La Nueva Esperanza Group

Maria is a 49-year-old borrower who lives near San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. Maria is a coordinator for her group, La Nueva Esperanza (The New Hope), and her story is representative of the other borrowers in the group.

Maria has six children, and all but one have moved out of her home. Along with her youngest, a 15-year-old, Maria cares for a local 18-year-old girl who has a child of her own. Two of her children are currently studying in towns around the Dominican Republic, and the others now have families of their own. Maria lives in a batey called Los Blocks. Bateyes are communities built by sugar companies for their workers, and are usually very humble accommodations. Life in a batey can be harsh; they are difficult to access, receive no running water, lack sufficient sanitation, and have little to no electricity.

Despite these difficulties, Maria runs a successful business selling vehicle necessities, including spare tires, oil, and gasoline. Maria also hopes to expand her business by selling prepaid cell-phone cards. Both her auto supplies and her cell-phone cards help the community have better access to the outside world, and both are in high demand.

This is Maria’s sixth loan with Esperanza, and she has been a hard-working borrower for over three years. She hopes that with success will come a legacy she can pass on to her children, and that someday they can have a better life than she experienced. Thank you for your loan to Maria and La Nueva Esperanza group!




About Group Loans
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Learn more

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