Las Mariitas Group

Thirty-nine year old Elsa, mother of eight children who range in age from two to twenty-two and grandmother of a year-old grandson, is married to a farmer. The family lives in the department/state of Suchitepéquez.

Elsa is a perfect example of an empowered woman with no formal education but with great determination to move ahead and succeed. She prepares delicious regional meals and snacks that she sells each morning from her home or by custom order. Three years ago, she opened a convenience store from a room in her home. Her store is quite popular and she needs to restock the shelves. Elsa is requesting her third Kiva loan to buy everyday products, snack foods, beverages and ingredients for her recipes like meat, tomato and oil.

Elsa is one of eight women in the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Las Mariitas”. These ladies benefit greatly from participating in the “Microcredit Plus” program of loans, monthly educational training, and bi-monthly healthcare services. Recent topics for the training were about the dangers of over-indebtedness, wise loan investment practices, and business administration. The training also covers topics related to health, family matters and women’s issues. Every other month, they have access to basic healthcare services including exams, consults and family planning.

Thank you, Kiva lenders, for your loan support that will help Elsa and her friends improve their tortilla shops, convenience stores, and sales of regional foods and kitchenware.

In this group: Silvia Paulina , Florinda , Elsa Isabel , Maria Rosa , Marta Alicia , Glendy Esther , Antonia , Karen Paola