QUE HACE RUIDO

It was within the Board of Directors of the Association of Managers of Guatemala that, under the presidency and leadership of Dr. Rodolfo Paiz Andrade, it was proposed to create an entity that would be dedicated to the study of the social and economic indicators of the country, such as instrument to activate national efforts and to improve them. Thus, Rodolfo Paiz as President, and Jaime Camhi as Secretary of the Board of Directors, signed the legal instruments that would give birth to the new Foundation.

However, at the end of the period of that Board of Directors, it coincided with the emergence of other entities with the same purpose, so the new Board of Directors of the Managers' Association decided not to continue with the project, leaving only legal status in force.

At the beginning of 1983, Fito, as we affectionately knew Rodolfo Paiz, traveled to Costa Rica for a graduation of INCAE students -we remember that Fito was Academic Director of that entity-. While in San José, he met Mr. Federico Dürr, representative of the German Hans
Seidel Foundation, who told him that they were interested in starting operations in Guatemala, but as a requirement there had to be a counterpart. Fito answered him immediately and, upon his return to the Guatemalan capital, he contacted the Association of Managers, which granted him the use of legal status. It was then that Fito invited a small group of businessmen to be part of the new project, and on a trip that he made to Quetzaltenango, to whom this letter subscribes. In that first meeting of that small group, and in the planning of objectives, I suggested that any project executed by the noble Foundation be in the West of the country. I explained the reason and it was accepted as a commitment that has been fully complied with. The reasons given were that the West of Guatemala is a region with a very broken topography, forestry vocation and densely populated at a rural level, with families subsisting on precarious agriculture and trade; with very little -sometimes zero- infrastructure (roads, schools, health posts, etc.), which condemned young people to a life of emigration or poverty. The proposal was enthusiastically accepted, and from that moment the Foundation began to work.

As it was a time when a certain democratic opening could be glimpsed (1982-1983), the first project carried out was called 'Intersectoral Dialogues', in which representatives of the sectors were invited to a "dialogue on the future of the country". important: university professionals, businessmen, military, students, community leaders, guerrillas (at the time) and religious people. With them, and assisted by professionals in the field, a series of workshops were held that demonstrated - as sought - that dialogue was possible.

This exercise was undoubtedly a motivator for subsequent efforts, which were leading to the search for peace and harmony in Guatemalan society.

The next project that was carried out with the support of the Hans Seidel Foundation was to bring administrative training to small-scale producers, a project that for two years trained several hundred entrepreneurs (carpenters, tailors, masons, merchants, etc.) in their communities.; a team of teachers traveled during the weekends to give classes. It was a discovery of the world of what we know today as "micro-enterprises", a matter in which FUNDAP has been involved with great interest and professionalism.

The year 1985 was an important turning point in FUNDAP, when it was invited to form the "management committee" of a USAID fund to promote development projects; all this obeying the policy derived from the 'Washington Consensus'. Thus, with the financial fund mentioned above, FUNDAP implemented the 'Momostenango Project', which consisted of supporting wool artisans (including sheep farmers from the Sierra Madre and Los Cuchumatanes), forming a Cooperative that served with technical assistance, financial and administrative, as well as marketing. Based on this experience, a "development model" was formulated and implemented in Nahualá, Sololá, supporting wood artisans; in ceramics in Totonicapán; and natural fibers in Quiche. In each case, a cooperative was formed to follow up on the experience, as well as a national and international marketing company for the products of cooperative paths. At the same time, an important project of forest services and preservation of the environment was started, with which it has been promoting reforestation, agroforestry and forest management ever since.

An important contribution to local economies has been the Microcredit Program, which began in 1992 with a small fund (obtained from a loan from private banks), and which has made it possible to provide financial services to small business owners and small-scale producers. These beneficiaries, managing it properly -according to FUNDAP's guide-, manage to grow their enterprises. This program continues to be an important element of support for beneficiaries, together with training.

After a few years, the Foundation acquired a small farm near the City of Quetzaltenango (formal headquarters of the entity), in which a Technical Center has been built, which serves a series of workshops. This has hospitality facilities, and trains young people and adults of both sexes in various productive and service activities, ranging from a nursing school, mechanics, electricity, bakery, gastronomy, beauty, dressmaking, among others. others. There is a varied educational offer and there are currently four branches in different municipalities: San Marcos, Mazatenango, Quiché and Retalhuleu.

