It has begun!
Posted by: Ryan in update, tags: bicycle trip, global awareness, microcreditWell, here’s the first post of what’s to be an amazing journey being carried out in the name of creating
On June 14th, Peter Driscoll and myself (Ryan Patch) will be flying out to San Diego with our bicycles in the belly of the plane to begin our quest of riding our bicycles across the country to spread global awareness about the life situation of individuals living in Nueva Guinea.
In February 2007, I left for six months in Nicaragua, a journey which during the process of would transform me at a fundamental level and open my eyes to the extent, severity, and meaning of poverty on the individual level. Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. 80% of the population there lives on less than 2 U.S. dollars per day. And two dollars not in their terms, but in our terms: if you were given 730 dollars for one year, that is the equivalent income of over 4 million people in Nicaragua.
Living amongst differing communities in Nicaragua helped me appreciate what these statistics cannot convey. This understanding is what Pete and I hope to bring to thousands of people over the course of our journey.
I spent 3 months living and working in Nueva Guinea, Nicaragua with microcredit. I won a Project for Peace grant sponsored by my university, Wheaton College in Massachusetts. I used these funds in the formation of microcredit village banks, and by the end of my time there I had started two banks, and funded them with the $5,000 from my Peace grant.
The benefit these loans provided for the new clients is best explained through their own words:
“We’re all ready and excited for this loan. This loan is going to permit us to buy more, sell more, and grow more. This truly is an aid that is going to help all of us.”
- Norma Estela Pavon Gonzalez
This summer, I am teaming up again with the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), one of the world’s largest non-profit microcredit financers, the same organization I partnered with for my Peace grant. This bicycle journey across the United States is to bring the stories and realties of Nueva Guinea from coast to coast of the United States and helping people who hear this story find a way to affect positive change.
This bicycle journey is raising funds for FINCA, monies which will be distributed directly to the people of Nueva Guinea. This journey will raise global awareness while helping individuals in the United States share in the alleviation of poverty through the empowerment of new microentrepreneurs in Nueva Guinea.
Please join Peter and I, learn about microcredit, it’s life-empowering impact, and help help individuals in Nueva Guinea get their foot on the first rung of the development ladder through your donation to finance their loan.
We look forward to working with you and thanks so much for your time.
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