(Day 2) Elizabeth:
What an incredible day. Beginning with the most amazing coffee I have ever experienced at breakfast--working on a way to bring a supply of beans home with me! We arrived at the bank in time for the devotions, a lovely service which takes place every Monday and Friday to begin and end the week. The music and singing was so beautiful and the service created a great feeling of peace and community.
Then, we arrived at an agricultural cooperative who are working with their first Opportunity loan. Meeting with the Trust Group leaders and hearing their ambitions and plans really underlined for me the importance of empowering these clients to become self-sufficient. They not only work the land they lease from the local government, but to improve efficiency they employ people to help with weeding and even to scare birds away from the crops! The group has employed a agronomist who is testing 100 different varieties of rice on the land to determine which is best for their land conditions. It is this forward-thinking that is so powerful to me. Seeing these beautiful people who have so little materially but such ambitious plans for the future for themselves and their families, all made possible by the opportunity to borrow a relatively small amount, is very motivational.
(Veronique and I are talking to a farmer)
The fields were separated by a road, along which a group of children were walking home from school. There were cars, motorbikes and trucks speeding by with these little children walking along the shoulder of the road. The over-protective mother in me really had to take a deep breath. The children were stunning and so clever. I asked to see their schoolbooks and they were rightly proud to share them with me. They all learn English and their lesson books were beautifully neat. As they skipped off I realized the future of this country is so bright and positive, even after the tragic recent past.