A loan officer leads clients through an exercise.

Maya and Adrienne from Boulder, Colo., are working in Guatemala through the end of July as interns for Friendship Bridge, preparing reports for KIVA. They love traveling, exploring new places, speaking Spanish and playing music.  

When traveling, rarely does time feel like it passes slowly. However, here in Panajachel, we feel as if we have been here for weeks. Maybe it’s because of the numerous incredible people we have met; or maybe it’s because of how different every day is here.  Our first week with Friendship Bridge has come to an end, and we feel as if we’ve learned weeks’ worth of wisdom.

Within just one week we have met 24 different and inspiring local women; and have traveled to three unique communities. Although this week has been long and exhausting from the travel and acclimation, it is all worth it.

We are excited about our work this week! We will travel alone to communities to meet with a loan officer and accompany the officer to the Friendship Bridge meetings. There, we will use a standard set of questions to ask for KIVA and many photos to take. Even though it will be nerve racking to no longer be the shadow of a trained employee, we feel ready for the responsibility! Serving as a direct link between these women and the organization is a huge responsibility – as well as finding our way along the challenging bus system!

It seems to us that this responsibility is a sign of trust from Friendship Bridge, and we are excited to earn that trust.