Category Archives: Guatemala

bicycles, Guatemala

Report from Guatemala, Spring 2018

[We just got this short note from FIDESMA, our long-time partner in Guatemala.]

Maria Arecely Reyes Tala is an eight-year-old fourth grader.

She is a girl with dreams. She is a happy, playful little person. She used to see the other girls with their bikes, and was always hoping to have a bicycle of her own. Now she has one.

From the first moment that she got her bike from FIDESMA, she was very eager to learn how to ride it. She learned very fast and now handles the bike very well. She rides a little every day. She likes to run errands at the store and ride all around town making mischief.

Pedals for Progress and all their collaborators and volunteers bring smiles to Guatemalan and many other children.

Thanks to P4P for your support, which allows us to offer bikes at prices that everyone can afford.

bicycles, Guatemala, InGear - The Newsletter of P4P, Peace Corps

Pedals for Progress Bike 150,000

Fall 2017 InGear

The Summer 2017 InGear newsletter has a partial report on bike number 150,000. The report was partial because at publication time we had collected, packed, and shipped the bike, but it did not yet have an owner. Now that it does, we want to tell the whole story in one place.

Collected on Long Island


On April 1, 2017, the Long Island Returned Peace Corps Volunteers collected P4P bike number 150,000. The Long Island RPCVs have been one of our most successful collection partners. They rotate collections around Long Island to maximize their reach. Their first P4P collection was in 2003, their second in 2005, and they’ve held collections every year since. The Long Island RPCVs are featured in this article from Summer 2011.

Shipped from New Jersey


On April 22nd, volunteers from the Warren Hills High School Chess Club helped us load 575 bicycles into a 40-foot container bound for Chimaltenango, Guatemala. The Chess Club and their faculty advisor, Daryl Detrick, are no strangers to P4P. Along with the Computer Science Club, they have run 8 collections and packed 4 containers.

This was our 18th shipment to our partners at FIDESMA, for a total of 9,460 bicycles.

Arrived in Guatemala


Our partners at FIDESMA report that bike 150,000 arrived in San Andrés Itzapa, Guatemala, at midday, June 6th.

FIDESMA, our Guatemala partner, got our 100,000th bike in 2006. FIDESMA has been our partner since 1999. Besides their bike program, FIDESMA runs programs in health and special ed, job skills and training, and environmental conservation.

We are good friends as well as professional partners with the staff at FIDESMA. The summer 2012 InGear newsletter has an article about a visit to New Jersey from Señora Maria Margarita Caté de Catú, founder of FIDESMA.

Here is the note and the inventory report from FIDESMA about Guatemala container #18 with the famous bike:

Good day David,

Thanks for thinking of us when you were ready to ship bike number 150,000. On behalf of our team and our community leaders, many thanks for your support.

Sincerely,
Margarita Cate
Arnulfo Catu
Isabel Luna
Pedro Catu
Roxana Cate
Paty Luna
Sebastian Quina
Jose David Catu
and all of us here at FIDESMA

Bicycles
Mountain bikes 179
BMX bikes 253
Road bikes 31
Touring bikes 58
Tricycles 1
Tandem bikes 1
Choppers 1
Total 524
               

Accessories and Parts
Water bottles 7
Baskets 10
Pumps 2
Bike bags 2
Helmets 6
Plywood sheets 8

P4P keeps track only of adult versus kids’ bikes. FIDESMA categorizes bikes in much more detail than we do! Also, we sometimes forget that plywood, which we use in the containers to separate rows of bikes, can also be useful to our partners. We translate the FIDESMA reports from the Spanish. In case you’re wondering, the Spanish word for chopper is ‘chopper’.

Delivered to Its New Owner


The owner of P4P bike number 150,000 is Noelia Chiquitá, a 17-year-old in her third year of high school. Noelia lives in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.

She plans to use her bike every afternoon to buy supplies for the family store, where she helps her mother in the afternoon after school.

The bike will also help her stay in shape and stay healthy.

Onward!

Recent collections have made a good start on our next 150,000 bicycles. Our trailers are full and we are waiting for the next opportunity to make a shipment.

bicycles, Guatemala

P4P Bike 150,000: the Whole Story

The Summer 2017 InGear newsletter has some reflections and a partial report on bike number 150,000; the report was partial because at publication time we had collected, packed, and shipped the bike, but it was not yet at its final destination. Here’s the whole story.

