Words to live by. I had to share.Four Rules originally uploaded by Roland {thank you swissmiss}
4/07/2009
4/06/2009
Interview with Allison Berman of Pro Mujer-Microfinance for Women
One of my best friends, Allison Berman, lives in New York City as a 20-something Finance Analyst and works at the Spanish Non-Profit, Pro Mujer ("for women"). I am intrigued by micro-finance and even wrote a post earlier about Meaningful Holiday Gift Ideas which included Pro Mujer's services. Then the inspiration wheel began to spin and I inquired further, encouaring Ali to let me interview her to share here. She obliged and below is the interview:
Ali in Greece, just part of her many travels and life abroad
G: What is Pro Mujer and what sort of services do you provide?
A: Pro Mujer is an international micro finance (banking and/or financial services targeted to low-and-moderate income businesses or households, including the provision of credit) womens development organization whose mission is to provide Latin America’s poorest women with the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families through microfinance, business training, and healthcare support.
Pro Mujer provides an integrated package of financial and personal development services that women require to build and improve their small businesses. Over the last 18 years, Pro Mujer’s microfinance institutions (in Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Argentina) have disbursed $582 million in small loans — ranging from $50 to $1,500 with an average loan balance of $268. Pro Mujer serves 222,000 clients (borrowers and savers); and more than 1.1 children and extended family members.
Along with the financial services, a key part of the Pro Mujer model is health services. Since the survival of a clients business and ability to succeed is intimately tied to her physical and mental health, Pro Mujer uses the repayment meetings to raise women’s awareness of the importance of taking good of themselves through primary health care and regular screenings to detect disease early. Though the model differs from country to country, based on client needs and the existing health infrastructure, the goal is the same- to help women maintain their own health and the health of their children and families through primary health care and regular exams that detect disease early.
G: That's incredible! So specifically, what do you do at Pro Mujer?
A: I work with the finance team at Pro Mujer, as a Finance Analyst. I take care of the day to day accounting, help with the management of our small $2.5 million dollar loan fund, pay the bills, maintain our account receivable/payable with our country programs, and other administrative financial work.
G: In terms of services, I noticed that Pro Mujer offers financial services AND empowerment training? Can you explain this?
A: While most microfinance institutions focus only on financial services, Pro Mujer uses a holistic approach, making sure that clients are better prepared physically, emotionally and economically to improve their lives and that of their children. Pro Mujer teaches women about domestic violence, women’s rights, communication skills, using workshops and group discussions to raise their awareness about leadership, gender issues, and self-esteem. It also links clients with other organizations for counseling, legal assistance, and education and vocational training programs.
G: With the economy like it is what have you had to do to not lose donations and investors?
A: This is difficult to say. It currently is unclear how the economic crisis will affect our funding, as we have yet to finish the 1st quarter, which is always slower in general. It is important to stress to donors and investors that Pro Mujer has a vision looking forward and is still anticipating growth in the coming year. Although we are being affected by our current economic situation, in the countries where Pro Mujer works, almost half of all families live on less than $2 a day. When you put that into perspective of our lives, whatever you can do to help a good cause is always important.
G: What about micro finance and loans for women inspires you?
A: It is inspiring to see how motivated our clients are. Although I have yet to go visit the operations (hopefully soon!), I hear endless stories and have met a few clients in person. What inspires me everyday is how believing in someone can lead to success. Our historical loan repayment rate in 18 years is 99%. The women want to succeed and create a better life for the family; they just needed access to credit.
Angela Narváez is pottery maker and a client with Pro Mujer Nicaragua. Angela’s first loan was $80. Today, almost nine years later, her loan is $670. Angela uses her loans to buy clay, pieces of wood, paint and cement and to travel to larger markets where she can get a better price for her pieces. “I used to sell the clay tortilla dishes and clay cows for $2 a piece, but now I sell them for between $4 and $8. Pro Mujer taught me how to market our products, make new designs, paint better and diversify our products” says Angela. Angela said her family has also benefited from Pro Mujer. Her daughters attend school, everyone is eating better, and they bought furniture and appliances that have raised their quality of life. “My family encourages me to stay with Pro Mujer. They know what a huge difference it has made in our lives,” said Angela. These stories are what inspire me about the work that Pro Mujer does.
G: How can we do our part by giving back?
A: You can visit our website to learn more about Pro Mujer and read some inspiring stories about how our organization has helped the very poor rise out of poverty. Please visit www.promujer.org/donatenow to help poor women in Latin America to start their own business and obtain healthcare for themselves and their families.
