Doris, one of the loan officers at Asociación Arariwa, has been working with clients in Urubamba and Cusco for 17 years.
I sat in on one of the monthly loan payment meetings of one of her communal banks, Aguas Buenas. All members paid their monthly payments on time, but two of the members asked permission beforehand not to attend. Because of their absence, Doris commented on the importance of attending the monthly meetings, saying “No vamos a lograr nada” (We won’t achieve anything this way). She even called one of the absent members on her cellphone to remind them of the importance of attending monthly meetings.
Attendance is importance especially since during each meeting, loan officers teach a short workshop on different topics such as financial literacy, business training, family well-being or health. In this meeting Doris taught a lesson on setting financial goals. Having done some financial literacy workshops for teenagers and some credit counseling for adults in my work with the Lower East Side Credit Union in New York, I was excited and honored to see Arariwa’s financial literacy training in action, especially by a loan officer as experienced as Doris.
First, she played a short video spotlighting two Arariwa entrepreneurs discussing their metas financieras (financial goals) for their businesses and families, the timeframe to reach these goals, and plans to accomplish these goals. Here’s the video:
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She then facilitated a discussion about the video with the group. As an exercise, Doris asked the group to define the goals of the women in the video. Then she asked the group members to share their goals. One member said her goal was to keep working and keep her business growing. Doris reminded her to add a timeframe and concrete steps to reach this goal. Another member and his wife want to open a printing shop within the next 3 years. They are saving and planning for how they will buy the necessary machinery and materials. Doris complimented him on his hard work.