There is a dignity in this home. The packed earth of the courtyard is swept clean. Broken blocks of
cement have been neatly placed to form a steep stairway from the street level workshop to the
living area. Trim houseplants are growing in coffee cans. Chickens and rabbits are evident in
cages around the perimeter. The meeting room was open to the air on 2 sides, with clean but
faded furnishings. Bare light bulbs light the scene.
The women started arriving at seven. Eventually 14 participants arrived. All these women are poor,
voiceless, powerless, and most are single parents (no husband or husband "gone North" to look
for work). They live in a society where it is almost impossible for a woman to get a loan to start a
business - and then only at high interest rates. A single mother is definitely out of the job market. Tonight these women are involved in a grass roots solution.
A staff person starts the process by going into an impoverished community or a poor rural colonia and
identifies 12-20 women seeking to improve their lives by starting a business. The women in the
group meet with a Fuentes Libre staff person and decide who is ready to receive a loan. Those
that need assistance can talk further with the group to finalize their plans. Each woman
will receive a loan of 1200 - 1500 pesos ($120 - 150.00), which must be repaid within 4 months.
When it is repaid, she qualifies for a second and larger loan. This can continue for 2 years.
Ninety Nine % of loans are repaid fully and on time. The repaid money is then available to loan to another woman.
It is inspiring to see empowerment in the faces of the women who rise within the group to speak. Some
raise questions, some offer suggestions, they talk about problems and successes, others
offer advice. New officers were selected. There is an air of enthusiasm, pleasant laughter, and a
passing of babies from one to another. One woman brought pumpkin seed toffee and amaranth
toffee (from her business) to share with the group. Young children run and play in the shadows.
The first goal of Fuentes Libres is for the neighborhood group to repay the original money received
from Fuentes Libres, then to use the collected interest and deposits from their own members to
create capital that then belongs to the new bank created by these local women. Each local unit
strives to operate as an on-going local loan agency for other women needing assistance to start
businesses. Each 150$US generated means that a woman can receive capital to start her
business - and this money will then become part of a womans banking cooperative that will support other women in small businesses.
When the local units are functioning autonomously, Fuentes Libres can then take its start-up capital
into other communities and begin the process again.
Some of the women in this group have started small neighborhood clothing or shoe stores. Some sell
prepared food (from a cart or catered for neighborhood events); some use the money to raise
chickens or pigs. Some are artisans or craft people. Last night the group took in 3700 pesos
(370$US) in monthly payments from the members. One woman paid back $1200 pesos after just
4 months and had saved an additional 1300 pesos into her own account. Two new members
joined the group. Both were a little shy but hopeful.
The model for the program was started in Bangladesh about 15 years ago. (The topic of a major Public
TV report (US) about 18 months ago). Since then the model has been utilized in various third world
communities in South America, Africa, and Asia. All of the projects follow essentially the
same rules and report a similar figure close to 98% repayment. The Evangelical Covenant Church of America
supplied the original start-up capital for the Mexican project. Each Fuentes womens' group meeting ends with a Christian based reflection or devotional time - although the goal is not to try to convince anyone that they need to leave their traditional church or religion.