By Paco Alcaide | Regional Manager
The Riecken proposal is based on the idea that when women in rural communities strengthen their leadership skills and abilities, and are provided participation and entrepreneurship opportunities at the community level, there will be an increase in positive community development and improvement of quality of life in the communities.
Business projects that they generate will likely be more sustainable and have greater impact, both at the level of income-generation (business centers) and health (early stimulation and nutrition, etc.). BFB and Riecken Libraries support social entrepreneurs' local initiatives (income generation, health promotion, literacy, advocacy, etc.) that promote the human, organizational, and social capabilities of rural women of Guatemala.
For combat the women social exclusion, Community Library Gabriela Mistral in San Juan Chamelco improve a new Management Bussines Service to for innovate the production of artisanal products made by women for its commercialization in local markets. San Juan Chamelco is a village of Alta Verapaz (Guatemala), with an average of 58,000 of population. Most of the population (89%) talk in Quekchí, Poqomchí language and Spanish; Local economy is based in traditional crafts and agriculture. In San Juan Chamelco, 8 out of 10 people are poor: 78.2% population lives in poverty conditions, and of these, approximately 37.7 % in extreme poverty. Community Library Gabriela Mistral serve approximately 774 highly engaged monthly, being more than 90% Quekchí Mayan People.
One of this leader women in San Juan Chamelco is Victoria Caal. She's 46 years old, Neighborhood of Chitubtu (San Juan Chamelco, Alta Verapaz).
“Being in the women's project has given me the opportunity to discover my abilities and skills. Now I know I'm able to learn and to fight for my dreams. I always wanted to learn how to use a computer, but I had not way and I was scared, but thanks to the community library who have thought about our education. Today I have the opportunity I ever imagined. There is much to learn and yes I can.”
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
