Mercy Corps - Latin America: Acul, Guatemala

Heidy, 9, weaves on front of her family's home in a small community in Guatemala’s Western Highlands. It is an agricultural region characterized by underdevelopment, malnutrition, poverty and a lack of opportunity. Her grandmother, Maria de León Santiago, recently started saving for the first time ever through the “Communities Leading Development” program, which is implemented by local partners with technical support from Mercy Corps. The program aims to improve quality of life for families in 200 communities in the Western Highlands, in part by installing community savings and loans groups to build financial stability. Maria is the president of her savings and loan group, and she says she is focused solely on saving right now, so she can give her family a better life than she had growing up.
Acul, Guatemala, May 2019

Heidy, 9, weaves on front of her family's home in a small community in Guatemala’s Western Highlands. It is an agricultural region characterized by underdevelopment, malnutrition, poverty and a lack of opportunity. Her grandmother, Maria de León Santiago, recently started saving for the first time ever through the “Communities Leading Development” program, which is implemented by local partners with technical support from Mercy Corps. The program aims to improve quality of life for families in 200 communities in the Western Highlands, in part by installing community savings and loans groups to build financial stability.  

Maria is the president of her savings and loan group, and she says she is focused solely on saving right now, so she can give her family a better life than she had growing up.