Mujeres Solidarias (women United) Group

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Dora Dominguez
Aida Rodas
Angelina Montiel
Lucia Rodriguez
Valentina Enciso
Mercedes Alvarenga
Teresa Rojas
Julia Galeano
Celsa Gomez
Idalina Jara
Gladys Ferreira
Maris Helman
Noelia Arca
Graciela Morel
Florencia Baez
Marlena Astorga
Maria Notario
Magna Gonzalez
Nilda Colman
Herminia Torales
Gloria Gill
Emiliana Acosta by Fundación Paraguaya in Paraguay. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 3 months, Fundación Paraguaya will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

This is an update on the Mujeres Solidarias (Women United) Group, who finished paying back their Kiva loan 3 months ago. A group loan allows 15-25 women to overcome barriers to receiving credit by joining together to receive small individual loans. The group takes on the risk in the event that someone defaults, which encourages the women to help and support each other, both socially and financially. A group exists for 12 cycles of 4 months each. The Mujeres Solidarias Group received Kiva funding for their fourth cycle, and they have just entered into their sixth cycle. At the end of each cycle, group members may elect to leave the group, and new members can join. This update will focus on three of the current group members.

Maris Helman (pictured): Maris has been part of Mujeres Solidarias since they first formed two years ago. She runs a small grocery/variety store out of the front of her house, which has grown immensely since she began working with the group loan program. Now, in addition to staple food supplies, she has fresh meat, eggs, cheese, and milk everyday. The milk is from a local farm, and is delivered to her by the bucket; customers come and fill their containers with the amount they wish to purchase. Maris’ current credit limit is ~$350, which is almost the maximum allowed for each individual in the group loan program. Each woman’s credit limit rises with the amount of time she participates in the group.

Liz Acosta: Liz was not a part of the group during the original Kiva loan, but her mother was! Liz’s mother ran a small fruit and vegetable stand from her house for years, but recently decided to move to Spain with her husband to find higher-paying work. Now she works as a housekeeper in Spain, while her daughter looks after the house and store. Liz and her husband moved back from Argentina, where they had been living for the past 6 years, to take over this role. Liz’s husband work’s 12 hour days in a bakery, and travels to the nearby capital of Asuncion twice a week at midnight to purchase fruits and vegetables for the store. Even though it means very little sleep, Liz says this is the best time to travel, as it ensures the freshest quality and lowest prices. Meanwhile, Liz runs the shop and cares for their two young children, ages 3 years and 5 months.

Francisca Segovia: Francisca is brand new to the group this cycle. She is also fairly new to the neighborhood, having moved here 2 years ago. She and her husband jumped at the opportunity to own their own house, after years of paying rent. Francisca says she kept hearing about the idea of “garage sales” in the U.S. and it inspired her to partition her living space into a small store for selling clothes. Although she has been open only 2 months, Francisca says her sales are very good. She attributes this to her good location on a busy street, her good attention to customers, and her ability to entice her friends by wearing (and showing off!) the clothes that she sells in her small store. Francisca is determined to be successful on her own, so even though her husband, who also works in clothing retail, said he could help finance the shop, she declined and joined the Mujeres Solidarias group instead. Together they have two children.