We thought we'd explain to you what we're doing in Guatemala and tell you some of the stories of the women we've interviewed for Friendship Bridge and Kiva.org. We spend most of our time going out to little villages and meeting wonderful women who have started their own little "microbusinesses" using Friendship Bridge loans. The picture is of Clara Ajsoc, the wonderful woman we mention who raised her cow and started a milk and cheese business.


22:05 minutes (8 MB)

We remember so very many women and have so many stories to tell from our time in Guatemala - we thought we'd just tell a few stories. Read on for lots of pictures and a slideshow of the women.

Maria Brito

To get to Maria Brito's house, we rode our bikes just up into the skirts of the valley where Nebaj is. As you leave the city (or town, really) you end up right away in green cornfields with people's houses scattered among them. Before long, you get to the end of the electricity lines, and well beyond the paved road, and end up on a muddy track headed up the hill. That's where Maria's house is. When we first met her, we thought "Oh, she's pretty poor" because she lived in a shack that she herself would not consider a house, with no electricity and with the water spigot across the road (at least she had one). But like many of the women we met, her dignity and friendliness transformed her right before our eyes from someone to be pitied into a woman to be honored, repected, and treasured.

42:58 minutes (8 MB)

After corresponding on the internet for quite some time, we finally got to meet. Scot had ridden down to Guatemala from his start in Zihuatenejo, Mexico, and was studying Spanish in Quetzaltenango. He rode over to Antigua to meet us and we rode together for several delightful days before Scot had to return to get ready for his flight back to the U.S.

One thing we wanted to have Scot talk about and forgot: Look at how light his load is. He's carrying less than half of what we carry, and still has a tent and sleeping bag (but no stove or cooking utensils). We're tremendously impressed and inspired and sure would like to learn from him. Stay tuned!

16:09 minutes (5.94 MB)