After all of the time spent researching, debating, writing and discussing, it’s a little intimidating to realize how close we are to actually issuing loans in Honduras. This will be my first trip to Honduras. I’ve heard so many wonderful things from people who’ve already been there, and I can’t wait to experience it for myself. I won’t say I’m not nervous. We have a lot to get done in the week we’re there, but with all the planning and organizing we’ve done, I’m confident that we’ve laid the groundwork for a very successful first round.
The past couple weeks have been a blur of articles, pictures and layouts as Katie and I, as she said, spent our time getting the newsletter ready for distribution. I was excited to see how it came together, and I look forward to preparing the next one when we return.
In the meantime, I’m looking forward to getting down there and meeting all of the women I’ve been hearing so much about. I’m so impressed by their willingness to take a chance on our organization and their dedication to the program. They’ve been very motivated, and now we’ll finally begin to provide them with the skills and resources we’ve been working to prepare.
I’ve been working on the ceremony planning. A ceremony is supposed to help an MFI increase the sense of solemnity and responsibility inherent to the assumption of debt through an unsecured loan. It serves as a means of strengthening the peer pressure incentive and as a reward for the women who have made it through the self selection process and fulfilled all of the MFI’s program requirements as well. I’m anticipating a large turnout. It will be so exciting to meet the families and get an idea of the support system each of the women will have around her.
Now that we’re in the final weeks before the trip, everyone has been finalizing their projects. The training materials, customer information packet and other resources are the ones that have been undergoing the most changes lately. It’s so fascinating to see the evolution of the program over time. As someone who likes consistency, it can be difficult to live in flux for weeks on end on each issue, but at least we know that in the end, we have a well thought out program that reflects the ideas of everyone involved. Our work represents our best efforts to figure out what will meet the needs of the people with whom we’ll be working.
I’m proud of the effort everyone has put in this semester and I’m looking forward to seeing it all in action.