it? While we have all been busy with the holiday season, rest assured that our work never takes a holiday. Sure, over the past few months our beneficiaries have been enjoying a very Feliz Navidad y Año Nuevo. But once the party is over, it’s right back to business. They know their business. We know they know their business. It’s why we want to work with them, naturally.

So, what has been going on with PHPG over the past couple months? Well, let me tell you! Eric Pires, our dear Regional Coordinator in Matagalpa since July 2013, has since moved on to other things. As has Trent Shelton, who was the Regional Coordinator in Granada, who also began in July 2013. While we will stay in touch with both of them, and they are sorely missed, we of course wish them the absolute best of luck in all of their future endeavours.

Trent Shelton and Eric Pires

The individual we have volunteering in Nicaragua who has taken over their responsibilities is Dr. Steve Marks, who is spending his sabbatical for the next few months working with PHPG. We are honoured and humbled to have the opportunity to work with him, without doubt! Not only is he a professor at the Boston University School of Law, as well as the Academic Director of the same institution, as well as having several esteemed publications to his name, but he is also an all-around pleasant guy to be around. We are truly fortunate to be able to have him working with us, and more importantly, our beneficiaries have been thriving, and will continue to thrive, under his more-than-capable guidance.

Dr. Steve Marks

Dr. Marks and Juan Carlos distributed a whole new set of loans in the El Pantanal neighbourhood of Granada in December, and next month, we should be seeing the results of our big project in Muy Muy. And, of course, there are the hundreds of beneficiaries we continue to work with, ranging from agricultural workers in the countryside to small shop operators in the heart of the city.

We apologize for our relative silence the past couple of months. We really ought to keep you all up to date with what we’re doing. But our silence here is belied by the continuing positive outcomes we see in the people we work with, in the communities on the ground in Nicaragua who are using the resources that the supporters of PHPG – people like yourself – have made possible.

We thank you. They thank you. We’ll keep you updated on what’s happening. Let’s make this a great year in the fight against extreme poverty.

An Update from Muy Muy

This post is written by Ross Harding, PHPG’s communications volunteer currently staying in the Matagalpa region.

Today, I figure it’s a good time to catch up with our big project in Muy Muy that Eric told us about a couple of weeks ago. It also has a lot to do with PHPG’s work in Microfinance Plus programming that Trent talked about a few days ago, where we’re providing both an interest-free loan along with some training and support in order to make the loan really do the most work in helping get results.

As Eric described in the first Muy Muy post, the project revolves around getting the farmers of Muy Muy black bean seeds, which we expect will give a three-fold return at current prices once we get to harvest time. Because we all know that PHPG operates on a zero-interest model, this means the community will be able to keep a really nice chunk of change that, ideally, can be used to expand their profits even further during the next growing cycle – or whatever else they think is best for their money. They earned it, we just helped.

Concerning the Microfinance Plus element, back in September Eric and I attended a meeting with the community where we discussed what our partner organization, Multipro, is offering for the workshops, and what the community themselves were most interested in.

Eric at the September meeting where the community chose what workshop topics they were interested in.

This month, the first workshop took place. Eric and I were there, and had the pleasure of participating along with them. The subject: conflict resolution.

That’s David, who was the facilitator for this workshop. It’s hard to capture this with mere pictures and words, but he’s the kind of guy whose enthusiasm is really contagious. If I were the type of person to be prone to conflict, David’s energetic and engaging presentation would have surely changed my tune.

We began with some ice-breakers to get us all a little more comfortable with one another.

Laughs were had by all, but more importantly, a comfortable and open atmosphere was established. David delivered some of his presentation via PowerPoint and lecturing, and encouraging discussion from the participants whenever possible:

The participants were divided up into groups for more in-depth brainstorming activities:

And the ultimate conflict to resolve, without losing grip on one another:

But in the end, the most assuring sign from the workshop was simply looking at the participants during the presentation and seeing them actually interested, not yawning, chatting amongst themselves, or playing with their phones.

In summary, the workshop element of PHPG’s Microfinance Plus project in Muy Muy has gotten off to a very nice start, and I look forward to talking more about it in the future.

Meet the Nicaraguan Staff

This post is written by Trent Shelton, PHPG's Program Coordinator for the Granada region.

