My Nonprofit Reviews

I visited Guatemala several years ago to see the work Friendship Bridge is doing. I was overwhelmed by the circumstances of poverty combined with the hard work and dedication of our clients to each other and to improve their lives. The education given the women at each meeting was so well received. Friendship Bridge is looking at the problem of poverty holistically with their emphasis on women’s health, education, business skills and child raising.

I have been involved with Friendship Bridge for about 10 years. I started a volunteer circle with several other women in my area who had traveled to Guatemala and wanted to help indigenous women there. FB continues to expand the number of women they serve, and to constantly look at different ways to help women, such as offering advanced training and medical services. I had the amazing experience of visiting our micro-credit women in Guatemala several years ago. These women work in "trust groups" of women who pledge to each other to make sure their loans are paid off. Every month they meet to pay off their loans, share stories, and engage in an educational activity, such as running a small business, saving for the future, women's health and supporting your children in school. These loans enable these extremely poor women to continue or expand their businesses. The pride they have in their partnership with Friendship Bridge is obvious.

The organization is very well run. They are continually evaluating their success and ways to improve. I am completely confident that any donation I make to FB will be well used to help indigenous Maya women improve their lives.