Las Hermanas De Pantoja, Group 1

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to the Las Hermanas de Pantoja, Group 1 group, consisting of Oneyra Yambatiste Luis, Ydalia Jean, Antonia Abreu Duran, Teresa Desten, Yudelka Saint Luis by Esperanza International in Dominican Republic. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 6 months, Esperanza International will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

I would like to give you an update about the group microloan you helped to fund last year through the Kiva-Esperanza International partnership. The profile that was originally posted for the group 1 of Hermanas de Pantoja focused on Beata. While Beata also repaid this loan, I am going to talk about the growth that Oneyra Yambatiste has experienced. The loan you helped fund was Oneyra’s first loan. Right now, she is working to repay her fourth loan! These loans have enabled Oneyra to expand her small business of selling clothes. She has used her increased profits to purchase furniture for her house as well as patch the ceiling and buy a generator. Fixing roof is particularly important because it can rain almost every day in Los Alcarrizos. Also, since few people pay for electricity, the power company cannot afford to operate 24/7; thus there are frequent power outages. Owning a generator allows Oneyra and her family to control the power, ensuring safe keeping of refrigerated food. Being able to store food is important because it allows people to look several days ahead in their planning rather than simply living on a day-to-day basis.

If you would like to keep supporting entrepreneurial Dominicans through Esperanza International, follow this link to see loans that are currently fund raising:

http://www.kiva.org/app.php?page=businesses&partner_id=44&status=fundRaising&sortBy=New+to+Old

On behalf of Oneyra Yambatiste, the Bank of Hope “Hermanas de Pantoja” and the microfinance institute Esperanza International, thank you for providing opportunities to those who need it most.

Anne Cherniss

Esperanza International Summer Fellow ´09