Posts tagged ‘Gloria Ruiz’
Donor Spotlight: Mark McMahon and “Changing the Chip” in Nicaragua
By Mark McMahon, Pro Mujer Donor Since 2004
The expression that we most heard on the first Velasco & Patterson Society (VPS) Encuentro in Nicaragua was ”cambiar el chip” or “change the chip”. This was the code phrase for what Pro Mujer in Nicaragua (PMN) is doing for their more than 37,000 clients – a virtual transformation of what women in Nicaragua see as possible and an approach in their lives! This transformation is being led by Gloria Ruiz, the PMN Country Director who oversees a staff of over 200. But I must say that she not only leads it, because the entire staff that we came in touch with during our brief, two-day whirlwind tour had the transformation embedded in their DNA and work diligently to ensure that they spread that message to all who they come into contact with.
We started Monday with an introduction by Gloria. I have never seen someone so enthusiastic presenting an agenda for a visit! She not only spoke from her heart but from her soul. You could tell that this was going to be a remarkable and memorable experience for all of us.
Here I am giving some observations about the takeaways.
This was followed by PMN staff introductions, showing a wide range of specialties and each one talking about the goal of transforming women’s lives.
Here I am with my partner Roberto Moreira speaking with Co-Founder Carmen (in brown) and Lynne (in blue).
The donors present then introduced themselves. Present were the President of the Tinker Foundation, Stan Eisenberg and Mary Jones, individual donors, representatives from Citibank Nicaragua and the Weberg Foundation. Everyone’s support for PM and its mission was as strong as the staff’s love for the organization.
We finished the morning with a presentation of PM Nicaragua’s operation, its growth and expansion over its15 years of existence and where it is today. What came out loud and clear was that the approach is threefold.
- First the women are supplied with loans to ensure their financial stability.
- This is followed by intensive training, with the goal of moving the clients pride up quite a few notches.
- The third step involves healthcare, including PAP smears, blood pressure monitoring and blood sugar tests. The statistics are impressive. In over 9,000 PAP smears given since 2010, over 2,300 tested positive and were sent for follow-up exams. The results for high blood pressure and blood sugar levels were equally impressive.
The afternoon started with a presentation on the health care focus of PM given by Dr. Gabriela Salvador, the Health and Human Development Director for PM’s global team based in the U.S. This was extremely informative on where the program is and where it is going. We then toured the Leon focal center. We got to see the facilities as well as meet with the professional staff; there are over 8,000 clients serviced in this focal center.
The rest of the afternoon was deeply emotional. We heard from Elsa Sosa, a PM employee who spoke on how working for PM has helped change her life. She was able to escape from an abusive relationship. The woman was so eloquent in her elaboration of her situation, spousal abuse and degradation, and how with the support of PM staff and clients she was able overcome her problems and reconstruct her life. I must admit, there was not a dry eye in the room after this brave woman’s remarks.
The last discussion of the day was by eight PMN client leaders. All I can say is WOW. These women are creating the future for this country. It was amazing to hear these women talk about how PMN had changed their lives. What was even more encouraging to me was to hear how they are truly grateful for all that PMN offers them, and this is not limited to micro-finance. That appears more of a tool or lure for these women to look inside themselves and find their inner strength. They do this through their groups and credit officers.
These client leaders have limited if any formal education, but talked about their children who are now doctors, lawyers, teachers and administrators. It was funny to note that several of the women never even talked about what they use the loan money for, but what it has brought them. One woman said that when she started she didn’t have a house to live in. Now she has three!
What really showed me the strength of the program was that after the presentations were made, one of the women asked for the floor, and said that although they were very grateful for all that PMN had done for them, there were still several things that needed to be addressed such as a bigger loan for the group. Now that took courage, and that shows the strength of the program because she had the courage to get up and say things could be better. We ended the day with some great local food and music.
The next day was equally exciting, informative and emotional. We visited another communal bank that was held in the house of one of the clients. This was a newer group, but no less enthusiastic. It was great to hear the women relate their experiences and how much Pro Mujer means to them and their families.
Our last visit was to the house of a client, María Concepción Moran. This I must say was for me the most emotional experience of the entire trip.
Maria Concepción related the hardships of growing up, living in a plastic and corrugated packaging house with her mother. When she got married she had no place to live and built her own shanty with her husband. She said how her and her daughter would wait outside a local business to get corrugated cartons to use as walls and roofing for her house. She mentioned that whenever it rained the little bit of furniture that she had floated in the rain and everything got dirty because the dirt floor turned into mud. Her husband was laid off from work and their only source of income was what she made by ironing clothes.
