Give efficient stoves to 100 Guatemalan families

Meet Jennifer. She is an aspiring teacher and long time member of her savings group "Mujeres Ahorradoras" (Women Savers). Jennifer had never saved money before joining the program and had little knowledge of financial management. After learning how to manage her personal cash flow and, in particular, strategies to spend less money, she was able to start setting aside money for her future. Having a safe place to put this money, outside of her home, allowed her to not fall into the habit of "borrowing" from her savings and then never paying herself back. 

Encouraged by her family and friends in her savings group she began to save more and more until she was able to pay for her own school supplies. This allowed her to graduate from high school with a teaching degree. Unfortunately, she has not been able to find work as a teacher since graduating. And fortunately, the Community Finance Guatemala artisan business is growing fast and so she has been able to earn an income weaving bands for the business's sun hats (like the one she is wearing in the photo). 

While Jennifer still hopes to become a grade school teacher as soon as she can, she is happy to be working with her friends and family and continuing to save her money in her savings group. Her next savings goal is to be able to buy a new pair of glasses to replace her old broken ones. 

The Community Finance Guatemala (CFG) team works hard to understand how the services we offer are actually benefiting the women we serve. Our CFG Program Director, Wilfred, recently took the opportunity to visit several of the women that participate in both a Savings and Solidarity group and the rapidly growing artisan business, Ixoq’i. Ixoq’i recently became an officially registered small business in Guatemala and has become an income generating initiative for not only the participating women but for CFG itself!

Wilfred regularly expresses how great it feels to receive the gratitude of women such as Albertina, and then to share that gratitude with the greater Generosity Network of supporters like you. Albertina spoke with Wilfred about how many women, mothers in particular, have benefited from CFG’s support.

She said that “mothers don’t have many opportunities to work and it is hard to depend only on the fathers, who sometimes do not have work.” She then went on to say that “in my personal life [working for Ixoq’i] has helped me a lot with my children, to be able to give them, maybe not everything, but to cover their needs.”

The peace of mind that comes from knowing that the family’s survival is not completely dependent upon just one source of income is one of the greatest gifts the mothers we support have received. And in return they have given us the gift of gratitude, and well wishes.

Just as Wilfred passes on this gratitude to us, may you now receive it and pass it on to others.

“Thank you to Wilfred, and to all the people who made it possible for this project to come [to Tonajuyu].” -Albertina

Wilfred recorded a part of his conversation (in Spanish) with Albertina which you can see below: 

Links:

• Wilfred and Albertina talk about CFG's impact on her life