Blog Post 1

In 1979 Glen and Mildred Robbins Leet began investing in women to help them escape from extreme poverty. They provided seed capital grants of $100 to help them start a business. They encourage them to share their knowledge and work together. Four decades later, Trickle Up has helped more than 1.5 million people in Africa, Asia, and Latin America to create their businesses and support their families.

I am currently working for the office in Guatemala and New York. During this internship, my two main objectives are to understand the integration and functioning of municipalities in Guatemala, especially in terms of policy development, implementation, and financial management. Second, to identify and establish clear pathways and capacities needed to influence municipal decision-makers, including financial resource decision-makers, to support and advocate for adequate resource mobilization and achieve large-scale change focused on economic inclusion programs at the municipal level.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I had some limitations in my summer work. I could not conduct fieldwork and interviews with communities or municipal officials in Guatemala. I would have to obtain the information from a documentary review and interviews with the Trickle Up Guatemala team. Right away, I noticed that another limitation I would be facing was the lack of reliable, up-to-date official information.

During this first week, I began identifying relevant documents that would be useful for my research. It included national and local regulatory frameworks, structures, competencies, functions, and policies defining and governing municipalities and international agreements on human rights and gender equality. I also analyzed some of the socio-economic information and indicators on poverty, gender equality, security, and corruption.