January 4, 2007

Meeting with Mayor of the District of Mollebaya

We traveled to the district of Mollebaya to meet with the new mayor, Mr. Tito Zegarra. Mr. Zegarra took office on January 1, and we were anxious to meet him and discuss our plans to provide charitable assistance in Virgen de Chapi, a village that falls within his jurisdiction. Also present at the meeting was Mr. Thomas Yucra, the director of the Cooperative of Virgen de Chapi. Mr. Yucra's Cooperative helps organize the villagers and will be a valuable ally in our fight to reduce poverty.

The mayor listened to our plans for educational programs, public health initiatives, and micro loans. We also requested a donation of land in Virgen de Chapi, explaining that on the land we plan to construct a multi-purpose building that will be a library, educational center, and health clinic. Mr. Zegarra and Mr. Yucra agreed to consider our request and respond within a couple of weeks.

We were pleased to learn that the mayor's team has many ideas for ways to improve the lives of the villagers in their district. For example, they plan to offer free internet access to all school children, and there are plans to provide assistance with agricultural projects. We look forward to working closely on these types of projects with both Mr. Zegarra and Mr. Yucra in the coming months and years.

Micro Loan Kickoff Event

After our meeting in Mollebaya, we drove to Virgen de Chapi to speak to the villagers about our new micro loan program. We could sense a feeling of excitement as we explained that the loans will be available at no cost (i.e. no interest) to people who have good ideas for small business ventures in the district of Mollebaya. Roughly thirty individuals and small groups completed our micro loan applications. We will review the applications and begin providing our first loans in the coming weeks.