Collected

On April 1, 2017, the Long Island Returned Peace Corps Volunteers collected P4P bike number 150,000.

Shipped

On April 22nd, volunteers from the Warren Hills High School Chess Club helped us load 575 bicycles into a 40-foot container bound for Chimaltenango, Guatemala. This was our 18th shipment to FIDESMA, for a total of 9,460 bicycles.

Arrived

Our partners at FIDESMA report that bike 150,000 arrived in San Andrés Itzapa, Guatemala, at midday, June 6th.

Delivered

The owner of P4P bike number 150,000 is Noelia Chiquitá, a 17-year-old in her third year of high school. Noelia lives in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.

She plans to use her bike every afternoon to buy supplies for the family store. She also helps her mother in the store in the afternoon.

The bike will also help her stay in shape and stay healthy.

Report from FIDESMA

Here is the note we got from our FIDESMA partners about the container with the bike:

Good day David,

Greetings. We hope you are well. Here is the report on container number 18, which arrived on June 6, 2017.

Thanks for thinking of us when you were ready to ship bike number 150,000. On behalf of our team and our community leaders, many thanks for your support.

Sincerely,
Margarita Cate
Arnulfo Catu
Isabel Luna
Pedro Catu
Roxana Cate
Paty Luna
Sebastian Quina
Jose David Catu
and all of us here at FIDESMA

Here is the FIDESMA inventory report from Guatemala container number 18. P4P keeps track only of adult versus kids’ bikes. FIDESMA categorizes bikes in more detail than we do! And we sometimes forget that plywood, which we use in the containers to separate rows of bikes, can also be useful to our partners.
Bicycles
Mountain bikes 179
BMX bikes 253
Road bikes 31
Touring bikes 58
Tricycles 1
Tandem bikes 1
Choppers 1
Total 524
 
Accessories and Parts
Water bottles 7
Baskets 10
Pumps 2
Bike bags 2
Helmets 6
Plywood sheets 8

We translate the FIDESMA reports from the Spanish. In case you’re wondering, the Spanish word for chopper is ‘chopper’.

bicycles, Guatemala

A Guatemala Success Story

Fall 2016 InGear

We regularly feature stories of our partners’ customers whose lives have been improved by a bicycle. Here’s a different kind of story: the story of a former employee of our good friends at FIDESMA, our partner in Guatemala, who hired a hard-working young man five years ago and supported him in a series of jobs of ever greater responsibility.

Byron Rodrigo Can Fernandez began working at FIDESMA at age 20. He rode a bike to work every day.

201601guatbyronworkingonbikes

He helped at the bike shop, starting with simple repairs and maintenance and learning more and more with time: assembling, disassembling, and refurbishing bikes – all aspects of bike mechanics.

Eventually he was appointed manager of the shop, in charge of accounts and billing as well as sales and repairs.

Byron promoted bicycles through the use of social media, posters, and advertising. He promoted bikes for reasons that P4P and its partners have emphasized since the beginning: bikes provide cheap, reliable, non-polluting, efficient transportation and exercise. On a bike, you can go farther and faster than on foot, to work or to school.

Byron201601guatbyronsellingbikeschimaltenango remembers how happy children were to be able to buy a bike with their own savings, how some of the riders became superb athletes in part because of their training on their bikes, how families were able to save money on transportation because they used bikes instead of taxis or buses.

Besides its bicycle operations, FIDESMA runs several other programs. In one of them, Byron taught computer skills to both students and teachers who had little or no previous experience with computers. He also helped with tech support for social projects, worked with rural communities, worked on medical outreach, and helped with job training for youth and the disabled.

Besides his work with FIDESMA, Byron continued his education in several different fields, earning credentials in industrial security, computer and industrial art, first aid, and natural and alternative medicine.

201601guatbyronstudentsusacx2

Finally, Byron attended the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, the state university of Guatemala, and in 2015 received his law degree, a most unusual and impressive accomplishment for someone from his modest circumstances. Among his areas of university study were criminal investigation, poll tax law, finance law, and protection of childhood and adolescence.

His current job is based on his law school education and is far removed from the world of bicycles. He now works for the municipality in the office of the mayor, conducting civil marriages, helping local residents negotiate government programs, and helping with municipal paperwork.