What emerged 40 years ago as an incipient idea, has become an institution that transforms lives through support in training, learning, assistance and accompaniment, which FUNDAP provides with the help of a highly trained human team focused on values under the guide-standard of its motto: 'Development with dignity'.

In the month of August of this year, the 40th anniversary of the Foundation will be celebrated, which was made with the interest of Don Rodolfo Paiz Andrade and Don Jaime Camhi Capón, who wanted to create an institution dedicated to helping those most in need, originally with an approach to education in Guatemala.

Since then, many years have passed and thousands of people have been supported to achieve a better quality of life for themselves and their families. There are countless examples that we have seen of children, youth and adults who, with the opportunities offered to them by the Foundation, have changed their lives towards a more promising future and, above all, with hope.

When I started working at FUNDAP in 1985, at the invitation of Don Roberto Gutiérrez, I saw it as an opportunity to specify and harmonize a concern for service, with the development of an organization that would fulfill my personal dreams of, on the one hand, working in a climate of honesty and transparency and, on the other hand, address with business criteria the opening of options to solve the most enormous problems, especially that of poverty, which manifests itself, above all, in the rural area of the southwest of Guatemala .

Currently, we are witnessing radical changes in our countries that herald a transition period as a result of globalization, technification, demographic and environmental changes, and not to mention the consequences of COVID. For the members of our rural societies, this implies new situations and challenges in their personal, family and social environment, much of it will generate more poverty and the search for opportunities through emigration to other countries, which as Don Roberto says: “emigration is the failure of a country”. Many people react to these profound changes with concern, insecurity, resignation, and often fear as well. We must not forget that it is in times of radical change that the creativity and intrinsic value of organizations in the search for solutions is measured.

In our society, all people should take responsibility, to the best of their ability, for the problems of the community to which they belong. Among the essential components of corporate culture, the acceptance of Social Responsibility by companies, as a factor of personal commitment of their leaders.

Together with the quality of the people who are in charge of the direction of FUNDAP and who in our case were integrated from the foundations of the same, this work has been part of his personal life project. The motivation, creativity and willingness to work of the collaborators are also decisive, starting with guaranteeing the sustainability of the organization that must be harmonized with individual effort focused on the participation and realization of each. All of this is governed by a deeper sense of Compassion towards others.

In general, the people who are committed to the Foundation have much in common: they are characterized by their responsibility and initiative, love for their neighbor, concern and collective spirit; are curious and they want to change things. People who really want to change the world find enough energy, creativity and motivation to make their projects a reality, since their own interests are transcendent. Anyone, regardless of the position they hold, should be a model for others.

In the case of FUNDAP we are not interested in being well known, on the contrary, we see the beneficiaries as the protagonists of their own future, hence the slogan “A silence that makes noise”. Because we experiment with new projects to better face the challenge of combating poverty and because we carry out projects or initiatives to be fair in the inheritance that we hope to leave to future generations. Being an example that foundations are an indicator of free and democratic societies.

The promoters of the Foundation have always been people who want to change something, and they do so according to their own transcendental values and the priorities they see in the society in which they live and are an example that men care about their fellow men and they are supportive. This solidarity is led by committed people. On the front line, they will always be there where injustices are seen and have a face. They will be the ones that place the beneficiaries as the managers of their own development, what experts call Subsidiarity.

Freedom and Responsibility: Together they are the necessary requirement for social order. It is necessary that all those who can, with time, with money, with their talent, also pitch in for the good of those who need them most. But, above all, it is based on sharing the opportunities that they themselves have had. The pillars on which our action rests: leaving acquired skills, prioritizing work with women as the axis of the family, creating changes in habits and that what we do is aimed at strengthening and creating employment. As a corollary of this, our motto “Development with Dignity”.

Transparency: another great challenge for all foundations. Part of being responsible with the resources that are put in our hands through different donors and that they expect that the commitments made are fully fulfilled. Transparency breeds Credibility, which is one of the greatest resources that FUNDAP has. That transparency, which arises from the need for donors to be clear about the use of their contribution, which in our case are many who throughout all these years have believed in and supported what we do, not only with money but also with your ideas, your professional knowledge. In addition, they share our same principles and values, that is, they are an intrinsic part of the Foundation.

