IPE Alumni Report: Colleen Dyble in Peru

This just in from Colleen Dyble, IPE 2000. After several years with a Washington DC-area think tank, Colleen has moved to Lima, Peru where she works as a development and marketing specialist for microfinance programs. Be sure to check out her blog and follow her activities in Peru.

I can hardly believe that I have been here for 5.5 weeks already! I’m all settled in an apartment and enjoying exploring the city and getting to know new people.

I am jumping right into things at ECLOF-Peru. I spent the last 2 weeks of working out of ECLOF’s offices in northern and southern Lima to learn about its programs and clients. Each day, I was in the shanty towns and working with a different loan officer to learn the loan process and to meet with potential and existing clients.

Over the course of the next year, I will be involved in the following projects for ECLOF-Peru:

• Fundraising: obtaining funding from churches and other like-minded organizations to expand ECLOF´s work in serving entrepreneurs in the interior of the country and working on reports to existing donors;
• Expanding and Systematizing Non-Financial Services: identifying, expanding and systematizing non-financial services for ECLOF´s clients. This includes exploring feasibility of life and health insurance, systematizing the pastoral counseling offerings, developing entrepreneurial training and other ¨capacity building¨ courses that meet the needs of ECLOF clients and help to attract new clients.
• Public Relations and Networking: enhancing ECLOF ´s external profile by identifying new partners, developing a volunteer system and strengthen ECLOF-Peru´s work with the Anglican church;
• Marketing: capturing stories of ELOF´s clients for marketing and fundraising materials.

For more photos and updates about my experiences in Lima and to find out how you can get involved in supporting my fellowship , please visit my blog.

Un abrazo,

Colleen