Adding to basket
Sixteen women in the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Chitaracena” live in a rural area in Totonicapán. They are beginning their 3rd loan cycle with Kiva and will use the funds to invest in their small businesses: animal husbandry, convenience stores, traditional handicrafts, textile businesses, and tamale/tortilla dough mills.
Santa, a 39–year–old mother of 4 children who range in age from 13 to 20, was elected president of the group. She is a strong, proactive and responsible person who has a 6th grade education. All of her children are enrolled in school.
Santa has a traditional textile business and makes “cortes” or wrap-around tube type skirts in intricate woven designs. Because the demand is high for her “cortes,” she is requesting a loan to buy supplies like various colors of thread for her loom.
The ladies look forward to their monthly meetings when they make payments on their loans and then participate in educational trainings where they learn about themselves (women’s rights, self esteem, empowerment), their families (nutrition, hygiene, health) and their businesses (planning, investing, savings). The program is called “Microcredit Plus” and it is very effective!
Thank you, Kiva investors, for your kindness in funding these much-appreciated loans! Santa and her friends are creating pathways out of poverty into brighter futures, benefitting themselves, their families and their community in Totonicapan!
In this group: Santa Dorotea, Gregoria Judith, Margarita, Marta, Angelica Rocsana, Angela Leonarda, Mary Emiliana, Carmelina Juanta, Ana Elizabeth, Claudia Del Rosario, Santos Paulina, Teresa Francisa, Cayetana, Juana Del Carmen, Angela Eudelia, Jacinta Consuelo