Ali in Greece, just part of her many travels and life abroadG: What is Pro Mujer and what sort of services do you provide?
A: Pro Mujer is an international micro finance (banking and/or financial services targeted to low-and-moderate income businesses or households, including the provision of credit) womens development organization whose mission is to provide Latin America’s poorest women with the means to build livelihoods for themselves and futures for their families through microfinance, business training, and healthcare support.
Along with the financial services, a key part of the Pro Mujer model is health services. Since the survival of a clients business and ability to succeed is intimately tied to her physical and mental health, Pro Mujer uses the repayment meetings to raise women’s awareness of the importance of taking good of themselves through primary health care and regular screenings to detect disease early. Though the model differs from country to country, based on client needs and the existing health infrastructure, the goal is the same- to help women maintain their own health and the health of their children and families through primary health care and regular exams that detect disease early.
G: That's incredible! So specifically, what do you do at Pro Mujer?
A: I work with the finance team at Pro Mujer, as a Finance Analyst. I take care of the day to day accounting, help with the management of our small $2.5 million dollar loan fund, pay the bills, maintain our account receivable/payable with our country programs, and other administrative financial work.
G: In terms of services, I noticed that Pro Mujer offers financial services AND empowerment training? Can you explain this?
A: While most microfinance institutions focus only on financial services, Pro Mujer uses a holistic approach, making sure that clients are better prepared physically, emotionally and economically to improve their lives and that of their children. Pro Mujer teaches women about domestic violence, women’s rights, communication skills, using workshops and group discussions to raise their awareness about leadership, gender issues, and self-esteem. It also links clients with other organizations for counseling, legal assistance, and education and vocational training programs.
G: With the economy like it is what have you had to do to not lose donations and investors?
A: This is difficult to say. It currently is unclear how the economic crisis will affect our funding, as we have yet to finish the 1st quarter, which is always slower in general. It is important to stress to donors and investors that Pro Mujer has a vision looking forward and is still anticipating growth in the coming year. Although we are being affected by our current economic situation, in the countries where Pro Mujer works, almost half of all families live on less than $2 a day. When you put that into perspective of our lives, whatever you can do to help a good cause is always important.
G: What about micro finance and loans for women inspires you?
A: It is inspiring to see how motivated our clients are. Although I have yet to go visit the operations (hopefully soon!), I hear endless stories and have met a few clients in person. What inspires me everyday is how believing in someone can lead to success. Our historical loan repayment rate in 18 years is 99%. The women want to succeed and create a better life for the family; they just needed access to credit.
Angela Narváez is pottery maker and a client with Pro Mujer Nicaragua. Angela’s first loan was $80. Today, almost nine years later, her loan is $670. Angela uses her loans to buy clay, pieces of wood, paint and cement and to travel to larger markets where she can get a better price for her pieces. “I used to sell the clay tortilla dishes and clay cows for $2 a piece, but now I sell them for between $4 and $8. Pro Mujer taught me how to market our products, make new designs, paint better and diversify our products” says Angela. Angela said her family has also benefited from Pro Mujer. Her daughters attend school, everyone is eating better, and they bought furniture and appliances that have raised their quality of life. “My family encourages me to stay with Pro Mujer. They know what a huge difference it has made in our lives,” said Angela. These stories are what inspire me about the work that Pro Mujer does.
G: How can we do our part by giving back?
A: You can visit our website to learn more about Pro Mujer and read some inspiring stories about how our organization has helped the very poor rise out of poverty. Please visit www.promujer.org/donatenow to help poor women in Latin America to start their own business and obtain healthcare for themselves and their families.
4/05/2009
4/04/2009
March Photo-A-Day Project
As I have previously referenced, I embarked on a project to take a photo-a-day in March (my birthday month) and just finished it. You can see the full set in my sidebar with the Flickr badge or go directly to the set through my Flickr page.
Through support from friends and family (thanks everyone!) I think I'm going to keep going but before I do, I want to post a few of my favorites then also share what I learned, maybe you might even try something similar.
I Learned:
-Bringing your camera everywhere with you can be a bit daunting (and heavy in my bag or purse) but I caught so many beautiful people and images because I had it with me.
-It's not hard to take a photo-a-day. Granted, I only did it for a month but I never missed a day.
-Your vision of the world opens up, because you're looking through your eyes and a lens. When I had my camera on me, inspiration would hit and I was so happy I could capture it.
