Adding to basket
Blanca is thirty-six years old. She has worked since childhood to help her parents. She points out that in the community where she lived as a child, there was no electricity and a lot of poverty. Consequently, her parents could only support her schooling to third grade.
She and her husband have struggled to give their children a chance to study.
A neighbour mentioned the opportunity of receiving a loan from the association 'Asociación Chajulense de Mujeres Unidas por la Vida'.
She invested her first loan in starting a shop selling basic essentials. With her second loan, she invested in starting a chemist. Then, she continued investing loans to expand both businesses. This year, she will receive her eleventh loan, which she will invest in expanding her basic goods shop and her chemist.
Blanca is the leader of the 'La Bendición 2' group, which is made up of five women: two of Maya ethnicity, and three of Ladina ethnicity. The group will invest 20% in agriculture, 20% in food, and 60% in wholesale. On average, each group member has three children, and the average age is thirty-three. 60% are illiterate, 20% did not complete primary education and 20% finished primary education.
In this group: Arely Beatriz, Azucena , Blanca Etelvina, Carmen Elena, Catarina
Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer Angela Delaney. View original language description.
