A Story of Hope
Monday, May 31, 2010
Our loans are transformational in ways that go beyond quantitative measures. They open doors, give hope, connect people to opportunity and each other. Take Delia, a citizenship borrower (see her borrower profile by clicking here). Like so many others, she has been struggling to find work. After months of searching she recently found a part-time job. Unfortunately, a few days later—the same day her daughter in Bolivia graduated from High School—she had to be rushed to the hospital for an emergency medical procedure. She found out afterwards that had she arrived 5 minutes later, she would have died; and were it not for medicaid, she would have spent the rest of her life paying off the debt.
Andy Posner visited Delia several weeks after the surgery to check in on her. She was doing better, but still in a lot of pain. She lamented the fact that just when she had gotten a job she had to quit it due to illness. Now all she could do was wait for her body to heal and plan her next steps. As they talked, Andy realized that another borrower—Ducy Cornejo of Green Cleaning Systems—had recently taken out a second loan from CGF and was quickly growing her business. After a short call Ducy confirmed that she would be happy to hire Delia in her cleaning business when she is ready.
More conversation revealed that Delia wants to take CGF’s business basics course. The reason? She is an amazing cook, and wants to start her own pushcart business, selling authentic Bolivian food throughout Providence. As she talked about her dream and saw the steps that could lead her to realizing it, Delia forgot about her misfortune, forgot about her pain, and focused on the future—a future looking more hopeful thanks to her resilience and a small loan from an organization dedicated to a better future for all.
