Borrowers & Mercado Fresco

Hello everyone!

As mentioned before the trip to Nicaragua has been a blast! We have been learning so much from different organizations and the different people we encounter. Yesterday we have the opportunity and the privilege to meet the borrowers. It was the best experience so far, for me personally. I loved hearing all the things that they had to share. As GLOBE managers, when we work in the classroom, we have an idea of the impact that we are having. However, here in Nicaragua we really have gotten the feel and get to see the impact that we have. We talked about this and we mentioned how authentic and real this experience has been. I got to really to talk the borrowers and they had so much to share with us. For example, I really got to talk with Maria, a second time borrower, who sells school supplies. She is expanding her business and her husband and herself are now selling cards. It was awesome, I really got to hear her story, what she is doing and what has been going on in her life. It was interesting because she talked about how she is having family problems. Her house is also not in the best condition. However, the whole time we were there she would smile and laugh with us, as if nothing was going on. I just loved seeing these men and women come together and meet with us. They were also very thankful for the work we do, it was a way to reassure me, as a GLOBE manager that the work that is being done in class is having an impact.

We also met with Supply Hope, specifically Mercado Fresco. We got to see the work that they do with micro franchising, which is something I had very little knowledge on. However, I was able to learn a lot. I remember talking earlier to parents about how countries such as Mexico, the people eat very unhealthy. They perfer to drink things such as Coca-Cola than water. This is somehing that happens with the people living in Nicaragua. It was interesting to me, because it was something that I had recently mentioned to my parents. To be able to see something like Mercado Fresco, trying to get people to change their eating habits, by selling things like eggs, beans, rice. And not the "traditional" thing that everyone eats, which are like chips and Coca-Cola. I thought it was great and I really enjoyed it.

Excited about what is in store next!