The Torcontin Assembly (click on pictures to see larger size)
The day’s agenda included meetings, called
Assemblies, with Adelante clients in a small mountainous village called
Torcontin and a small squatter’s village located behind some of Dole’s vast
pineapple fields.
Torcontin is located about an hour from La
Ceiba up a bumpy dirt road. A four wheel drive vehicle is the best way to forge
the various streams and wash outs. During the rainy season there are times that
the loan officers can’t make it to Torcontin because of the mud or water level
of the creeks. The road parallels a fast flowing river with Class IV rapids that
is popular with kayakers from around the world. The mountains themselves are
covered with some type of tall and bushy palm tree. I don’t know the name of it
yet, but it is much larger and fuller than the type of palm you would normally
picture. Between the river, the hills and the lush vegetation the scenery is
nothing short of spectacular.
Unfortunately much of the beauty is marred by
evidence of deforestation. It appears like bald spots on furry standard poodle.
In a region as poor as this, each standing tree must look a wad of money laying
on the ground, free for the taking. The government and environmental groups try
to fight it, but poverty and hunger are tough combatants.
The Assembly in Torcontin went well, but
there was the unfortunate news that one of local clients had collected payments
from the other four members in her group (as she was authorized to do), but
rather than deposit the money in the bank (as she was required to do) she had
fled to another town and absconded with the money. It was only about one hundred
dollars, but a small fortune in this part of the world. Enough for this woman to
flee her village.
Over the years micro credit lending has
improved the lives of millions of women and has repeatedly
been proven to be an effective development methodology. But it takes work and
discipline to make it successful. If clients think they can abscond with money
or not repay their loans then the system fails apart. When clients join Adelante they sign a legal
binding document that obligates them to repay not only their loan but also those
of the other three to five members of their “Solidarity” group. This is why it
is called “character based” lending as opposed to “collateral” based.
The
women in this particular group were unhappy about what had happened knowing that
they would have to make up for not only the stolen money but also for the loan
of the woman who fled with their payments.
Two of the women in this group attended the
assembly and were concerned that another member in their group, who wasn’t in
attendance, might not go along with the repayment policy. Not only would that
put more burden on the remaining members, but if they failed to make the
repayments then they would be ineligible for future loans. They were determined
to overcome the situation and requested that the loan officers meet with the
absentee to make sure she was committed to the group.
Guided by these two women the loan officers, Tony
Stone
the founder and director of Adelante and I set off on foot for the woman’s home
which we were told wasn’t far away. For the next twenty minutes we trekked in
the heat and humidity along a footpath only wide enough for the occasional
cowboy to ride past. We crossed over one foot bridge that swayed above a
rushing stream and two others that didn’t
have bridges. The women wore the omnipresent plastic sandals and walked through
the water. The men pranced and hopped like frogs in tutus from one strategically
placed stone to the next in hopes of keeping our feet dry.
When
we arrived at the woman’s hillside home it quickly became apparent why she
hadn’t attended the Assembly – her husband and children were suffering from
chicken pox. The youngest child, who looked to be about two, had the worst case
of it by far. After a few minutes of conversation it became clear that the woman
was committed to the group and, though not pleased, would honor the group’s
obligations to repay the loans.
Standing there sweating in the heat and
humidity, looking at children marred with ghastly pox, it was difficult to
speculate how much energy and resourcefulness it must take to survive from day
to day in a place without electricity, running water or decent health care. One
couldn’t help but be touched by the courage and determination of these women.
Although the friend these women had trusted and had voted to be their group
leader had fled with their hard earned money, they were determined to persevere
in ways that those of us in more fortunate conditions can only remotely imagine.