Nelly Leiva Abregu

Nelly Leiva has a beautiful view of the park across the street from the hotel she owns in Ayacucho, Peru. She lives nearby with her 6 children, aged 14- 27, and her husband. She is kept very busy running and managing the 23-room hotel, for which she and her husband are solely responsible. She only hires help during “Santa Semana,” (Easter Week) which is a huge event in Ayacucho and brings visitors from all over Peru. She says this is definitely her busiest time of year, and the hotel is at full capacity for several weeks before, during, and after those dates.

Somehow Nelly, between cleaning the rooms, bookkeeping, and checking her guests in, has found time to open a small gift shop in the storefront adjacent to her hotel. She hopes to receive a loan of $600 to expand the inventory of the gift shop, which currently is limited to women’s hair accessories, postcards, and collectible dolls. She also has maintenance issues in several of the rooms, for which she would use part of the loan money to hire a plumber and electrician to fix.

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