So while living here in Asuncion, Paraguay I am working with the Fundacion Paraguaya which is a local non-profit that works on three main things: urban and rural micro-finance, a self-sustaining agricultural school and a junior achivement program. Overall this organization works to help people become entrepenuers in different phases of their lives. The organization does a lot of amazing things. It is a little different, more business like and capitalist, than the work I was expecting to do during this time of my life but overall it is great and I am going to learn a lot. I will explain a little bit about each of the different programs to give you a sense of what I am working on. Also their website is Fundacionparaguaya.org.py and you can get the information is english or spanish if you want more information.
First the AGRICULTURAL SCHOOL. This is a pretty amazing program. It is a full functioning boarding school about an hour outside of Asuncion but the really interesting part is that the students dont need to pay to attend but they sell the agriculture and other products they create at the school to fund it. It is a business as well as a school and the students play a key role. The school sells all different kinds of fruits and vegetables as well as grains, dairy products and meat. During their third year students have the opportunity to take on a leadership role and actually create a business plan to sell their corn or mandioca or cows. I really like this type of education because it is teaching them skills they wlll need and be able to use in their real life. There is a large percentage of Paraguayans working in agriculture so being able to teach them to do so in a profitable way is much more beneficial than making them memorize the Presidents of the US. The school is also certified by the country of Paraguay so they are receiving the same basic education as everyone else but also learning about agriculture and entrepeneurship. The Fundacion is really proud of this model and they are trying to share it with other organizations and countries throughout the world so if you or you know would be interested in this type of school you should let me know and I can get you in touch with the right people.
JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT. I am not very familiar with this element of the organization. But it is a curriculum that is taught in schools throughout Asuncion that focuses on entrepeneurship and business skills.
Finally the largest program is MICRO-FINANCE and this is where I am working. They have 18 regional offices across the country and they give out tons of lones to all different types of business in urban and rural areas. One way to check out what they are doing is through another website called Kiva. They have a website of Kiva.org where you can actually give loans to micro-finance clients throughout the world. It is really cool and I think that everyone should check it out. You agree to a certain amount of money and you can choose the clients that you want to support. It is a great way to be involved with international development even if you cant leave the country. So yeah check out this website. Also a lot of the loans given out to Comites intsead of individuals. This increases their returns because if you are not able to pay your cuota you are letting a whole group of people down rather than just yourself. They have recently establish a program called Comites de Mujeres. This is when they bring a group of at 15 women together and give them a loan. It is a cool program becasue they have also used it to establish community and now they are creating musical groups and giving classes on health to the children of the women in these comites. I like that they are not simply giving out loans but they are trying to better the life of the people receiving loans through the establishment of social networks and teaching classes. Overall it is a really cool program and I am excited to keep learning more and more about it. So that is the basic explanation of the Fundacion. I really like and I have learned so much in the last couple of weeks and I know that I will just be learning more and more as time goes on.
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