first full day at Pro Mujer

Today was my first full day at Pro Mujer! And boy is my head spinning from all the information I learned today.. I was first taken to their office in the South, and on the way was explained the basics about how their loans work (6 month cycles, option to pay every 7, 14, 21, 28 days, seasonal loans available), and then I sat in on a payment collection meeting. I felt like I was back at Grameen! The methods for collection were very similar, the difference being that at Pro Mujer the women name their groups things like Las Esmeraldas, Sol de Oro, etc. During the meeting, I was reading through the files, and saw that most of the women in the room were taking out loans that ranged from 70$-350$, which is something to think about, for us those amounts are so small, but for them they are life changing. I was also a little surprised to see that many of the women didn´t have running water or electricity in their homes. Also, this group of women had to leave their homes at 2am in order to be at the center for their 8am payment. Their recorded businesses ranged from artesanias, selling various food items like cheese or yogurt, having a small store, selling clothes or shoes, selling fish.
After observing the South office for a while, we headed to the Bellavista office.
There, I sat in on a talk, which I didn´t know what it was about, but it appeared to be about nutrition, and as I was listening, the man kept promoting anchovies, anchovies, anchovies! So I thought it smelled a little fishy, then learned that the talk was sponsored by the ministry of Fish. Ha. But it was good because the women got nutritional information, were exposed to a cheaper source of protien, and they even got samples during the meeting. The man gave a statistic that 25% of children in Peru are chronically malnourished, and that in Puno it is a serious problem as well. Then I visited the kindergarden that they have at the center (in partnership with the ministry of education), and the precious children all greeted me, sang me a song, and said ciao when I left! SO CUTE!
After that, I visited the health center, where the women are able to get free health consultations, and have another woman to confide in about their issues. The doctor was super friendly and upbeat. So, a great thing about Pro Mujer is the women´s access to healthcare, for free, and if not free then minimal prices. They also have a monthly theme, such as menopause, where they expose the women to topics they may not be familiar with. In addition, they do 4-5 monthly campaigns, where they encourage the women to sign up for all sorts of different health things like eye exams. This month they are also offering a seminar on how to deal with their teenage children. Pro Mujer also offers life insurance.
Following lunch, I went back to the central office. There I stopped in to the computer lab! So they offer free computer classes to the women and their families, where they learn micrsoft word and windows, and are adding another course to teach powerpoint and how to make websites! So imagine, women who come in not knowing how to turn on a computer, and after 2 months they are able to make excel sheets for their businesses, reciepts, and even create a website for themselves! not to mention connect with distant family via chat or email... hard to imagine all of the sudden having access to the internet and being computer literate, but I think it is such a wonderful program, and probably the only place the women can get these classes for free. Only problem is, there is more demand and they only have 12 computers. But still they have seen great successes so far.
Then, I sat next to the accountant and she showed me how they keep all their data organized, which group is eligible for a loan now, which group paid today, etc... my head was spinning, she was doing it all so fast. But they seem to be supremely well organized!!

Awesome first day!!!! Everyone at the office is so nice, and I feel like I learned a million things today and am so excited for tomorrow!