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Mary Jo Andrak explores the large effects of tiny loans among the Mayan poor. |
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The country’s compelling natural beauty includes a chain of volcanoes, pristine lakes and pine-clad hills. This, coupled with the giant whitewashed churches and Spanish style plazas that exist in almost every large village or town, beckons tourism. The temple ruins of Tikal, set inside the jungles of Reserva de la Biosfera Maya, is a crowning jewel. Howler monkeys and toucans loudly chaperone visitors. The Reserva is impressive and is the most excavated (30%) of any ruins site in Latin America. Lake Peten in Flores is a lush jungle with access to the Reserva and a beauty all its own. The population is almost equally divided between indigenous Maya people and ladinos {mixed race}. Spanish is the official language but there are a total of 23 Maya dialects spoken. |
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The country of Guatemala has a wealth of cultural, historical and physical beauty. This wealth does not transfer to the many poor Maya, some of who live in the small villages in the western highland of the country.
The rural villages we visit are dirt poor. Water is often rationed. In some of the villages water flows only three days a week. Large concrete tubs and an assortment of pots and buckets are enlisted to hold water. Full bellies are a luxury and nutritious food, any food, is at a premium. Sleeping with livestock is common because the animals appear to have the equivalent value of the people. |
There
is a small republic situated at the northern end of the Central American
peninsula called Guatemala. About 15 million people now live in what was
the birth place of the ancient Maya. 
Tourism
is part of the country’s income. Eco-resorts are flourishing. Antigua
welcomes tourists to its cobblestone colonial streets and monasterial
ruins. The sun rising over the monumental temples and palaces of the ancient
Maya, in Tikal, is met with reverence. These places are two of the 830
This
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is obvious there are not many Quetzals {Guatemala currency} in these villages.
There are no stores, no banks, and no restaurants. There is an occasional
Coke or Pepsi stand though. Benevolent corporations both? No matter where these villages are located, whether in the western highlands, mountains, or lowlands. there is one common thread. Local indigenous women receive money from local microfinance institutes to start their own business and feed their children. Some are weavers, shoemakers, or midwives. Others prepare and sell foodstuffs, garden and are involved in animal husbandry. Most have no formal
education and cannot even sign their names. They sign their loan documents
with their thumbprint.
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| Twice a month a banking meeting is held and loan payments are made. Each woman signs her name and payments are recorded. Everyone attends.
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we were visiting, on bank day, we were introduced to each loan recipient.
In spite of the dirt floors and warm weather, the women were impeccably
dressed in the colors of their tribes. In this village there are no loans
more than $300.00. Several share stories as to how these micro loans changed
their lives and the lives of their children. One story shared was about a woman who was a past recipient of a loan, and how that loan saved her knees. Her dialect was particularly difficult to understand so we enlisted the help of a translator in our group. How could a loan save her knees? It seems that before she had her own income, she had to get down on her knees to beg her husband for money to feed their children. All seemed to be smiling and genuinely happy. They all emanated pride in their accomplishments, and those of their sisterhood. There were no men in attendance. Most loans are minuscule by our standards. Perhaps the amount we would spend on taking a friend to lunch. Yet the impact on these women’s lives, their children and their villages is unfathomable to us. MCE replicates this
model and process worldwide, encouraging entrepreneurship, and helping
to reduce global poverty. - MJ Andrak
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