Much 2 Gain

Fair Trade

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:08:31 -0500

Llamas for Kids

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:02:48 -0500

New Digs

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:30:41 -0500

In Route

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:30:12 -0500

Huancavelica

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0500

Some of our Fair Trade Artisans from Huancavelica, in their traditional dress.

Our local artisans serve our Fair Trade team chicken soup for breakfast.

Jed and Ana enjoy their soup!

Tearing Off the Limb

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:29:54 -0500

:: Finding a New Pair of Shoes ::

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:06:00 -0400

Find a new pair of shoes can be difficult. There are many aspects to consider: comfort or style? what do you plan to do in said shoes? etc…My Mom, who has a terrible addiction to shoes at very young age taught me that when one does find the perfect pair of shoes that one MUST jump to purchase, because the moment you hesitate another anxious consumer will swipe them from beneath you. She’s pretty cut throat.

About a month ago, when discussing my fears, frustrations and anxiety with my good friend, and former boss in Nicaragua, Jed Koball about my work situation, he began to discuss the financial restrictions that his program faced in Peru. Before I knew it, Jed was passing around my resume to folks in his office and well, a position as a consultant was offered to help their programs raise sufficient funds. I will admit the offer was tempting for various reasons. The two programs I would be working with focused on environmental advocacy for La Oroya and helping create a better market for a fair trade organization, Bridge of Hope that representing over 30 cooperative throughout Peru —something dear to my heart since I witnessed how empowering these can be firsthand through the AMA Cooperative in Nicaragua. So of course I asked for time to think about it.

The truth is that I ONLY became interested in working in community development because of my of my experiences in South America as a child. At a very young age my parents decided to start their own NGO. The NGO didn’t really exist beyond my parents and their contacts. Its mission was twofold: to teach the Argudo children an understanding of who they were and provide children in the Andes mountains of Ecuador (their native land) with a better education. So every year I would travel with my parents and their friends and bring didactic materials and desks to impoverished schools around the area where my grandfather was born called Tungurahua. Along with the immediate help, they also refurbished schools. To be able to participate in the lives of children this way…to be able to give them walls and a floor in their classroom… to be able to give teachers textbooks to teach their students with… and to see my parents so dedicated to this cause forever changed my life. It was on those mountains that a seed was planted. It was there that my parents demonstrated to my siblings and I the responsibility we had to each other as a humans. So, it was there that I knew I had to one day return.

The day that I decided to quit, I received a sign from God— Jed arrived to NY. I knew that he was scheduled to return sometime in October, but I had NO idea that he was arriving that week. So naturally, my heart skipped a beat. I got on the phone and called to see him. We had dinner that night and before I began to pour my heart out he handed me a gift he brought, a stuffed llama made by women in Hunacavelica, Peru that formed part of Bridge of Hope. At that moment, I made my offer on my new pair of shoes and with a huge smile Jed handed me my llama, who I then named Libertad.

:: Leap of Faith ::

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:44:00 -0400

I’ve always had people comment on how wonderful my job must be. I’ve had intern after intern want my job. I’ve had people my age and much older tell me how much they admired me for what I do— I was their “role model.”For the past six years I’ve had my dream job. Yesterday, I quit.

You’re probably asking yourself, why someone in this job market would leave their “dream job?” The short answer? I need to reboot. Please don’t misinterpret the simplicity of my answer for indifference. The decision I made was one of the most difficult I’ve ever had to make. It’s one that I have struggled with for about a year. It’s one that I prayed about and asked friends and mentors for guidance on. Still by the end of last week, it was painfully apparent that I had to move on. However, like all things, it’s a bit more complicated than that… and if you care to continue you reading about the journey I’m about to embark on, you’ll find out all the gritty details soon enough!

In short, my six years with Bridges to Community was a gift. The two years I spent working in Nicaragua as a Community Development worker taught me more than I have learned in most of my adult life. The other years working in the office as their Director of Communications and then their Director of Donor Relations gave me the tools I needed to better understand all that goes into making a mission successful for everyone involved in the very important work we do. To date, I have not encountered any other organization that rivals the heart and dedication of our staff, community members and volunteers. Sill, for the past year, I’ve felt as if my feet were too big for my shoes.

The risk I am taking is quite possibly the most scary, yet freeing thing I’ve done in a long time. When I was asked by a board member what was next, upon receiving my resignation, I confided in her that I hadn’t the slightest idea. Being a successful, meticulous woman, I feared that she might have been disappointed by my answer. However, she responded with much understanding and comfort, saying she too had made a similar decision once in her life. When it’s time to move on, you have to..and so I am. I want to dedicate this blog to just that— moving forward, fearlessly and in the belief in the common good. To all who feel like they’re ready for that next step and who invite the world to teach them the true potential of their contributions. Nos fuimos!