By José Carlos León Vargas, International Program Coordinator

See more images from the visit at our Flickr page.

On February 25, I traveled with Norma Alcántara and Dina Córdoba of Coffee Kids’ partner, Self-Managed Development (AUGE), to visit the Chajulense Association of Women United for Life (ACMUV), our partner in San Gaspar Chajul, Guatemala.

AUGE has extensive experience in microlending and savings programs and Coffee Kids coordinated a meeting between the groups so they could learn and share information. After a six-hour ride from Antigua, we reached the beautiful hills of Chajul.

ACMUV’s representative Juana Hu Mateo and the women of the board gave us a warm welcome. For three days, women from both organizations shared their achievements, needs, hopes and ideas in the field of microcredit. During the sessions, members of ACMUV were curious about the role of savings, which is a pillar of AUGE’s microcredit program used by more than 3,000 women in Veracruz, Mexico.

The discipline, dreams and strength of the women in Chajul were inspiring to Norma and Dina.

“We had worked with many women in Mexico, but the courage and determination of the indigenous women of Chajul is a real motivator for us,” Norma Alcántara said.

Personally, I was impressed by how the board of ACMUV had been able to organize the meeting and necessary materials with very limited resources. During my previous visit to Chajul in August 2008, ACMUV board members had limited experience with computers and the internet, but through organizing this event, they learned quickly and were able to use the technology on a regular basis, improving their management skills and self-confidence.

In a region that just a few years ago suffered under the scourge of civil war, and now struggles with high illiteracy and mortality rates, ACMUV is helping women and their families overcome poverty. Today, ACMUV provides 85 women with access to credit in order to start their own small business and generate income for their families. The visit from Norma and Dina helped the women of ACMUV focus their efforts.

At the final session, ACMUV member Marta Margarita Velasco Chel expressed in the local Ixil dialect, “I think womens’ groups women that focus on saving and solidarity, like the ones explained by AUGE, can be very good for us. With the solidarity groups we explain what we are going to do with the funds, but we can be confident the group will help us.”

Our visit ended with an activity where each woman had a balloon representing her dreams. Like a balloon, our hopes and dreams fly, but occasionally they fall. The important thing is to help each other up so that our dreams can fly again.

See more images from the visit at our Flickr page.