Las Manzanas, Bank Of Hope Group

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to the Las Manzanas, Bank of Hope group, consisting of Martha Mateo, Fidelina Delgado Abreu, Basilia Medrano, Venecia Castro, Virgilia Castro Mateo, Gissel Mateo, Suleika Bernavides, Juana Santos Fermin, Santa Mateo, Lucia Bautista 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. Martha Mateo was indeed able to expand her “colmado,” which is a small store that usually sells nonperishables or sturdy foods such as potatoes. Her store kept her so busy that she was unable to come to any of the bimonthly repayment meetings, though she did persistently and promptly pay back her loan. Part of the Esperanza model of microfinance includes solidarity and responsibility within group loans. Thus, if one person in the group defaults, the others in the group are responsible. It is important that all members of the group know and trust each other. Martha will continue to run and grow her colmado, but she will not take out another loan because her schedule does not allow her to develop and maintain the relationships upon which Esperanza’s group lending is based.

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 Martha Mateo, the Las Manzanas bank, and the microfinance institute Esperanza International, thank you for providing opportunities to those who need it most.

Anne Cherniss

Esperanza International Summer Fellow ´09