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March 10 - 13, 2007
Alan, Miguel, Marvin & Orlando |
During the weekend of March
10 - 13, 2007 SOSTENICA
hosted CEPRODEL's Executive Director, Miguel Gonzales; CFO,
Marvin Garcia; and Director of Credit, Orlando Cortes. Current
and prospective SOSTENICA
investors had a chance to hear about our work at three public
events: New Haven was hosted by SOSTENICA
Board Member, Lee Cruz and Sarah Miller. Norwalk was hosted
by Mich Zeman and Tish Gibbs from the SOSTENICA
Board and the Men's Team. West Chester was hosted by Investor,
Saint John's Church of Devon.
Also the three met
with Alan Wright and Jay Pressman from the SOSTENICA
Board to discuss the current state of our work and to plan
for the future.
To watch a video on youtube of Miguel's
presentation in New Haven please click:
watch video
Thanks to Sarah Miller for the video.
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Alan, Jay, Miguel, Orlando & Marvin
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Lee and SOSTENICA
Investor Beth Roth |
Miguel, Orlando and Tom McCaney and Sister Nora Nash from
Investor, Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia |
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SOSTENICA
Investor and Men's Team Member Larry Comstock
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Orlando, Miguel and
Congressman Joe Sestak |
Miguel, Jim Hammerman, Alan, Orlando & Sally Hammerman
at Jim & Sally's CSA, In My Back Yard at Misty Hollow
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November 9, 2006
SOSTENICA
President, Alan Wright delivered a lecture on "Microcredit
and Development" to the International Affairs Council at Yale
University. It was part of their Development Series Lectures. To
view the text please click on Lecture
Text
Fall 2006
Kelley Baldwin, Director of Communications, Benedictine Sisters
of Perpetual Adoration, wrote a very nice article on SOSTENICA
for the September October 2006 issue of Spirt & Life, the
sister's bi-monthly magazine. The Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual
Adortation invested in the work of SosteNica in January of 2004.
The article is on page 24. Click the link to download the pdf. http://www.spiritandlifemagazine.com/archive/SLSepOct06.pdf
September 2006
CEPRODEL was awarded five diamonds by the Mix Market.(See
LINKS
to connect to the Mix Market.) This signifies the highest quality
of financial and program information provided by a microfinance
institution. Congratulations to Marvin Garcia, the CFO for CEPRODEL
and all of the CEPRODEL staff.
April 2006
CEPRODEL received at rating of BB+ from MicroFinanza Rating, an
Italian agency evaluating the performance of mincrofinance institutions.
This is their second straight year of a BB+ rating. Congratulations
to all of the CEPRODEL staff. To view the rating report please go
to CEPRODEL'S posting on the Mix Market Site. (See LINKS
to connect to the Mix Market.)
February 15 - 18, 2006
Justin, Pete, Orlando, Chris & Jay |
During
February four SOSTENICA representatives visited with CEPRODEL
Staff and borrowers. The four SOSTENICA delegates were: Jay
Pressman, SOSTENICA investor and Secretary of the SOSTENICA
Board of Directors; Peter Flynn, West Chester farmer and proprietor
of Pete's Produce Farm; Chris Bell, SOSTENICA staff and Justin
Wright, SOSTENICA investor and delegation translator. Orlando
Cortés acted as our
host for CEPRODEL. Below we offer a few of our observations
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From Jay
Our visits with Nicaraguan
borrowers began in Nagarote, sister city to Norwalk, Connecticut.
Nagarote is a small town accessed by a well maintained primary
highway. Antonia Contreras Rueda, one of the first clients
in town to participate in the loan program, and has repaid
close to a dozen loans over the years. Walking through her
dining room we met several young men working at sewing machines,
sorting fabric and assembling backpacks on the back porch.
She attaches a "Jansport" label for export, but her son hopes
to patent their own brand name one day. He asked about a loan
to grease the wheels of the bureaucracy, but CEPRODEL's Orlando
promptly informed the young capitalist we were not in that
business! Mrs. Contreras also has used SOSTENICA credit to
purchase 850 laying hens. She supplies many families in Nagarote
with their daily ration of eggs. This industrious family is
a great SOSTENICA success story.
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Antonia Contreras Rueda with her Son
and in her shop (below)
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Luis, Alfredo & Renaldo
Luis Ramon Rivas - CEPRODEL Staff
Alfredo Mendoza Davila - Farmer in El Sauce
Renaldo Juarez Castellon - CEPRODEL Staff
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From Pete
I was most surprised to discover
that the Nicaraguan farmers' concerns were not unlike the
issues my local colleagues have wrestled with for the past
35 years! Our most common shared frustration is that the cost
of production equals or exceeds market value at harvest time.
