Mujeres Luchadoras Las Flores Group

Forty-six-year-old Herlinda is married to a day laborer, and they have seven children who range in age from seven to twenty-six. They have two grandchildren. Herlinda shares that she had no formal education because there wasn’t a school in the community where she grew up. Herlinda rents a plot of land and grows chiles that she harvests once per year and corn that she harvests twice per year. Her husband and two employees help during planting and harvesting times. Herlinda sells her harvest from her home in the department/state of Suchitepéquez. She also raises chickens that she sells in the local market and from her home. Her goal is to improve the yield of her farm and increase income. Because she notices that there is a real need and demand, Herlinda wants to open a third business, baking bread to sell to her community. She requests her first Kiva loan to buy seeds, fertilizer, and be able to pay her employees.

Herlinda has created time and energy to be the President of her Friendship Bridge Trust Bank, “Mujeres Luchadoras Las Flores”. There are ten Maya K’iche women in the group who manage their convenience stores, farm chile and corn, and raise domestic livestock and poultry. They happily participate in the “Microcredit Plus” program of loans, monthly educational training (business, health, family, women), and bi-monthly healthcare services (exams, consults, family planning).

Thank you, Kiva lenders, for your kindness in funding these important loans!

In this group: Sara Petronila , Floridalma Lisbeth , Rosario , Herlinda, Francisca Esther , Lilian Ester, Delia Nohemi, Maria , Olga Elizabeth, Damaris Esperanza