“Feeling that you are useful is really good,” Edgardelis says, an impish grin spreading across her face. “Before the program, I just took care of my children. Now, I’m busy. I sell my products.” Edgardelis owns Manos Magicas, a small business that sells handmade cleaning products. Having her own business means that Edgardelis no longer has to go to Peru to find work and spend long periods of time away from her ten-year-old daughter.
Carolina A., who owns her own manicure business, agrees. “My life before meeting you [our community of peacebuilders] was my kids, their school, my husband, and my house. But I didn’t do anything else. I didn’t work or study. Because of the project, now I can work in what I like.”
Edgardelis and Carolina A. are part of our inaugural cohort of entrepreneurs in Venezuela’s Capital District. In this community, high up in the mountains, there are no streets. The concrete steps cut into the wild green hillside are the only way up or down. Gaivelys, another cohort participant, observed, “Not many organizations come where we are. Many organizations are afraid of climbing stairs.”
“I hope the project always exists because there are people like me who really need to believe in [themselves]. You made me believe in myself. You made me believe I could move forward. That I don’t have to wait for someone to tell me, ‘Do it.’ I have to do it for myself.”
Caroline A., jobs empowerment program participant
You’ve been climbing these steps for a while, supporting an infrastructure project in which participants learn how to repair their roofs safely, and investing in entrepreneurs in our jobs empowerment program. You know that having a dry and stable place to live and a regular income helps mitigate the push factors forcing people like Edgardelis to migrate. Already, over 7.7 million Venezuelans, one out of every four people, have had to leave their communities over the last six years in search of a better life.
“Our coach was really there for us. We couldn’t have had a better coach.”
Gaivelys, jobs empowerment program participant
Our all-female cohort of entrepreneurs finished their preliminary training and opened their businesses six months ago. Part of what makes this program special is our ongoing coaching. We meet regularly with the small business owners to provide ongoing, one-to-one support during the first year of operations. Gaivelys reflected,”Our coach was really there for us. We couldn’t have had a better coach.”
Carolina A. beamed as she thought about the support she had received, saying, “I learned a lot. I learned that one has to move forward. Without you, I wouldn’t have accomplished this because I didn’t feel supported. I hope the project always exists because there are people like me who really need to believe in [themselves]. You made me believe in myself. You made me believe I could move forward. That I don’t have to wait for someone to tell me, ‘Do it.’ I have to do it for myself.”
Financial Literacy in Action
We met another woman named Carolina, the owner of El Queso Que Te Tengo, while in dialogue with community leaders setting up our infrastructure project. The fun, friendly name of her charcuterie business, which translates to “To the cheese that I have you,” (which is slang for ‘I like you’), reflects the reinvigorated energy pulsing through Carolina’s business since she enrolled in our training sessions. She had already been running a scaled-down version of the El Queso, but during the training classes, she learned the importance of reinvesting into her business. Thanks to you, she has expanded her business to include meat products too.
Challenging Beauty Norms
You’ve shown up for Gaivelys twice as she also received the training and materials necessary to repair the roof in her home. As a jobs empowerment participant, Gaivelys opened a beauty parlor in her home so she could “put women more beautiful than they are.”
Gaivelys started out in the beauty profession by ironing her mother’s hair. All her first clients were family members as her aunt taught her the beauty industry. With your generosity, we purchased better equipment for Gaivelys’ salon. “I have increased my fees because the equipment I have is better, and my clients thank me for it.” She likes that she “can make women feel prettier than what they already are at affordable prices. That they feel that beauty is reachable. That they stop thinking that skinny women are the only ones who are beautiful. Or tall women. You can feel beautiful however you look.”
Thank you for climbing steps without guardrails high up in the mountains to put people first. Your generosity has not only given these small business owners the knowledge and skills they need to run successful businesses, but it has also empowered them to become self-motivated, self-reliant, and self-confident. Thanks to you, they will keep climbing to reach their own self-determined goals.