The SOSTENICA farmers do all the right things -- diversifying,
developing new markets, engaging in cooperative education,
and protecting natural resources. Their greatest challenge
however, lies in their lack of machinery and water. Given
the proper resources and fair prices for their crops, these
farms could be completely sustainable. Productive agriculture
is the foundation for a healthy, independent economy. SOSTENICA's
rural lending offers hope for both the farmers and the community
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From Chris
In visiting with many of CEPRODEL's
staff and clients, I was moved by the pride people took in
their work. In the countryside, farmers would offer us gifts
of pineapples or honey or cheese that they had produced. In
the city clients would beam as they displayed the clothes,
or beds or saddles or nacatamales that they had made. The
CEPRODEL staff also took great pride in their efforts. One
example is Orlando Cortés, the director of Credit for CEPRODEL.
He came up with a credit program based in the markets. Staff,
who work from an office in or adjacent to the market, can
get to know borrowers and make quick decisions on commercial
loans. This program has been a great success. And the cash
flow from this program, in turn, allows CEPRODEL to continue
lending in the countryside supporting sustainable rural development.
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Maria Nubia Urcuyo Casco and her husband showing us a beautiful
bedspread produced by their company in Leon
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October 29, 2005
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A team of men (who refer to themselves as ordinary) have
come together to support one another in leading extraordinary
lives. One of their commitments has been to support the people
of Nicaragua by promoting SosteNica's loan program. Their
first public outreach effort involved Wilton Congregational
Church and the Talmadge Hill Community Church. On October
29th, 130 people gathered to raise awareness about the situation
in Nicaragua and to celebrate and support the work of SosteNica.
According to one of the organizers: "SosteNica is unique
among micro-lending organizations in its focus and commitment
to its purpose. No others designate such a high percentage
of its investment monies (100%) in actual development projects.
Very cool!"
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Men's Team member Jon Sabrowski addressing the gathering.
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March, 2005
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Interested in seeing more of Nicaragua and the
work of SosteNica? Recently, film makers Julien Jarreau and
Bill Schroeder made a short documentary. Please click on the
photo to the left to view the film on YouTube. If you would
like to receive a DVD of the documentary, please send us your
name and address, along with a check for $15 made out to "SosteNica".
We'll be happy to send you a copy to share with friends and
family. |
March 13 - 15, 2005
We held our annual meeting with CEPRODEL
at Las Cañadas, near Veracruz in Mexico. www.bosquedeniebla.com.mx
Attending from SOSTENICA, Inc. were Alan Wright, Lee Cruz, Mich
Zeman, Bill Schroeder and Chris Bell. From CEPRODEL: Miguel Gonzales,
Orlando Cortés, Carlos Cáseres, and David Jiménez
We received the following reports
from CEPRODEL: 1. Sustainable Rural Development Program 2. Evaluation
of the first three years of the Sustainable Rural Development Program;
3. a book of personal stories of CEPRODEL'S Borrowers; 4. the 2005
Audit of CEPRODEL's finances
We also had several meetings planning our future work and collaboration.
Mich, Alan and Lee
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Orlando, Carlos and Miguel
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Orlando, Lee and Miguel
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September 19 - 28, 2003
Orlando Cortez, CEPRODEL Regional Director of Credit and Julio
Cisneros, CEPRODEL Board Secretary travelled to the United States.
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From left to right: Julio, Mich, Tish, Bill and Orlando
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From left to right: Julio, Lee, Alan and Orlando
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September 5, 2003
An article published in La Prensa, one of the Nicaraguan daily
newspapers, announces the publication of CEPRODEL Board Secretary,
Julio Cisneros' 15 year study of sustainable agriculture in Nicaragua.
see
article (in Spanish)
July 11, 2003
An article published in El Nuevo Diaro, one of the Nicaraguan daily
newspapers, details the Sustainable Rural Development Program supported
by SosteNica investors and donors.
May 17, 2003
Lee Cruz hosted the Spring meeting of the SosteNica, Inc. Board.
Some of the highlights include:
· A review of our mission and history
· Commitments by Board members to help
achieve our 2003 fundraising goals of $300,000 in new investments
and $41,000 in donations
in order to create the opportunity for 100 more farm families to
participate in the Sustainable Rural
Development program
· The assessment that both partners are
financially healthy
March 10 - 14, 2003
SosteNica Administrator, Chris Bell's trip to León
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Marvin Garcia, CEPRODEL Financial Director
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Eulogia Amanda Gutierrez Jiminez and CEPRODEL/León Director,
Orlando Cortés
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The León Office Championship Softball Team in the all CEPRODEL
League
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I recently had the opportunity to travel to Nicaragua and visit
with some of the people we work with. My hosts at the León office
of CEPRODEL were great. They took whatever time I needed for me
to understand how they administer all the programs they run, including
the two supported by SosteNica investors & donors. We also spent
a day in the countryside meeting with participants in the Sustainable
Rural Development Program. I left León feeling very impressed with
the vision and hard work of the CEPRODEL staff. I also learned how
important are the opportunites we create for the producers and their
families.
July 2002
Author, Beth Kephart profiles SosteNica President, Alan Wright,
in the July/August 2002 issue of the Pennsylvania Gazette
see article
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