By Daniel Marulanda | Project Leader
Dear Supporters,
It's time to check back in with Sofia, who we introduced to you in mid February of this year. Sofía has been severely disabled since she was two years old but, unwilling to let her disability define and restrict her, Sofía learnt to sew, completed training with the SENA (a national educational institution) and started her own business manufacturing leather wallets, bags and souvenirs.
Our project with Sofía has been in conjunction with Associación Amigos con Calor Humano, who have been assisting with the psychological and self-management training aspects of this project.
Currently, Sofía is in the last phase of her training – ‘Camino con Amigos’ (Walk with Friends) which focuses on evaluating how Sofía can improve and advance her business. The funds that you donated on Global Giving helped to support this evaluation process.
The ‘Camino con Amigos’ phase involves training Sofía in the social, psychological, familial, occupational and business dimensions of her work environment. Understanding these better will allow Sofía to produce a plan that is more closely aligned to her personal and business needs.
Sofía’s wealth of experience, perseverance, motivation, leadership skills and creativity means she knows what she wants and is well positioned to achieve her goals. Her family support her in both the production process and in finding new customers.
With the donations that you made to Sofía’s business, Together for Colombia were able to buy her a new bespoke sewing machine, especially tailored for easier use. With this new machine Sofía will be able to increase her productivity and increase sales.
However Sofía still has challenges to overcome, such as expanding her marketing strategy to ensure that her brand is more widely recognised, standardising the process of purchasing raw materials and finding a pricing system that ensures sufficient profits are made.
Her goal is to be able to employ a small staff, comprised of others with disabilities, so she can simultaneously grow her business and contribute positively to her community.
We will continue to support Sofía on her journey, so keep an eye on the Global Giving page for updates on how she is getting on, including an upcoming video of her receiving her bespoke sewing machine!
Thank you as ever for your generous donations. With your help we can change the lives of everyday Colombians through entrepreneurship.
Stay in touch!
Daniel Marulanda
Project Leader
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