Thanks to FIDESMA for giving Byron a start in its bike shop and other programs, congratulations to Byron for his accomplishments so far, and good luck to him in a most promising future!

Guatemala, Sewing Partners

Shifting Gears: Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace Keep the Spirit of Economic Development Afloat

by Patricia Hamill
Fall 2016 InGear

Adaptability, resilience and initiative. These are the key factors that define success in the world of the NGO and that are the very foundation of Pedals for Progress (P4P), a small, but internationally active nonprofit. Founded in 1991 by David this undertaking was not intended to be part of a charity effort, but a leg up for the economically disadvantaged. Over the last 25 years, P4P has searched out communities in the developing world and connected them with access to employment and self-sufficiency by providing them with sewing machines, bicycles and maintenance parts.

To date, more than 145,000 bicycles and 3,200 sewing machines have been shipped to P4P’s nonprofit partners in more than 40 countries including Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ghana, Albania, and Fiji, and the numbers continue to grow as collections are scheduled year round. The partners in these countries arrange the pick up and delivery of the shipments, and they often serve as an ongoing center of support and education for those who purchase the bikes and sewing machines.

It is important to our philosophy of self-empowerment that people maintain a sense of self-reliance and initiative. Recipients of the bicycles and sewing machines that P4P collects and ships are required to purchase them. While the amount may be minimal, we feel that paying for affordable and low-maintenance access to employment offers a long-term solution to poverty. The recipients can earn their own way and take pride in their improved lifestyles. But what are the challenges of such an undertaking? When dealing with the bicycles, there are large containers to ship, customs to navigate, delivery to arrange at the recipients’ location and reliable partners to connect with so that this endeavor remains untouched by mismanagement. These obstacles are among the reasons why P4P is now expanding its focus and putting sewing machines at the front of the list of shipping priorities.

2016springShiftingGears3womenSewingOur sewing machine collections are under the auspices of Sewing Peace—still a part of P4P, but independent all the same. The shipping itself is less expensive and that enables Sewing Peace to allocate more funds towards outreach: We can stack the sewing machines on pallets and transport them in smaller vehicles once at their destination. Usually 20 or 30 machines are enough to fully supply a co-op or school without our needing to resupply. Sewing machines are practical because they are also technologically appropriate to the locations where they are distributed.

There are several success stories from long-term and new partnerships formed over the years. One such fortuitous relationship is with the Foundation for the Environment and Sustainable Development (FIDESMA). Located in Guatemala, this organization runs economic development programs that enable locals to learn a variety of skills such as computer use and more efficient methods of agriculture. FIDESMA is able to make use of the bicycles and sewing machines in two ways. First, those who purchase these enhance their earning power by accessing employment in more remote areas or by setting up their own sewing businesses right in their own homes. Then the income from the sales enables FIDESMA to continue to fund its programs and keep the classes running. This system of reciprocity is much more desirable than the cycle of poverty that exists so pervasively in this region.

The Barrouallie Secondary School on the island of St. Vincent is the fortunate institution that welcomed a dedicated Peace Corps Volunteer who was familiar with P4P’s work. She arranged for 20 sewing machines to add to the school’s vocational curriculum. These particular machines are strictly for educational purposes rather than commercial, but the skills these Vincentian students take away with them will help them avoid work in banana production and the insecurity that comes with crop diseases and other negative effects on prices. Tourism is a growing industry on the island, but there are only so many jobs to go around. The sewing machines do not rely on seasons or market values to function reliably.

Señora Antonietta MesaAs bicycle donations dwindle in the face of a reduction in consumer spending and an increase in their value as scrap metal, it has become immensely important that P4P maintain its momentum and continue its mission uninterrupted. What Sewing Peace hopes to accomplish, in the spirit of P4P, is to connect with many more people who can provide and store unwanted sewing machines domestically and may have ideas and suggestions as to where Sewing Peace can expand their footprint in the world.

Making changes after 25 successful years can be difficult for some, but P4P was founded on challenge and filling a need. Pedals for Progress and Sewing Peace embrace the evolution that must happen to keep the spirit of economic stability alive. The needs of the poor stay the same but how they are met must evolve and this NGO is not losing any momentum shifting gears and running smoothly ahead. As the saying goes, “A rising tide lifts all boats.”