Someone told her about Pro Mujer and she went to a meeting, entered a group and took out her first loan without her husband knowing about it. She used to proceeds from the loan to buy goods to open a small store in the front of her house. Since then she has expanded her store, and last year took out a construction loan from Pro Mujer and put up concrete walls.
Maria Concepción said that she used to be afraid of the rains and now she is waiting for her first rainy season in her house. Her husband also spoke on how Pro Mujer had changed her life, their lives. Next her daughter spoke, and talked about how their lives had been transformed because of Pro Mujer. Maria Concepción also took advantage and had a Pap smear and she was detected with uterine cancer. She is scheduled to be operated on this week. Once again, what we saw was a woman who learned to have pride in herself, a husband who learned to respect his wife and a family who was united behind their struggle to lift themselves out of poverty.
Several times during the trip, it would have been so easy to write a check to these women, but the Pro Mujer way is like the parable in the bible, teaching the women to fish instead of giving them the fish. This was so evident, so many times, be it from the leadership, the staff or the clients.
What did I take away from the trip? CHANGE! The way that PM has helped these women change, transform their lives and that of their families. I came back changed, reinvigorated and even more committed to the vision and mission of Pro Mujer.
From Credit Officer to Country Manager, Gloria Ruiz’s Inspirational Journey
In honor of International Women’s Day, Nicaragua’s El Nuevo Diario highlights Gloria Ruiz‘s inspirational journey from credit officer to Pro Mujer Country Manager. To read the article in full, click here.
De Asesora de Crédito a Gerente General, La Inspiradora Vida de Gloria Ruiz
En honor al Día Internacional de la Mujer, el El Nuevo Diario de Nicaragua relata la inspiradora vida de Gloria Ruiz de Asesora de Crédito a Gerente General de Pro Mujer en Nicaragua. Haz click aquí para leer el artículo.
Voices from the Field – A Look Back at 15 Years of Pro Mujer in Nicaragua
Pro Mujer Co-Founders Carmen Velasco (left) and Lynne Patterson (right) present Gloria Ruiz (center), Country Director of Pro Mujer in Nicaragua, with an award for 15 years of dedicated service to the organization.
In late December, Pro Mujer celebrated 15 successful years of service to the women of Nicaragua.
Founded on July 31st, 1996, Pro Mujer in Nicaragua (PMN) was the first country outside of Bolivia (where Pro Mujer was founded in 1990) that Lynne Patterson and Carmen Velasco entered in order to expand their mission to alleviate poverty and help women realize their potential as agents of change. Over the course of the last 15 years, PMN has continued to strengthen its operations, and has made enormous progress in providing financial, training, and health services to an increasing number of Nicaraguan women.
PMN has consistently ranked among the top 100 microfinance institutions in an annual report carried out by the Interamerican Development Bank (IADB) and the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX). In 2006, the World Bank’s Poverty Alleviation Program presented it with an award for financial transparency. In 2007, MicroRate named PMN one of the “Best Microfinance Institutions with Social Programs.”
All of this was made possible in large part because of the inspired, unwavering and expert leadership of Gloria Ruiz. She began her career as a Credit Officer at Pro Mujer in Nicaragua in 1996, and moved through the ranks to eventually become Country Director in 2002. This breadth of experience has a real influence on her work as the leader of Pro Mujer in Nicaragua.
Over the course of the last 15 years, Gloria and her team have faced countless obstacles in their path to realize Lynne and Carmen’s dream to improve the lives of women. Since Gloria became country director, PMN’s portfolio has increased by US$7 million, and its client base has grown by 22,000.
Born into a poor family and raised in a male-dominated society, she witnessed domestic violence as a child and survived the atrocities of the Nicaraguan Revolution, which lasted more than 15 years.
When she was 12, her stepfather forced her to quit school, as he saw no value in investing the earnings from her mother’s business in her education. She even met resistance from her mother as she pursued her professional goals. Gloria remembers,
‘When I finished high school, I decided to study agricultural engineering. My mother said, ‘Agriculture is for men. You should study to be a secretary or a teacher.’ However, I didn’t want to be the secretary of an engineer or the teacher of an engineer’s children. I wanted to be the engineer.”
In spite of so many challenges and obstacles, Gloria remained firm in her vision for the future. Today, Gloria has a master’s degree in Microfinance, is a certified agronomist, and is a leader in her community. She also serves on the Board of Directors for ASOMIF, the Nicaraguan Association of Microfinance Institutions, and is studying English.
On December 15th, PMN celebrated Gloria’s 15th anniversary with the organization with an event attended by the entire team. An emotive dedication was also made to Gloria, Lynne and Carmen for their loyalty and commitment over the years.
