In March 2020, the world entered a pandemic due to COVID-19 and, without preamble or warning, we had to modify all our activities. Caught up in this whirlwind were Nicaraguan women living in exile in Costa Rica who are part of the country's informal economy. Informality, so widespread in our America, has two sides: it allows the survival of thousands of families who work by offering services and products door-to-door, but it is also concerning because it hinders access to social security and makes it difficult for them to maintain social distancing, a requirement of this pandemic, during these times.
Given this scenario, I began working with 12 Nicaraguan single mothers who have survived thanks to their resilience, offering a product or service practically from door to door. They get around accompanied by a cell phone with data that they buy when they can, because the priority is paying for their room or houseāall located in marginalized neighborhoodsāand feeding their family.
Today, after five months of steady work through WhatsApp chats, we have established fluent communication that is reflected in the numerous exchanges related to their business ventures, difficulties, dreams, and doses of reality. Participation is very motivating in both quality and quantity. The process of consolidating a close-knit group was initially slow; little by little, these women have raised their self-esteem, generated higher quality products and processes, and see themselves and call themselves businesswomen.
This group of 12 women have worked analyzing videos that The Trust for the Americas have been created to empower other women in similar conditions, we dared to meet in person just once to develop a workshop on CANVAS, respecting distancing protocols and protection tools, in an open-air physical space, full of plants and life. That day we met face-to-face and a sorority network was formed that remains to this day. We are at a very significant stage, they have created their CANVAS and, with the support of an expert on the subject, we have thoroughly reviewed them in order to provide feedback and enhance each one for prompt implementation.
We are in the process of returning them one by one for you to refine and turn into an Action Plan. In parallel, we are taking advantage of a set of videos generated by The Trust for the Americas about the CANVAS tool, and each is analyzing the topics in which they have expressed the most difficulty. In the midst of this process, and motivated by their comments and difficulties revealed in the first chat exchange process, they were offered a talk on Self-love in entrepreneurship which turned out to be a catapult that launched them to feel even more secure. Even one confessed that she had thought of dropping out of the process and thanks to the talk she would continue.
Today these women want to continue receiving information and training, they discuss their processes more fluently, they have improved their production and delivery routes. They are making an internal revolution for themselves and their families, which will be reflected in their community. The presentation of their process and their ventures before a jury that will assign a mini grant to six of them.
This initiative, led by The Trust for the Americas, has served as a driving force, a safe haven, and a source of companionship for 12 women who decided to embark on the entrepreneurial pathāa journey that often feels lonelyāand who now share their experiences and support one another from afar.