The future of a society depends mainly on its ability to solve problems, especially the weakest and neediest. This takes on a special meaning in our case, in the availability to be creative and innovate in a world of profound change, that is, to present sustainable solutions.

For us at FUNDAP this requires, above all, professional management that is the point of tension between the available resources, methodology, creativity and efficiency, which translate into decision-making and planning processes, oriented to their goals. The potential to boost sustainable innovative projects it is a central facet of the Foundation’s outreach. Its social legitimacy arises when its ability to be close to felt and real needs is verified, which is largely demonstrated in the acceptance of its development proposals by the beneficiaries.

Important results have often been developed with few collaborators, with simple processes and with a good knowledge of the realities of the communities and groups we serve, especially with structures that allow us to be close to them, hence the more than 40 units fixed (delegations) attention.

The aspirations of the founders and those who have known how to make these ideas their own have been established since the beginning of all the Foundation’s activities. There are reasons, among which the desire to change something predominates, to assume responsibility for the enormous challenges faced by their peers and to combat a specific problem. It will be the committed followers who guarantee the continuity of the spirit and the central ideas of the Foundation.

Starting from the aspirations of the founders and their close leaders, the normative management of the Foundation is faced with the task of establishing its Vision and Mission. The following questions are raised: What changes do we want to make in society? What tasks do we want and can we accomplish? Which not? In this way, the Foundation acquires its constructive role, justifying all its actions and establishing its values and general principles, while contemplating the integral development of its collaborators and the consolidation of the Foundation’s Culture.

Closely related to the above, it is up to the directors to set the values established in the Culture of those who founded it. The foundations that have aimed to transform society, such as FUNDAP, are characterized by a deeply rooted organizational culture, the delegation of responsibilities, creativity, and a predisposition to risk when launching innovative proposals. Likewise, the impact measurement of our projects, as part of continuous learning.

In addition, it defines realistic projects and options, so it decides on resource allocations. Intensive strategic planning is decisive for the success of the Foundation’s work, as it allows innovative contributions to be made on an ongoing basis. The experience in FUNDAP shows that in order to achieve this, it is necessary to establish a clear focus on the needs and target audience of the projects, as well as priorities within a long-term action plan.

Generate a portfolio of projects according to a strategy, using the cycle of social demands as an impulse to detect, generate and develop possible solutions. Here, issues such as the necessary allocation of resources from the economic budget, the qualification of collaborators, empowerment of beneficiaries and the possibilities of cooperation with external partners such as donors and the definition of evaluation criteria for ongoing projects, which complement the other main objectives of the strategic dialogue.

Its mission, in addition to defining specific projects and drawing up a budget for such projects, is to establish measures aimed at personnel management, communication and orientation of its actions. The result of the operational management of the Foundation must be based on meeting two basic objectives: effectiveness and efficiency towards help alleviate human suffering both material and spiritual.

When foundations want to change something they face the challenge of having to convince others of their concepts. In this struggle for attention, the best promotional ideas, projects and actions may come to nothing if they fail to convey themselves to partners and the target audience in a convincing way; (awareness of parents, educators, community authorities, donors, etc.). That is, if they have no concrete results to show.

In relation to communicative positioning, the direction of the “brand” can be one more instrument to increase the success of the Foundation’s work; A clear and consistent definition of the “Foundation brand” is not the goal in itself, but an integral and integral part of the project’s work. I share the idea that FUNDAP is a strong “brand”, given its prestige gained through all these years, the results and quality of what we do, because we all have in our minds a clear idea of its objectives and the role we wish to adopt in society and the values we represent. This marks the difference in how we do things, that is, the culture and the propagation of the concept of the dignity of the person. It is put the dignity of the human being first, as an image of what we are, children of God.

Another aspect to consider is FUNDAP’s success in attracting and mobilizing private resources for the long-term benefit of the community. In our case, we do not depend on the contributions of a single donor, but obtain their support and strength by attracting many different donors (including the minimum income for services rendered).

Lastly, we encourage the accumulation of beneficial capital in our very beneficiaries; thus, a pervasive culture of philanthropy is created. In fact, great importance is attached to the fact that the same communities that are served instruct others in the different ways of doing development. We see this especially in young people who take on helping other young people as their own challenge, where philanthropy becomes in sustainable social capital and in leadership to address long-term problems, such as poverty.

With appreciation and thanks to all those who have made and make possible this great adventure called FUNDAP.
Jorge A. Gándara