10 Great Things that Happened on the Guatemala Fellowship

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Written By: Emily Inzero

1. We have six loan applications! This means that there are six people who want to start/pursue their business.
It gives GLOBE a great opportunity to help people of Guatemala alleviate poverty. This is huge! It has been multiple semesters in the making with the help of the Daughters of Charity. 

2. Got Lunch with the Daughters of Charity. 
We enjoyed a day with the wonderful Daughters. They showed us around Guatemala from the past destruction to the future hope. They are the sweetest people. For Globe, they are our connection to our borrowers. They also have connections in other places of central America...expansion to El Salvador? You never know. 😉

3. Roasted Coffee with Gabriel and his wife. 
We learned the ins and outs of coffee which is essential because many of our borrowers work in the coffee industry. NGO’s like De La Gente make the coffee business more stable by making sure the prices are fair and by having a strong relationship with suppliers in developed nations. 

4. Found a need for GLOBE loans through De La Gente.
We met Araufo, a farmer and secretary in a Co-op that works with De La Gente. Araufo told us about all the loans he takes out. “Trabajo para el banco (I work for the bank),” he says. He is constantly taking out loans to put his children through school, improve his coffee farm, and improve his life. He has a good history of paying back his loans. The interest rate is enormous though—26% a year. In comparison, GLOBE has an interest rate of 3-5% for the lifetime of the loan (which can be 3 months-2 years). He is not the only farmer that is taking all this money from the bank at a high interest rate—he said the need is there for GLOBE for people in his co-op. We have to see if this could be feasible, and it could make a huge difference in making it easier to pay back his loans!

5. Learned that education needs a holistic approach for students to succeed. 
In many areas of Guatemala, it is an accomplishment if a child gets up to ninth grade. In some villages it is an accomplishment if a child gets up to sixth grade. They are often pulled out of school to work and support the family. Especially if the family works in agriculture they need all the hands they can get during harvest season. If a family member gets sick, or an unfortunate event occurs they may not be able to pursue school. Common Hope and Pueblo a Pueblo understand this and provide services for a more holistic view of education. Common Hope provides social services, health care, additional tutoring, plus more to students. Pueblo a Pueblo gives students sanitary facilities in schools, community gardens, and much more. By visiting these two organizations we understood more about the poverty and needs of the area, and how education needs to be holistic. 

6. Learned how difficult it was to make handwoven goods at Cojolya
They said, “we would be really happy if you tried our looms.” That’s what convinced us to sit down and give their techniques for making textiles a shot. It was so hard! It gave me such an appreciation for the goods that they create, and how days can go into creating one piece. 

7. Opened the door to a potential GLOBE partnership with Maya Traditions
Maya Traditions had beautiful goods, and we had a discussion with the weavers of the products. We also bought practically their whole store with all the goods we couldn’t resist buying. Monser, one of the leaders of Maya Traditions, said that some of the weavers may like to use our loans. They would be the perfect borrowers -- women that work hard each day to diversify their income and have more power in the household. 

8. Ate amazing food. 
I have officially decided I love Guatemalan food. Lots of Tortillas, Guacamole, Chicken cooked to perfection, soups… The traditional soup, Pepian, is incredible. It is spiced just right, and it is the perfect comfort food. I also had THE BEST nachos. Yumm.

9. Met really nice Guatemalan people.
This post would not be complete without mentioning that everyone we met was more than nice! From the people we met through each non-profit we visited, and the people at the hotel everyone was so welcoming. Even the couple performing at a restaurant one night stopped to chat with us, and played our song requests! 

10. Made new friends!
Myself, Leslie, Esther, and Dylan span from taking GLOBE the spring semester of 2018 to the spring semester of 2019. I didn’t know them too well before this trip, but now we are all close friends! I had a great time with them all from walking over unstable wooden/rope bridges to spending dinner with them each night.  


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