Dear friends,
Imagine you are with me in Guatemala, in Ana’s house. It is a simple home, and today it is brimming with activity. Ana is busy cooking at her stove with her 6-month old daughter bundled on her back. Her 8th grade son Abner is just getting home from school. If you were here, you would smell hints of garlic and onion wafting through the room as Ana prepares traditional Guatemalan tamales to sell during the busy holiday season ahead. “My stove will be working hard for the end of the year,” Ana says, smiling.
Like you, Ana dreams of a better future – education for her children, growing her business, and perhaps even going back to school herself. She says before she became a Friendship Bridge client those dreams seemed far-fetched, but with your support, she is now achieving them. “Four years ago I had less business, and I wanted to have more goals to improve myself. Friendship Bridge has taught me to be an entrepreneurial woman….They opened the door for me to improve my business. Friendship Bridge gave me confidence.”
Ana and her family’s lives have changed dramatically since her first loan four years ago, and the investment in her clean stove through our CrediSalud program has led to even more positive change. Ana saves significantly on firewood and her family’s health has improved. This allows her to devote more time to her business and her son to dedicate more time to his schoolwork. Remarkably, this stove is making Ana’s dreams more attainable.
I hope reading this story makes you as proud as I am. Stories like Ana’s always make me think about you, because as a supporter of Friendship Bridge, you are empowering women to find their own solutions to poverty – which can be as simple as a new stove! With you on our team, clients like Ana are positioned to learn, grow, and succeed.
Will you make a special gift to Friendship Bridge today and stand in solidarity with these inspiring women? Your gift is critical as we expand to reach all of our 22,000 clients and equip them to become as empowered as Ana. Each gift will provide additional Plus services, like Ana’s stove loan, which have been measurably proven to empower our clients and decrease their vulnerability to poverty. You can read more about our impact and our Plus services in our recently published Impact Report.
Thank you so very much for empowering women to create a better future for themselves, their families, and communities.
Unidos en el empoderamiento de mujeres – United in empowering women,
Karen Larson
President & CEO
P.S. Double your impact! A longtime supporter of Friendship Bridge believes so strongly in the power of our work that he has offered a challenge gift of $30,000 if Friendship Bridge can raise more than $30,000 in new or increased gifts through November 30th. Can you help us unlock this challenge gift by giving today?
