The Impact of One Woman on Her Community: Adelina’s Story

Post a Comment » Written on June 24th, 2013     
Filed under: Community Development
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Adelina is a woman from Santa Cruz Xitla, a community of extreme poverty located two hours from Oaxaca City. The mother language in this community is Zapotec; very few people speak Spanish. The primary job in Santa Cruz Xitla is agriculture. People grow flowers to sell and reeds to make into baskets.

Adelina began her participation in Fuentes Libres 18 months ago. She, like the majority of the women in this community, did not have the opportunity to go to school because of poverty. When Adelina began to participate in a Fuentes Libres community bank, she was afraid because lack of experience and her inability to speak Spanish well. She knew very little about micro-finance, but she accepted the challenge and ended up becoming the head of the group!

Members of one of the new community banks

Because of her strong desire to do well, she learned quickly and was soon able to help other women with their finances. Adelina was very efficient in her work, and a mere eight months later she had already promoted 18 women to start another community bank! Within a year, she promoted another 20 women. Adelina oversees both of these new community banks and receives financial support from Fuentes Libres for her work.

Adelina has discovered that she is able to do more than she thought. Now she is being trained by Fuentes Libres to improve her work and her small business.

It is amazing that in this community 38 women who before did not have enough resources to cover their basic necessities are now working together in an organized way to manage their finances and savings. Even more amazing is that they are being directed by a woman who, less than two years ago, would not have believed she had the ability to do what she does now. God works in amazing ways and through amazing people!

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