-It's different. Try breaking up your routine while also giving yourself something habitual. At the end of each day I felt good that I had gotten a photo in, that I was able to capture something unique and then knew that sharing it was half the fun. I suggest and encourage you try it. You never know what you might see.
-Time flies. Cliche, but true. I can now look back over this month and see where I've been and what I did. It's a beautiful timepiece and I now have it forever.
Favorite Shots:
March 9th, downtown Boulder sunset
March 13th, my birthday hike with best friends that surprised me from home 12 hours away
March 21st, a word I always find an affinity with. The morning light had hit this brown bag perfectly from my window. See, never know what you may find or see...
March 30th, music always will be an important part of my life as is Taylor, my friend visiting with her backpack and mandolin (cross country)
Through support from friends and family (thanks everyone!) I think I'm going to keep going but before I do, I want to post a few of my favorites then also share what I learned, maybe you might even try something similar.
I Learned:
-Bringing your camera everywhere with you can be a bit daunting (and heavy in my bag or purse) but I caught so many beautiful people and images because I had it with me.
-It's not hard to take a photo-a-day. Granted, I only did it for a month but I never missed a day.
-Your vision of the world opens up, because you're looking through your eyes and a lens. When I had my camera on me, inspiration would hit and I was so happy I could capture it.
-It's different. Try breaking up your routine while also giving yourself something habitual. At the end of each day I felt good that I had gotten a photo in, that I was able to capture something unique and then knew that sharing it was half the fun. I suggest and encourage you try it. You never know what you might see.
-Time flies. Cliche, but true. I can now look back over this month and see where I've been and what I did. It's a beautiful timepiece and I now have it forever.
Favorite Shots:
March 9th, downtown Boulder sunset
March 13th, my birthday hike with best friends that surprised me from home 12 hours away
March 21st, a word I always find an affinity with. The morning light had hit this brown bag perfectly from my window. See, never know what you may find or see...
March 30th, music always will be an important part of my life as is Taylor, my friend visiting with her backpack and mandolin (cross country)4/03/2009
Friday Linky Love
It has been a long week for me, amidst April Fool's day (I did no pranks, lame, did you?) However, reading these articles encouraged me and also interested me. I hope they do the same for you.
1. Young Successful Entrepreneur: Startup Tips: Losers Focus on Traffic
2. dtrndr (Yea, that's right. The entire blog is rad)
3. Modite: Stop Writing About Social Media To Be a Successful Blogger
4. Conversations Matter: The Rise of the Customer Service Rep
5. Geeks Are Sexy: Six of the Best April Fool's Tech Jokes
6. She Takes On the World: Spring Cleaning Your Finances
7. Ad Age: Samsung Sheep Sit In Top Spot on Viral Chart-What People Watched the week of March 23, 2009 (click through to the videos, they're epic)
8. Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates: Do Success and Happiness Go Hand In Hand?
9. Hongkiat: 70 Outstanding Out of Bounds Photos
10. The Writer's Coin: Is There No Sympathy Left In the World?
Photo Credit: atomicjeep
1. Young Successful Entrepreneur: Startup Tips: Losers Focus on Traffic2. dtrndr (Yea, that's right. The entire blog is rad)
3. Modite: Stop Writing About Social Media To Be a Successful Blogger
4. Conversations Matter: The Rise of the Customer Service Rep
5. Geeks Are Sexy: Six of the Best April Fool's Tech Jokes
6. She Takes On the World: Spring Cleaning Your Finances
7. Ad Age: Samsung Sheep Sit In Top Spot on Viral Chart-What People Watched the week of March 23, 2009 (click through to the videos, they're epic)
8. Life Is Like a Box of Chocolates: Do Success and Happiness Go Hand In Hand?
9. Hongkiat: 70 Outstanding Out of Bounds Photos
10. The Writer's Coin: Is There No Sympathy Left In the World?
Photo Credit: atomicjeep
4/02/2009
What Inspires You? Guest Post VII: Nisha Chittal
Nisha enthusiastically reached out to my via Twitter about her interest in this series and I am equally as excited about having her here on my blog. Her writing style is sharp and well-versed as she is an associate editor at CitizenJanePolitics, writes her own blog, interns at ReadWriteWeb and is still in college! So here comes Nisha, full of inspirational force, lucky number seven:
Nisha Chittal
Bio: I live, most of the time, in Champaign, IL. I am graduating from the University of Illinois in May 2009 with a BA in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies. On my blog, Politicoholic, I write about the things I'm passionate about: politics (duh), current events, social issues, technology and gov 2.0 issues, and sometimes just about my crazy life.
