Berkley Center

Background: As part of the Education and Global Social Justice Project, in summer 2013 undergraduate student Sarah Baran interviewed Cintia Farias, an administrator for the Santa Bridaga and Teresa Brogan agencies of Protagonizar, a microfinance lender founded by Jesuits in the lower class community of San Miguel located in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In this interview Farias discusses her work at Protagonizar, the Santa Brigada community, and the many obstacles its residents face, as well as the role of faith in the organization.

Can you please share with me a little bit more about your background, your family, your past work experience, and what lead you to Protagonizar?

I have lived in Santa Brigida my entire life, here in the same house, in the same place. I went to the public middle school, but I finished high school in another neighborhood because it was private. In my family, there are four of us, and I live with my parents, my brother, and my boyfriend. I want to get married and have my own place eventually; however, the topic of marriage is complicated now because a place to live is inaccessible. We have been together for ten years, and we have been waiting and working towards this for a long time. Hopefully marriage will be soon, and we have a date but we are not yet making it public because, like I mentioned, it’s complicated in terms of finances. There is the cost of the house and support for the family. My mom works. She is employed domestically, but my father at this moment does not have work.

My connection with Protagonizar was first through the church, and I had already known almost everyone here before I started working. Faith, in my life, is very important. Ever since I was a little girl, I was raised Catholic and completed all of my sacraments. Now I attend a prayer group geared towards young adults, those around my age, and I teach religion classes as a catechist. I spend most of my Saturday at the church, and I have been teaching for ten years now. My kids this year are ages 9-12, and there are nine students in my group.

At one point, Maria Lujan, who is the senior administrator, was helping two students—one from Italy and one from Mexico—who were doing an investigation about the impacts of Protagonizar. She asked me to accompany them and help out with transportation, interviews, meeting the entrepreneurs, getting to know the community, and other things like that. It was more or less two months, and when the project ended, they were impressed with how I worked and I how I fit naturally into the community and the work here at the office, and thus they offered me a job here in 2009.

Before being employed in 2009 by Protagonizar and working on the project before that, I worked with my aunt who had a business. I was there only during the summer and vacations, however, because the rest of the time I was in school.

Have you always worked with the same agency, and what are your responsibilities in your current position?

I have always worked at this agency, Santa Brigida, except on Tuesdays I go to Teresa Brogan because they need extra help. Now I work administratively. The routine or process to receive a loan implies that Mondays are our busiest days because people return the loans on these days and also receive the distributions of the payments if they have a new loan. Also, in the afternoons they come to fill out the paperwork with their personal information, but this does not take very long, an hour at most, and it is with the credit assessors. Any time there is an exchange of money, if people are returning credit or receiving it, we have a security guard on duty that day for extra protection. Each agency is slightly different in terms of what days the different solidarity groups can complete each step of the process to receive a loan. We do this so that we can switch who is in what office based on the need. For example, Tuesdays in Teresa Brogan are the same as our Mondays, which is why I need to go there for extra help. Wednesdays are more administrative work for me. I am in charge of managing everyone’s salaries and tracking the number of entrepreneurs, solidarity groups, and credits that each of our credit assessors manages. It’s sort of a review of everything because we are part of a union and our salaries depend on a number of factors. I record all of that, but it only happens once a month. Then, Thursdays and Fridays I recharge the credits. I am responsible for documenting the entire system, where we have all the data and the facts. I also have the responsibility of paying all the bills for the lights, electricity, etc. Then l also help out when needed with little things that arise, like buying supplies for the office from the supermarket.

Can you please describe to me characteristics of the community, Santa Brigida, which you work in, and then how Protagonizar works to successfully fulfill its mission in this context?

All the people that we serve in each agency are part of the working or lower classes, and some are lower middle class. There are a lot of people who are out of work and receive subsidies. The levels of education are very low. We serve this population because this is the demographic that lives here. More specifically, Santa Brigida is an agency in a distinct context. It is more in the center of Polvorines. There is a little bit less insecurity or fear in comparison with Marílo, which is more dangerous. Socioeconomically, it is slightly more advanced, which is a factor dependent on its location in the center. The farther away from the center, the more humble the houses and living conditions are. The factor that is the most important is that we maintain our objectivity about the people that we are giving loans to. We make a promise in our work to promote the development of the people who need it most. We focus on them, and they are the most important. The training and other services that we need to have to be able to perform for our individual jobs to the best of our ability are also very important. Logistically, our financial wellbeing is key because this is how we are able to sustain our work, by being responsible ourselves. Another factor would be the relationships among us, which are integral and more systematic. There are people that make decisions and there is a structure of management, but at the end of the day we are all equal. It’s a community, and there is a balance.

What are the obstacles for Protagonizar?

Our primary obstacle is financial. It is in this area that we are the weakest. We are constantly asking, ‘Do we have money? Yes or no?’ During the holidays it’s the worst because this is the time of the year when the entrepreneurs are asking for the highest amounts of loans to invest in merchandise, and we never have enough to accommodate all of the requests.

Our money comes from the donations. The way it works is that there is money from the donations, and each agency writes a document about how much it needs and sends it to Maria Silvia, who is the manager of all the branches. She decides how much we can accommodate, and, if there is not enough, she tells each agency the limit. Together they decide which groups and entrepreneurs can and cannot take loans. We never are short money to the point where we have to deny a request for a current loan; rather, what usually happens is sometimes we have to deny those who request for an increase in their current loan. We explain the limitations and usually they get an increase that is slightly less or they will just stay the same. We have to balance with the people we limit because those asking for the greatest sums help the foundation the most, but those requesting smaller amounts usually need it more. We usually end up giving those with the smallest loans more, and those with the largest receive their current amount. People always maintain the same amount they have, never less, but many will not grow. It’s not too common that we run out, but in the busier months, we may. Also, it varies depending on the agency.

Can you please expand on the role that faith plays in the work of Protagonizar?

Well, first it was founded by the Jesuits, and it is because of faith that we are here. We are working for the development of the people. They start with very little, and we can see their growth on a personal level. Yet, personally, I try to integrate my faith in everything in my life, each part, and so that comes through in my work as well. It is embedded in everything I do and how I treat people. My favorite part of my work is the contact with the people. Mondays are always days filled with a lot of activity and movement. As a result, I need to concentrate and be careful with every action, but it’s also the day where I have the most contact with the people. I get to find out how everyone is doing and hear about whether they are happy, along with the more personal things that they share. I like this the most. However, speaking about faith for the organization itself, the door is open for everyone, those who believe and those who do not believe.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

My dreams would be to advance. I want to develop professionally. I am currently studying to get my degree in Public Administration—I should finish at the end of this year if all goes well. I will start my last three classes in August at the Universidad Nacional de General Salarimiento. It’s public. I take classes 14 hours each week, three of which are during the night. Ideally, one day I would work for the government after continuing a couple more years in my studies.