When all you have left is hope…

Equipo de Creaciones was a group of women that worked from 8-5 Mondays through Fridays for 6 years. More than 100 women were trained to be efficient producers of beaded products. They loved their job at Equipo because they had the opportunity to work together in a nourishing environment and at the same time earn a fair wage that sustained their families. Most of the women were single mothers, so working was not an option for them; it was a serious responsibility that could not be taken for granted because their family depended on it.

I remember my first trip to Nicaragua when I met many of these hard working women living hard lives. I visited their homes and was greeted by their economic need that until this day, I have not forgotten. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about them.

On May 31, 2011 all the women of Equipo de Creaciones were let go. When I spoke with the Administrative Manager, she said “It is like a funeral over here…everyone is crying”. I replied “I wish there was something I could do”. I knew of no solution and all I could do was join them in their crying.

Equipo was no longer capable of sustaining a 5k per month operation and its only customer was gone. All that was left were great production skills and hope that another customer would be interested in using their potential. I also hope… even though I know that finding someone that wants to invest in their potential and story is like finding a needle in a hay stack.

In the mean time all I can do is pray for a miracle.