“As heartwarming as it must have been for Gloria to be recognized by her team, it was even more meaningful for us to see how the organization has grown and how it is fulfilling its mission in Nicaragua,” commented Lynne.
It is truly amazing to see how far Pro Mujer has come in the last 15 years, and I am thrilled to be a part of an organization that does such important work for the women of Nicaragua.
Today, Pro Mujer in Nicaragua has 37,545 clients, 2,379 Communal Banks, and in 2011, disbursed US$29,119 in small loans.
Notas del Campo – Una Mirada Atrás a 15 años de Pro Mujer en Nicaragua
Co-Fundadoras de Pro Mujer Carmen Velasco (izquierda) y Lynne Patterson (derecha) reconocen a Gloria Ruiz (centro), Directora de Pro Mujer en Nicaragua, por 15 años de servicio con la organización.
A finales de diciembre, Pro Mujer en Nicaragua celebró 15 años demostrando que la palabra de la mujer Nicaragüense vale.
Fundada el 31 de julio de 1996, Pro Mujer en Nicaragua (PMN) fue el primer intento que hicieron las Co-fundadoras de Pro Mujer, Lynne Patterson y Carmen Velasco para expandir la misión de aliviar la pobreza y ayudar a mujeres a realizar su potencial como agentes de cambio fuera de Bolivia, donde la organización fue fundada originalmente en 1990. En el transcurso de los últimos 15 años, PMN ha trabajado para mejorar y refinar sus operaciones y ha hecho enormes progresos en los servicios financieros, capacitaciones y servicios de salud.
PMN ha figurado consistentemente entre las 100 mejores instituciones de microfinanzas en un informe anual llevado a cabo por el Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) y el Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX). En el 2006, el Programa de Alivio a la Pobreza del Banco Mundial le otorgó el premio a la Transparencia Financiera. En 2007, MicroRate nombró a PMN como una de las Mejores Instituciones de Microfinanzas con Programas Sociales.
Todo esto fue posible en gran parte debido al inspirado e inquebrantable liderazgo de Gloria Ruiz, quien inició su carrera como Asesora de Crédito en PMN en el año de 1996 y desde entonces asumió posiciones de creciente responsabilidad hasta convertirse en la Gerente General en el año 2002. Esta amplia experiencia impregna hoy el trabajo como la líder de PMN.
Desde que Gloria asumió este cargo, el portafolio de PMN aumentó US$7 millones y ha adquirido 22,000 nuevas clientas.
Gloria y su equipo tuvieron que enfrentarse a innumerables obstáculos en su camino, para hacer realidad el sueño de las cofundadoras: mejorar la vida de las mujeres a lo largo de estos 15 años.
Gloria nació en una familia pobre y fue criada en una sociedad dominada por hombres, presenció violencia doméstica durante su niñez y sobrevivió las atrocidades de la revolución nicaragüense que duró más de 15 años.
Cuando tenía 12 años, su padrastro la forzó a abandonar la escuela porque no veía el punto de invertir las ganancias de su madre en su educación. Inclusive sintió resistencia de parte de su madre cuando pensó en seguir una carrera profesional. Gloria recuerda, “Cuando terminé la secundaria, decidí estudiar ingeniería agrónoma. Mi madre me dijo que la agronomía es para hombres y que debería estudiar para ser una secretaría o maestra. Sin embargo, yo no quería ser la secretaría de un ingeniero agrónomo o la maestra de los hijos de un ingeniero agrónomo.”
A pesar de tantos desafíos y obstáculos, Gloria permaneció firme en su visión para el futuro.
Hoy en día, Gloria tiene un masterado en Microfinanzas y un certificado como ingeniera agrónoma. Ella también es parte de la junta directiva de ASOMIF, la Asociación de Instituciones Microfinancieras en Nicaragua y está estudiando inglés.
El 15 de diciembre, PMN celebró 15 años de operaciones en Nicaragua con un evento, en donde participó todo el personal y se realizó un emotivo homenaje a sus Co-fundadoras Lynne Patterson y Carmen Velasco y a Gloria Ruiz por su fidelidad y compromiso.
“A pesar de lo conmovedor que habrá sido para Gloria ser reconocida por su equipo, fue aún más significativo para nosotros ver como la organización ha crecido y como está cumpliendo su misión en Nicaragua” Lynne comentó.
Es verdaderamente sorprendente ver hasta qué punto Pro Mujer ha llegado en los últimos 15 años, y me siento feliz de ser parte de una organización que hace un trabajo tan importante para las mujeres de Nicaragua.
Hoy en día, PMN atiende a 37,545 clientas, 2,247 bancos comunales, y en el 2011 hemos desembolsado US$29,119 en pequeños préstamos.
