Esperanza International - USA

The mission of Esperanza International is to free children and their families from poverty through initiatives that generate income, education and health, restoring self-worth and dignity to those who have lost hope.

What's Happening at Esperanza...

Clara Ventura Luna

PHOTO: Clara Ventura Luna, associate from Esperanza Santiago, Dom. Rep.

Before Clara Ventura Luna received her first loan from Esperanza, she had less than $1 to her name. Clara and her nine children were living day to day, she tells me during an interview in the small living room of her house in Santiago.

Her house is in a run-down neighborhood a few blocks away to a bustling street filled with the sounds of commerce and the unceasing honking of carros publicos. The road crosses a bridge a block down. The ravine, over which the bridges span, is filled with the shacks made crenelated concrete and corrugated tin roofs.

The poorest always live in the lowest parts of the city, I am told, so as they will be the first affected by flooding--a common occurrence in rainy season of the Dominican Republic.

Jarrett Mylander-Intern's Testimony

PHOTO: Fellow, Jarrett Mylander, with his host Mom in San Pedro de Macorís .

I recently completed six months as a fellow with Esperanza International, spending roughly three months each in the cities of San Pedro de Macorís and Santo Domingo. My time was incredibly enlightening as I was able to see microfinance at many different levels, from rural batey communities to the central administrative office. The experience of living in another culture, although very difficult at times, was invaluable. The work I was able to see and do with Esperanza was only enhanced as I spent more and more time encountering the culture, eating the food and listening to the music of the Dominican Republic.

I was quickly thrown into the field in San Pedro, spending nearly every day in the rural batey communities to attend bank meetings and to interview our associates.