Juliana Boc Culajay

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Juliana Boc Culajay by FAPE in Guatemala. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 12 months, FAPE will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Watch a short video of Juliana here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2BfLK9mFRQ

Upon entering Juliana’s small home, nothing is more obvious than her entrepreneurial spirit. Every corner of her house is filled with products ranging from clothes and perfume to home cleaning products. Every spare inch of space outside is piled high with the firewood she sells. From a very young age Juliana learned how to make the most from a sale and she continues to do this buy purchasing products in bulk and having them readily accessible when clients and even other venders come knocking.

Juliana continues working hard on her many businesses and has consistently made her monthly payments on time in spite of many obstacles that have emerged. Juliana’s sister has a similar business, but has recently become very ill and can hardly work. Since her sister also has a loan, Juliana knows that she needs to continue selling products in order to maintain her payments and also to pay for medical expenses, so she is doing everything she can to help her sister. In addition, one area where many of Juliana’s clients live is a small town about 1 hour away from where she lives. For about 1 year, there have been strikes on and off that frequently close the road and prevent Juliana from reaching her clients.

About 15 years ago when Juliana’s husband left her with their 2 daughters, she knew that hard work was the only way to allow her daughters to continue studying and to better their lives. Juliana proudly shares that both of her daughters are now teachers and live and work nearby.

In spite of these obstacles, Juliana continues to plan and dream of ways to improve her businesses in the future. She hopes to one day open a bookstore so that she doesn’t have to travel all day to make sales. Even though this dream may be a long way off, it’s easy to see the sparkle in her eye when she starts talking about all the products she would carry and how she would distinguish herself from local competition.

Dear Kiva Lender,

You made a loan to a Kiva borrower in Guatemala that was posted by one of Kiva’s local field partners, FAPE (Fundación Para la Pequeña Empresa). This message is to update you on the impact that Kiva funds Kiva funds have made through FAPE and to let you know how you can continue to support FAPE’s work to provide financial services to the underserved and to alleviate poverty - one loan at a time.

Over the past three months, I have been working with FAPE in Guatemala City, and I have had the opportunity to get to know the incredibly hard-working staff and clients that make this foundation what it is. FAPE was founded over 25 years ago and holds a strong social mission to help improve the lives of Guatemalans living in a state of poverty in both urban and rural areas.

The core of FAPE’s lending structure is in providing small group loans; however, with the support of Kiva and lenders like you, they have begun offering slightly larger individual loans to borrowers with proven track records. The partnership with Kiva has allowed FAPE to support their clients in this new way and has in turn provided their clients with access to larger loans. Over the past year and a half of working with Kiva, FAPE has lent $150,000 to over 147 borrowers and has served to expand businesses and to improve the quality of life of many clients.

In addition to offering small business loans, FAPE also works with a number of pilot projects in an attempt to continue providing support and education to the communities they serve. A few of these projects include providing in-depth business training to clients, health care facilitation, and an extremely interesting project in the Santa Teresa Women’s Prison, located in Guatemala City.

FAPE was one of the only organizations to respond to the Guatemalan government’s request for rehabilitation programs in the prisons. Over the past two years, they have conducted a series of small business training seminars for the female prisoners and have disbursed about eight small loans – four of which were funded by Kiva lenders. I had the opportunity to visit Santa Teresa Prison twice during my time in Guatemala and spoke with several of the women, and I was overwhelmed by their commitment, responsibility, and true desire to learn.

One of the most dedicated women of the group is Mirna Lau. Mirna has a bubbly personality, an infectious smile, and a truly entrepreneurial spirit. Near the end of 2008, she took out a loan of $625 for a bread and pastry business that she planned to start. Much of the food consumed at Santa Teresa is brought in by the families and friends of prisoners and then sold to other inmates. Soon after receiving her loan, Mirna’s business plans fell apart. Rather than dwell on her misfortune, and knowing that she had monthly payments to make, Mirna taught herself how to make crafts out of felt and within months had built up a profitable business. In February and March of this year, she sold over 60 items and continues to have a waiting list for custom orders. She has had to start hiring other women to help her in order to meet the demand. When I spoke with Mirna, she was incredibly grateful to FAPE and to the Kiva investors who believe in her and who have given her an opportunity that she otherwise would never have had.

Mirna’s story exemplifies the true spirit and objectives of FAPE. The foundation isn’t just about issuing loans. It’s about creating a supportive and long-lasting relationship with the clients and about providing opportunity where oftentimes there is none.

From Kiva, FAPE and all the hard working borrowers here in Guatemala, we thank you for your continued support.

Submitted by Andrea Bouch, Kiva Fellow with FAPE