[Patricia Hamill, M.A., is the founder of Heron Moon Press and an adjunct faculty member at Pace University and Southern New Hampshire University specializing in Composition Studies. She is a freelance writer and editor who regularly contributes to “InGear,” the newsletter of Pedals for Progress. Her blog on writing and mindful living can be found at HeronMoon.com.]

bicycles, Guatemala, Sewing Partners

FIDESMA report, January 2016

by Margarita Caté de Catú, President of FIDESMA, Guatemala

From December 1999 through 2015, we have received from Pedals For Progress 16 containers with 8,160 bikes and 400 sewing machines, which have directly benefited more than 8,560 people and their families.

The program has brought important benefits to our organization, to our communities, and to the country of Guatemala as a whole.

In San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, we face many problems: lack of employment, lack of opportunities for women, lack of education about the environment. Children suffer from malnutrition and lack of education and job training.

201601GuatBoyBlueBikeBut the FIDESMA/Pedals project gives kids and adults the chance to buy a bike to get around faster to school and to work, and to get some exercise, all without polluting the environment. As we have heard many times over the years, bicycles help people with their jobs. As examples consider the administrative staff of the foundation: a secretary, an accountant, a salesman, and a mechanic. With the help of their bikes, they all earn salaries that support their families.

Likewise our sewing machines benefit many families. Groups of women artisans work every day to earn a living and buy food for their children.

Besides its bicycle and sewing machine programs, FIDESMA generates funds for the maintenance and operation of the organization, for creating jobs, and for supporting social service projects. For example, we run one project for children and young people with disabilities, and another project that provides medical equipment, medicine, and basic food to the project’s medical clinics. Another project provides teaching materials to schools.

We also provide support groups for the training of women in areas such as these:

  • crafts
  • farming
  • participatory citizenship
  • dressmaking
  • baking
  • food packaging
  • welding

Directly and indirectly, FIDESMA has benefited more than 20,000 people across the country of Guatemala, which is why we are grateful to Pedals for Progress and especially its president David Schweindenback for the selfless support extended to us for the last 16 years.

[To see a recent photo album from Guatemala, click here.]

bicycles, Guatemala, Sewing Partners

2015 Guatemala Photo Album

[Margarita Caté de Catú, President of FIDESMA, our partner in Guatemala, sent in a report on their recent activities. Click here to see her report. She also sent lots of great photos. Here they are.]

201601GuatDonationSixthGrade

Sixth-Grade Raffle

We donated bicycles for a sixth grade raffle to raise funds to buy uniforms and equipment for their soccer and basketball teams.

201601GuatGirlWheelchair

Children and Youth with Disabilities

We deliver groceries to children and youth with disabilities.



201601GuatMenBankPromotion

Community Banks

We promote community banks and training for small businesses.



ecolobiciGuatemalaLogo

Ecolobici

Ecolobici, our bicycle program, provides and promotes bicycles for men, women, and children of all ages.
201601GuatBoyOrangeBike

201601GuatGirlBigPinkBike



201601GuatBikersWkits

We organize cycling events.

201601GuatGroupRideInCity


201601GuatBikesInTrucks

We bring bikes to surrounding communities.



201601GuatKidsInSchool

Schools

We provide teaching materials to schools.



201601GuatWomenMeeting

Women’s Programs

We provide several programs for women.


201601GuatWomanWithProduce

Farming


201601GuatSewingMachinesWomen

Dressmaking



201601GuatWomenBaking

Baking


201601GuatThanksP4P

Gracias, Pedals for Progress!

bicycles, Guatemala, Sewing Partners

Guatemala Update

Spring 2015 InGear

San Jose Artesanas

There is a small town in Cimaltenango, a department of Guatemala, where a group of 17 housewives and mothers have changed their fortunes. San José Poaquil is an isolated area and the residents of this municipality have little opportunity for economic and educational improvement. Still, one particular woman named Marta had the initiative to work for change. Under her guidance, the local women learned the craft of sewing and began to create and market blouses that are typical of their region.

San Jose Poaquil, Guatemala
San Jose Poaquil, Guatemala

They began with only one sewing machine to share among them. The success of the sales of these blouses enabled them to save enough so that they, through FIDESMA and P4P, could acquire more machines. Each blouse brings in about Q50.00 or Q100.00 (Guatemalan Quetzals), which is enough to improve their ability to get better food and other important resources for their families, which consist of anywhere from 3 to 9 children. Access to these sewing machines will eventually lead to long-term opportunities as these women continue to establish themselves as artists and businesswomen.

