In late January I had the pleasure of visiting the GlobalGiving project "Provide jobs to 100 families" -- A Future Without Poverty. After a long flight into Guadalajara I was picked up by Pato (regional manager and key point person in the success of A Future Without Poverty) and driven several hours to the small town of Mazitmitla. And although much of the town has been inundated with wealthy tourists from Guadalajara and the United States, poverty is a predominate theme on the city outskirts.
Regardless, Pato took me in like one of his own. He has four lovely children, 3 beautiful girls, a son, and a loving wife. He has dedicated his life towards ensuring that this project and A Future Without Poverty adhere to high impact work
Syl Flores (Founder of A Future Without Poverty) put in dedicated hours towards ensuring that my trip was put to practical use. Most site visits typically entail me visiting the project site, taking photos, and collaborating with Project Leaders. This site visit entailed all of those facets but the team of A Future Without Poverty took it one step further. Syl was so passionate about getting youth involved and inspiring other Project Leaders in the region that he arranged for me to speak about GlobalGiving at a local university to around 150-200 individuals.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank A Future Without Poverty. Specifically, I would like to recognize the dedication and passion of Syl Flores (Founder), Tom Benjamin (Executive Director), and Pato (Regional Manager). Moreover, I would like to speak on behalf of all of the beneficiaries of A Future Without Poverty by acknowledging the significant improvement of livelihoods directly resulting from their work. I can personally say that the efforts of A Future Without Poverty have touched many. The organization is highly regarded and concretely established within the region.
We are getting many e-mails that are identifying potential vendors in different countries that are looking for access to the global market place and want to tell their story. These are individuals that are offering great products at fair prices and when we establish the market for their product they will be on their way to a future without poverty and the hobbling chain of poverty has one less link. This sandal maker is from Sahuayo, Mexico. This is a very remote village in central Mexico that is approximately a three hour drive to the nearest large city.
Great news we have begun work on the web page for the Global Market. We have identified several families that are producing products for the store and will begin making orders for their products as soon as we reach the first $1,000 in funding from this campaign. We are planning on starting a fulfillment center in the United States that will employ individuals that are currently unemployed. Thanks to the work of many volunteers we have identified potential products from the United States, Haiti, Cameroon, Bangladesh, Mexico, Peru and Togo. We know this list will expand rapidly as additional funds become available. Thank you for your support.
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