New loans, improved businesses, and more help in Nicaragua

Kyle and the PHPG team just finished distributing to six new loan groups in Granada (28 individuals in total) for a total of 117,000 Cordobas or around $5,000. The average loan was roughly $175. For folks living on close to $2 per day, these loans are quite significant. As we’ve mentioned in previous posts, PHPG assists these families by providing them enough working capital to increase confidence and financial transparency to a point where that they can focus on medium to long term goals of taking their business to the next level. It was great to see a handful of repeat borrowers this time around. The individuals that successfully completed a prior loan with PHPG have access to more credit and enjoy a faster turnaround time to receiving their loan.

One repeat borrower stood out. Her name is Gema Lisseth and she received her second loan with PHPG for 5,000 Cordobas. When the PHPG team arrived at her house to check on her inventory purchases before distributing the second half of the loan (she sells new and used clothing), we were blown away by her brand new store-front constructed in front of her home. She mentioned in her interview that she wanted to create a little “tiendita” but we weren’t expecting such a quick turnaround. Gema had been selling clothing from a cart that she takes around the neighborhood, but with another loan and more confidence she decided to sell some out of her home too. We could tell how proud she was to show us her new shelves and clothing rack.  Kyle looks forward to stopping by her house each Friday for payment collection.

Gema Liseth & Isela in front of their new storefront

Next week PHPG will be distributing a new round of loans to repeat borrowers on Las Isletas in Lake Nicaragua. A total of 112,000 Cordobas will be distributed across 26 individuals that qualified. The majority of borrowers in Las Isletas are Pescadores (fishermen) requesting loans to fix their boats, purchase new nets, and buy salt for preservation. Many of the fishermen aspire to save enough money to buy their own boat in the future. For now, most loan participants rent their boats and pay the owner in fish after the day’s catch.

PHPG team disbursing new loans

Kyle is keeping busy with all of this, but luckily he will have a few new volunteers joining him over the next month. A few university students are coming down in May for summer internship positions and Kyle is excited to put them to work. There are a lot more improvements to be made and it will be nice to have a fresh set of eager eyes on the project.

January 2013 Update on Nicaragua Happenings

Wow...where do we start? Things have been really hectic with end-of-year fundraising, but we had another great New Years Eve event in Richmond, VA and received tons of generous donations to our holiday drive. Thanks to all of you who donated!

Damaris & Regional Coordinator, Chris Fay,
in front of Damaris' brand-new fuel-efficient oven

While Isabel and I were working state-side on the fundraising, our three Regional Coordinators, Lana, Kyle, and Chris have been doing all sorts of good work in Nicaragua.

Lana and Kyle have been tag-teaming our larger base of operations in the areas surrounding the colonial city of Granada. They both bring strong skills to the table, and they both have hit the ground rolling. Lana joined us in December right before the holidays (which as she found out is an incredibly impossible time to get things done, but they're fun nonetheless), and Kyle arrived in Granada a couple of weeks ago.

They've been visiting all of our communities and soaking up all there is to know about PHPG's presence there. They've been working with our Nica employees, Manuel, Juan Carlos, and Tatiana, to come up with ways to improve our current systems and provide more services to our clients. They have some great cost-effective ideas about how we can provide more than just capital to our clients, which include business trainings and partnerships with other NGOs. We'll keep you updated about their progress as they continue their good work over the next few months.

After observing and training with us for a few weeks in Granada, we sent Chris up to northern Nicaragua to head up a couple of projects there. He's been working on tightening our connection with our clients in Piedras Coloradas and spearheading a partnership with a sustainable technologies organization, named EOS International.

Things are going quite well in Piedras despite a horrible growing season last fall. Our clients have replanted and maintained good repayments. With the coffee harvest in full swing, things should continue to get better. Chris will be interviewing potential clients over the next month or two in order to expand our services to others in the same region.

Lorenzo & Chris in front of the newly-installed
drip irrigation system in Soledad de Cruz

Our most exciting new project that Chris has been working on is a partnership with EOS International. Nine new clients from the town of Soledad de Cruz (in the department of Matagalpa) have had new fuel-efficient ovens or drip irrigation systems installed at their homes. These new technologies are being used to help our clients start or expand small businesses.

The way it works is that the clients receive the technologies upfront, along with some start-up capital (ranging from $50 to $65, depending on the technology). EOS is responsible for creating and installing the technology as well as following up with the clients to make sure it's fulfilling their needs. We are responsible for facilitating the lending and collection process. The technologies have been installed and the first month of collections went quite well.

All-in-all, things are going incredibly well right now. I can't wait to update you on the new projects that we're working on!