Abner Ottoniel Siquinajay Popol

Abner on his bicycle
Abner on his bicycle

Abner has a small family since his father abandoned them when he was only eight months old and his older brother was two years old. The child’s mother, whose name is Reyna Elizabeth Siquinajay, works in a tortilla company, where she earns very little and not enough to pay for the education of her children. Therefore Abner has worked as a shoeshine boy since he was 7 years old. He works during the evenings in the park and in the different houses of the village. Abner received the donation of a BMX bike from the FIDESMA Foundation to increase his mobility so that he could complete more work in his evenings. With support from Pedal for Progress, FIDESMA has received 15 containers of bicycles, parts, and sewing machines for sale since 1999. Most of the bicycles and sewing machines are sold at low cost; however occasionally for cases like Abner’s the bicycle is donated. It is a special case of a child working in the evenings to pay for school in the morning at the National Urban Mixed School September 15. It is admirable that a human being at such a young age can take responsibility and desire to excel as this boy of just 12 years, whose dream is to some day graduate Master of Primary Education.

bicycles, Guatemala, Sewing Partners

FIDESMA: P4P Partner in Guatemala

fidesmaLogo

FIDESMA is the Fundación Integral de Desarrollo Sostenible y Medio Ambiente, Foundation for Sustainable Development and the Environment. With headquarters in San Andrés Itzapa, Chimaltenango, Guatemala, FIDESMA was founded in 1998 and has five major programs: agricultural micro-credit, natural medicine, job skills and training, bicycles and environmental conservation, and health and special education for people with physical disabilities.

FIDESMA was started when Margarita Caté de Catú, the current president of FIDESMA, wanted to organize against the problems facing her community. Ms. Caté de Catú and 150 other women struggled to create the foundation with financial support from the Leadership Council.

This non-profit organization is non-political and non-religious and therefore the majority of our financial assistance comes from other non-profit organizations. Our primary role in Guatemala lies in development. FIDESMA helps the community become more self-sustainable and for this reason we distribute financial assistance (in our micro-credit program) and show the community prospective job opportunities. We hope that they will then be able to have their own business, thereby contributing to the rest of the Guatemalan economy.

 
Bike Race at the grade school in San Andrés Itzapa in honor of
Guatemalan Independence Day with bikes from FIDESMA!

 

FIDESMA is one of fifteen organizations of FEDENMURG (la Federación de Mujeres Rurales de Guatemala), a national, democratic association that promotes social development. The women members fight for the rights of rural women throughout Guatemala, along with bringing awareness to the preservation of the environment.

fidesmaGuatemala_lourdeslg

The FIDESMA sewing course teaches women how to make all types of clothing. Lourdes Santiso Salizar was one of the first graduates of the sewing course in 1999 and now has her own women’s clothing business specializing in wedding gowns. Click here to see a report on Lourdes from the Fall 2006 InGear newsletter.

fidesmaGuatemala_shampoosm

FIDESMA’s natural products courses teach local women how to use natural plants to make shampoo and soap to sell in the local market. Grupo Mujeres Integrados en Accion has 10 members that work weekly to make aloe shampoo and soap. Ana Maria Guch is one member who is a widow with 8 children who supports her family from the sale of their natural products. Click here to read more about the shampoo production process.

fall2006GuatDSC01314mujeresMayaSmallColor

The Mujeres Maya (Mayan Women) Kaqchiqoel from Santa Caterina Barahona received a micro-loan from FIDESMA in 2001 to start their traditional weaving business. Click here to read a 2006 InGear article about the Mujeres Maya. Click here to read more and see samples of their work.

DSC01215smBikeBox

Jorge Luis of San Andrés Itzapa uses his bicycle from FIDESMA to sell ice cream in the outlying villages. He averages about 20km everday on his bicycle riding from 5am to 5pm. He is able to support his wife and 7 children from the money he makes selling ice cream. Click here to see more of his story.

P4P’s 100,000th bicycle went to FIDESMA in 2006! Click here to read more about the bike, its journey, and Mateo Patzan, the happy recipient.

P4P’s 150,000th bicycle went to FIDESMA in 2017!! Click here for the whole story.