La Bendición 3 Group

Juana is 60 years old and has 10 children. She is illiterate because she never had the opportunity to attend school. She was raised by her mother after her father abandoned her, her mother, and her three siblings. At the age of 10, Juana began working on a plantation, where she harvested coffee and cardamom. Later, she had to take care of her siblings when her mother remarried and had more children. Juana eventually had 15 siblings, and they lived in extreme poverty.

Through a promoter from the Chajulense Association of United Women for Life, Juana learned about loans offered to women. She invested her first loan in purchasing and raising chickens and pigs. This year, she plans to use her loan to invest in the planting of coffee and cardamom.

Juana is the leader of a group called La Bendición 3, which includes nine women—four from the Maya Ixil ethnicity, one from the Maya Kanjobal ethnicity, and four from the Ladino ethnicity. The group will invest 67% of their loan in agriculture, 11% in food, and 22% in textiles.

On average, each group member has three children, and the group’s average age is 33 years. About 56% are illiterate, 22% did not finish primary school, and 22% completed primary school.

In this group: Clara Luz, Dayrin Eliza, Filomena, Juana, Juana, Juvia Elizabeth, Lilian, Margarita, Margarita

Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteerRuss Sprinkle. View original language description.