Olinda Tuesta Paredes

Señora Olinda is seen in this photo with the small amount of merchandise she had left after a month of good sales. Olinda makes a living selling shoes made in the northern part of Peru. She lives in the city of Pucallpa, and travels from time to time to the coastal city of Trujillo to purchase her footwear.

Olinda is married and has four adult children. Her husband works as a laborer at Pucallpa's port. (Pucallpa lies along the Ucayali, a wide brown river that flows past the city and eventually joins the Amazon to the north).

Olinda has worked with Kiva partner Manuela Ramos for about one year and belongs to a communal bank known as Las Guerreras (The Warriors). Olinda invested her first loan of about $100 in clothing she could sell. This is how she began to develop as an independent businesswoman. Olinda plans to invest this new loan in women's shoes. She is grateful to Manuela Ramos for helping her develop her business, and is careful to request only loan amounts that she is confident she will be able to pay back on time. Olinda is also happy to be receiving credit from Manuela Ramos, because the organization provides loans easily, quickly and with few complications, unlike many other banks.

Olinda's goal is to continue to grow her business. She eventually hopes to have a small store from which she can sell her line of women's shoes.

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