Thanks for reading,
Alex

And the third intern is...

Hello all!

My name is Corie White and I will be interning with People Helping People Global this summer for 3 months. I’ll be arriving just after my graduation from the University of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner!) this May, and leaving in mid-August to begin my legal education at the University Of Oklahoma College Of Law, where I will pursue a joint degree of  Juris Doctor and Masters of International and Area Studies.

My undergraduate degree is in International and Area Studies with a minor in Spanish. My focuses have been Latin America, international development, and trafficking, specifically human and organs trafficking. As a junior, I spent 6 months living, studying, and teaching English in Vina del Mar, Chile. While there, I traveled extensively throughout Chile and Peru, with my highlight being hiking the Inca Trail. I have also traveled throughout much of Central America and the Caribbean.

I have a craving for travel and adventure that can rarely be satisfied, so I am thrilled to be heading to Nicaragua this summer- particularly since I will be buckling down for law school in the fall. I am a huge fan of Mohammed Yunus and the micro-loan model and am excited to see it in action first hand.

I am looking forward to the summer of a lifetime!

Best,

Corie 

A New Intern Joins the Team

Hello PHPG enthusiasts!

As one of People Helping People Global’s newest interns, I will be living in Nicaragua from mid-May through August 2012. And I couldn’t be more excited! The more I learn about PHPG, the more I feel as though my values align with those of the organization, and the more passionate I become about helping this amazing cause.

As an undergraduate student at Skidmore College, I am dedicated to the study of Anthropology and Latin American Studies, both in the classroom and in my extracurricular activities. While building an academic foundation in fields that will aid me in my pursuit of international community development, I have found external outlets to apply all that I have learned from my professors, and to gain field experience. In an effort to improve the lives of my neighbors, I am currently administering needs-assessment surveys to the residents of local mobile home communities so that the Saratoga County Economic Opportunity Council can improve and broaden their services. I am also volunteering at a medium security correctional facility as a workshop leader to open up dialogue among inmates on issues such as employment, stress management, conflict resolution, and family reintegration. These opportunities have awarded me the chance to work with unrepresented and undervalued populations living right next door, and soon (although not soon enough), I’ll learn how to do the same in Nicaragua.

While my micro-lending internship with PHPG in Nicaragua will be a new and exciting experience, I am no stranger to the non-profit sector. From my collaboration with many different NGOs while living in Mexico, Peru, Ghana, and the United States, I have learned a good bit about how different organizations function. And People Helping People Global already strikes me as one of the most organized, well-intentioned, and efficient NGOs that I have encountered thus far. Their dedication to promoting sustainability, empowerment, and cultural pride is refreshing and inspiring. I can’t wait to meet everyone and to be a part of this incredible mission.

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity, and I look forward to helping others to make a difference in their lives through People Helping People Global.

Take care,

Phoebe

Stories from the field: Jaquelina, the Queen of Cashews

Jaquelina Silva is a loan recipient of People Helping People Global. Jaquelina and her family of seven work in the cashew business. Each week they buy sacks of raw cashews to clean, prepare and sell. They are quite happy, because unlike most jobs in Nicaragua their earnings are reliable. A buyer from Costa Rica comes each Sunday to take away however many sacks of prepared cashews they were able to process and bag for that week.

Jaquelina took out a loan from PHPG in October of 2010 to improve her cashew business. One year later not only had she fully repaid her loan, but she had improved her business immensely. With more earned income, she now hires two of her neighbors to help her family with the labor-intensive cashew production. Jaquelina commented, "With more hands to shuck, clean, and toast the cashews, we are able to produce more cleaned cashews at a quicker rate."

On top of adding employees to her family cashew business, Jaquelina has also begun to replace her flimsy scrap metal walls with concrete. "It is a work in progress," she says, "as we continue to make more money from the cashew sales we will continue to improve our home."

PHPG is proud to work with amazing people like Jaquelina. She is both a strong business woman and an amazing role model for the entire community. Not only is she improving the lives of those in her family. She's employing others in her community and helping them improve their lives as well.

"Local 'People' Helping Foreigners in Need"

Exciting news, everyone. People Helping People Global just got an article published in the Henrico Citizen. The article, entitled "Local 'People' Helping Foreigners in Need," was published in the Henrico, VA newspaper's August 19-September 1 edition. It outlines the general work and origin of the organization, in addition to focusing on the benefits of the new website and its ability to connect our donors with our loan recipients. The article may be posted in the online edition sometime in the next few days, but for now, I have scanned the print version and added it to our website. You can access the article here. Thank you all for your continued support, and just remember that you can help us get more articles like this one just by spreading the word about our organization.

Take care for now,

Alex