By Katie Doyle Myers | President, Philanthropiece AC
These are trying times indeed. In B.C.S., México we are still experiencing the impacts of the pandemic. We know that others around the world are experiencing the devastating effects of violence, systemic oppression, and racial injustice. And yet: we are grateful. Grateful that, at Philanthropiece, we are afforded the opportunity to catalyze change, to foster unity, and to build resilience. As you know, we do this via the Community Savings Groups program. On the surface, this program looks like a handful of people gathering weekly to fulfill a commitment to save their pesos and to make fair loans to one another. But, look more closely and you will find so much more. You will find community members - diverse in age, profession, and educational levels - joining together to collectively learn, to organize their activities, and to make deliberate decisions. This is what we mean when we say that Philanthropiece AC exists to strengthen the social fabric of a community.
One of the communities where this is happening is La Purísima, a rural community located in the northern Comondú region of Baja California Sur, two hours from the closest city. There, the Community Savings Groups “El Oasis” formed in 2016. One of the goals of the group is the conservation of the oasis; they know that conserving the natural ecosystem is critical in sustaining the environment and the culture for future generations. The group maintains a social fund that is used for projects to meet this goal. In addition, the Community Savings Group recently made a small business loan to their member Cristian, who - along with other members of “El Oasis” - have opened a restaurant serving regional food and are working to restore the local trail system to further boost the economy through a locally-owned and led eco-tourism social enterprise.
In 2022, your continued support will allow more members such as Cristian to support their communities. We will increase the number of Community Savings Groups members by 33% (reaching 1200 members!), we will engage with 10 new rural communities in B.C.S. that have invited our team to train them in the savings methodology, we will provide financial education modules including the themes of responsible consumption and personal budgeting, and we will launch a social entrepreneurship component to the program (thanks to Cristian for helping to get this started!). We are confident that this is the work of building stronger, more resilient communities. Please click on the links below to see a short video of the work of Philanthropiece AC in action and to learn more about the ecotourism opportunities in La Purisima...and thank you once again, for supporting us in piecing together a better world!
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