As someone who thoroughly enjoys writing, I love words. I love playing around with words and I believe that the right words at the right time can make a huge impact. I actually enjoy copyediting (I know, weird. But somehow I end up editing friends' papers all the time and kind of love it). So naturally it fits that when I sat down to think of what inspires me, the first thing I thought of was not necessarily a person or an object, but a quote -- a series of words strung together.
It's one that really speaks to me, and is probably my all-time favorite quote. It describes, using the perfect words, exactly how I want to live my life - if it weren't so long I'd call it my motto. But it's not short enough for that since it's three paragraphs long. Three perfect paragraphs though! I love it so much I blew it up, printed it out, and tacked it up on my bedroom wall so I can see it everyday or whenever I need motivation. Reading this quote reminds me of the things I aspire to do and the people I aspire to be like. When I'm freaking out about little things, it's a good reminder of the big picture in life and the larger things I'm striving towards.
I spent my high school years in a boring suburb feeling like I was so restricted. And I was -- I made safe decisions and did safe things. But as anyone who reads my blog knows, I have a strong dislike for anything "safe" or "stable." I like risk. I like doing things that other people consider crazy, and things that most people would not normally do. Some of these decisions have been considered crazy, but I have an enormous amount of blind faith that no matter what crazy decision I make (like moving to Cambodia), everything will work out the way it's supposed to in the end.
Nisha Chittal
Bio: I live, most of the time, in Champaign, IL. I am graduating from the University of Illinois in May 2009 with a BA in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies. On my blog, Politicoholic, I write about the things I'm passionate about: politics (duh), current events, social issues, technology and gov 2.0 issues, and sometimes just about my crazy life.
As someone who thoroughly enjoys writing, I love words. I love playing around with words and I believe that the right words at the right time can make a huge impact. I actually enjoy copyediting (I know, weird. But somehow I end up editing friends' papers all the time and kind of love it). So naturally it fits that when I sat down to think of what inspires me, the first thing I thought of was not necessarily a person or an object, but a quote -- a series of words strung together.
It's one that really speaks to me, and is probably my all-time favorite quote. It describes, using the perfect words, exactly how I want to live my life - if it weren't so long I'd call it my motto. But it's not short enough for that since it's three paragraphs long. Three perfect paragraphs though! I love it so much I blew it up, printed it out, and tacked it up on my bedroom wall so I can see it everyday or whenever I need motivation. Reading this quote reminds me of the things I aspire to do and the people I aspire to be like. When I'm freaking out about little things, it's a good reminder of the big picture in life and the larger things I'm striving towards.
I spent my high school years in a boring suburb feeling like I was so restricted. And I was -- I made safe decisions and did safe things. But as anyone who reads my blog knows, I have a strong dislike for anything "safe" or "stable." I like risk. I like doing things that other people consider crazy, and things that most people would not normally do. Some of these decisions have been considered crazy, but I have an enormous amount of blind faith that no matter what crazy decision I make (like moving to Cambodia), everything will work out the way it's supposed to in the end.
Anyways, here's the quote, straight off of my bedroom wall:
4/01/2009
A Featured Favorite: TheDieline
{I realized I feature a lot of things that I stumble across on the web that I think, can't go unnoticed and I want to share. Maybe not as much as Caitlin on Smile Like You Mean It (love her blog, you should check it daily) but enough that I thought whenever I do, it will be under "A Featured Favorite." With that being said, here's the first}
I love branding, designing and packaging. I enjoy checking out branding redesigns and using my eye to decipher what works and doesn't (in my mind). For this reason, that is why I totally dig TheDieline: The World's #1 Package Design Website.
My favorite sections are: Before & After's, Brand Spotlight's, and Creative Dieline.
Check out these Creative Design's they've featured. Then for your branding goodness head to TheDieline or follow them on Twitter (@thedieline) for design updates.
I love branding, designing and packaging. I enjoy checking out branding redesigns and using my eye to decipher what works and doesn't (in my mind). For this reason, that is why I totally dig TheDieline: The World's #1 Package Design Website.
My favorite sections are: Before & After's, Brand Spotlight's, and Creative Dieline.Check out these Creative Design's they've featured. Then for your branding goodness head to TheDieline or follow them on Twitter (@thedieline) for design updates.
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