"Alqifiestas" is going gangbusters. The micro-business to throw parties and rent party equipment was launched last summer by Xela AID's "Leaders of the Future" group as their first foray into entrepreneurship.

 

With more than a dozen parties and rentals under their belts to date, the group is making great headway toward paying back their micro-business loan, while members of the group (representing top-achieving students in Xela AID's service area) have also earned sorely needed income to help them continue in their studies.

The first class of Xela AID's entrepreneurial "Leaders" youth group formed in 2011 presented a business plan to Xela AID leadership last summer and received a $1500 micro-loan to launch Alqifiestas. Their group's activities have also included service and training projects each month spanning recycling, public speaking, maintenance projects (at right) and humanitarian service.

On the horizon for the Leaders? Potentially, opening a storefront in downtown San Martín to house their growing inventory and add a retail component selling party-related supplies. But the Leaders are not stopping there: Says Rosario Ordoñez, the group's coordinator,  "We eventually want to own our own community center where we can throw parties."

With all this success, this "senior class" of Leaders has renamed their group "Leaders in Action," assigning their former designation to the younger, incoming class.

Xela AID Board Member Sue Rikalo, who Chairs the Micro-business and Leadership Development Committee, is currently in Guatemala working to launch a new micro-business that would generate stipends for Leaders while supporting Xela AID's health goals, details to be revealed in a future update.