PHPG is run by both Nicaraguan employees and by volunteers. The Nicaraguans are the heart and soul of the operations of the organization. From the loan collections in El Pantanal every Monday and Friday, to conducting potential loan client interviews, to doing quality of life evaluations, the team does it all. The team includes Juan Carlos, Juan Carlos Jr. (Juan Carlos's son), and Tatiana. Both Juan Carlos and Tatiana live in El Pantanal and are both well-known in the community. This is easy to see as we walk the loan collections route; most of the locals stop to say hi to either Juan Carlos or Tatiana. Having this local team from El Pantanal has great benefits for the organization.

The employees also have many benefits with the job. Not only are they giving back to their own community, but they have the chance to learn about micro-lending, business practices, accounting, and what it takes to be an entrepreneur. They get to see, up-close and personal, what is working and what is not working with many local businesses in their community. They also gain valuable work experience in a economic development organization.

Without further ado, here is our Nicaraguan team:

Juan Carlos Ruiz

Job Title: Head Loan Officer (full-time)

Lives in: El Pantanal, Granada, Nicaragua

Outside of PHPG: Runs a business out of his house in El Pantanal as a Big Cola distributor, selling gas tanks, and selling Movistar cell phone credit. 

Interesting Fact: Juan Carlos was drafted into the Nicaraguan national army during revolutionary war in 1983 at the young age of 17 years old, where he was based in the northern mountains near the border of Honduras. Juan Carlos has lived in El Pantanal for over 15 years but also used to work as a fisherman in Lake Nicaragua. 

Tatiana Arias Mondoy

Job Title: Loan Officer (part-time)

Lives in: El Pantanal, Granada, Nicaragua

Outside of PHPG: Works for La Esperanza Granada, a non-profit providing teachers and volunteers to local schools. Tatiana splits her time between teaching in schools and working in the Esperanza office. Tatiana is also studying Business Administration at the Hispanoamericana University (UHISPAM), attending classes on Saturdays. As if that wasn't enough, she also helps run her family's pulperia, a corner store selling everything from bread to laundry detergent.

Interesting Fact: Tatiana's mother, Ana Mercedes, is one of PHPG's loan clients and a perfect example of the type of client PHPG looks for. She has already completed two loans, using the money to invest in her pulperia. The loans have allowed her to buy inventory in bulk, giving her a cheaper purchase price which gives her a higher profit margin. She has also been able to purchase other types of products in her store which draws more customers. The cash flow from the loans have been critical in helping her grow her business. Ana Mercedes has used her family's increased earnings to make improvements on their house, including raising their roof 3 feet with bricks to provide better ventilation against the heat.

 Juan Carlos Ruiz Jr.

Job Title: Loan Officer (part-time)

Lives in: Masaya, Nicaragua

Outside of PHPG: Studies at Colegio Cristiano Restauracion (Christian Restoration High School) with a focus on pharmacy. 

Interesting Fact: Juan Carlos is already showing his entrepreneurial spirit, as he breeds and sells rabbits as pets. He currently has 8 rabbits used for breeding. He sells the baby rabbits to friends and family for $4 each. Juan Carlos makes the trip from Masaya to Granada to work for PHPG.

Business Workshops in El Pantanal

This post is written by Trent Shelton, PHPG's Program Coordinator in the Granada region.

Bernie teaches 35 PHPG clients about basic accounting principles as part of our Microfinance Plus program

PHPG’s core function is to give microloans ranging from $120 to $280 to local entrepreneurs in Nicaragua. However, just as important as giving a loan is providing an opportunity to develop business skills and business education. This is often called Microfinance Plus.

In the month of October, we have a volunteer by the name of Bernie Ringer-Britz. Bernie has an incredible background with a wealth of business consulting experience. His knowledge and desire to help others has been extremely helpful for our clients and other community members. He has sat down with numerous clients to review their business one-on-one. He has given clients many new ideas for their businesses as well as giving a fresh look at their operations.

This past Sunday evening, we invited our entire group loan clients in El Pantanal to a taller, a business workshop. With a good turnout of 35 clients, we handed out a simple accounting sheet for the entrepreneurs to track their inventory, calculate their net income, and to figure out their margins for each product. The clients were very interested in the sheet and were excited to learn how to use it.

Possibly the biggest difficulty was the wide range of age and education levels within our clients. The age of the attendees ranged from 18 years old to 75 years old. Education levels range from elementary school to possibly having studied in college for a few years. Teaching to 35 students with this big of a range proved difficult; but after splitting into smaller groups, our clients walked away with an understanding of how to do basic accounting for their respective businesses and were ready to put these into action. In the future, we will be visiting each loan group individually to reinforce the concepts and to ensure everything is going smoothly with the accounting sheets.