Funded

Total loan: $250

Maria Sandra

Lempira, Honduras / Farming

A loan helped to purchase fertilizers and liquid fertilizers to apply to leaves to maintain the coffee crop.

Maria Sandra's story

María is a 27-year-old woman, a single mother. She has 2 children and lives in the municipality of Graicas, Lempira.

For 10 years, she has worked in agriculture. She has her own crop of coffee and corn on her own land. Previously, she worked growing beans. She sells the coffee and corn harvests at the end of the year by the quintal to local intermediaries.

María asks ODEF for a loan for the sum of 6,000 lempiras to invest in the purchase of fertilizers and liquid fertilizers to apply to leaves to maintain the coffee and corn crops. Her plan is to increase her harvest and improve her family's living conditions.

Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer Wendy H. View original language description.

María es una mujer de 27 años de edad, madre soltera, tiene 2 hijos, reside en el municipio de Gracias, Lempira. Desde hace 10 años se ha dedicado a la agricultura. Tiene su propio cultivo de café y maíz en terreno propio. Anteriormente se dedicaba a cultivar frijoles. Las cosechas de cafe y maiz las vende en quintales a intermediarios locales. María solicita un préstamo a ODEF por la cantidad de 6,000.00 Lempiras para invertir en la compra de fertilizantes y foliares para mantenimiento de sus cultivos de café y maíz. Su plan es aumentar las cosechas y mejorar las condiciones de vida de su familia.

This loan is special because:

It supports single mothers raising families on very little income.

More about this loan

Single mothers are an especially vulnerable segment in many developing countries. A woman is generally left as a single mother for one of two reasons: because her partner has died (often due to conflict, war or disease) or because her partner has abandoned her. These women are forced to play both roles, father and mother, and must provide their children with eveything they need, including education, healthcare, housing, food and clothing. They must do all of this with only one source of income, which is normally lower than what a man in the same circumstances would earn. This situation makes them an especially vulnerable segment in Honduras. ODEF is supporting these women by offering them Kiva loans with interest rates below their standard rate.

About Organizacion de Desarrollo Empresarial Femenino (ODEF):

This loan is administered by Organizacion de Desarrollo Empresarial Femenino Financiera, S.A. (ODEF), a Kiva Field Partner in Honduras. A leader in the microfinance sector since 1985, ODEF strives to combat poverty by offering a wide array of financial services to low-income men and women. The organization works with its parent NGO, ODEF OPD, to provide training and technical assistance to impoverished microentrepreneurs. By incorporating the entire family unit in this process, ODEF OPD aims to improve the standard of living through the creation of profitable enterprises. Visit ODEF's partner page for more information.