Support Families in Mexico to Start Saving

Since 2020, extreme poverty in Baja California Sur, Mexico has increased by 164%, which equates to 14,600 people living on less than $1.90/day. Certainly this has to do with the global pandemic, as well as with the fact that more than 60% of people are excluded from the formal financial sector, meaning they lack access to services and products such as savings accounts, fair loans, cashless transactions, and credit because of their socio-economic status, geographic location, inability to meet financial institution requirements, or all of the above.

When folks are excluded from these services, they do not have access to the resources they need to support their families, improve their homes, start or expand a business, pay for schooling, or address health needs. Philanthropiece AC exists to change this inequity, ensuring that all people experience financial inclusion and have the opportunity to achieve a better quality of life. 

We have seen that this work is more important than ever during the Covid19 crisis. The Community Savings Groups function as a safety cushion for emergencies and times of unemployment. Perhaps even more importantly, our program enhances trust and collaboration, serving to fortify the social fabric of a community, fostering unity and resilience. And, thanks to YOUR SUPPORT this year, we have been able to start 17 new Community Savings Groups...this equates to more than 200 people who are directly benefiting from a program that improves their lives, the health of their families, and their sense of connection to their community. 

Your support has helped to form BanRobles, a group located in the community of Ancon, on the outskirts of La Paz. This is a group of fifteen family members, the majority of whom are women. With their main form of income as raising chickens, their principal savings objective is to invest in and grow their enterprise.

Your support has led to the start of Castillos del Mar, a savings group in the Las Barrancas community whose main source of income is fishing. This group made up of the sons and daughers of fishermen and women - nine children whose goal is to learn to save. One of the members used her savings to buy her school supplies.

And, your support has led to the founding of the group Los Animeños, a group of ranchers located in the rural Sierra de la Giganta mountains. Los Animeños has seventeen members, ten of whom are women. The men make knives by hand with recycled pieces of iron from cars, and the women create leather accessories that are handmade from start to finish from the tanning to the designing and engraving of the leather. These are the artisan crafts that at once represent their ranching culture and serve to sustain their families. 

In all of these new Community Savings Groups, as well as for the more than 60 additional active groups, the program offers access to financial services and education, brings folks together, opens opportunities, and promotes equity and resilience. In this season of gratitude, we extend our deepest thanks to YOU for being part of improving the lives of the families of Baja California Sur, and for doing your part to create a world that is inclusive, just, and healthy for all.