Eleven Maya K’iche women have formed the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Pala” in the department of Sololá. The majority of them have coffee farms, traditional textile businesses or raise chickens and pigs. They are beginning their first loan cycle with KIVA.
Each month, the President of the Trust Bank, Lucia, calls the meeting to order. The women make payments on their loans and then participate in an educational training based on an aspect of four main topics: women, family, health, and business. As they have had little or no formal education, these sessions are of vital importance to them and definitely make them more effective mothers and businesswomen.
Lucia, 58, is married and a mother of seven children who range in age from 18 to 32. She has a third grade education. Four of her adult children are teachers, while three have completed elementary school.
Lucia has a business buying and selling coffee plants. She needs a loan to buy more coffee plants at the wholesale level. Her dream is to enlarge her business, participate in more markets, and increase her income.
In providing the capital for these much appreciated loans, KIVA investors play an important role in the lives of these ladies. Thank you, KIVA investors, for your kindness helping Lucia and her friends help themselves!
In this group: Catarina , Maria , Josefina , Lucia , Pascuala , Manuela , Francisca , Catarina , Pascuala , Manuela , Ana