Fuente Para El Desarollo- Group 2

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to the Fuente para el Desarollo- Group 2 group, consisting of Josephina King Almeyda, Enma De Aza Ciprian, Benjamin Laureono, Fermina Marrero, Ana Espinal, Felix Salomon by Esperanza International, a partner of HOPE International in Dominican Republic. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 6 months, Esperanza International, a partner of HOPE International will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Dear lender,

My name is Nate Sooter, and I am working this summer in the Dominican Republic with Esperanza International. Part of my job here is to visit borrowers in the field who have previously received loans through Kiva, and find out how they are doing after successfully paying off their loan. This recently allowed me the chance to speak with Josefina Almeyda, who you lent to almost a year ago. She finished paying back this loan in April – and I apologize for the delay in getting an update to you. However, after my conversation with Josefina, I would love to share with you an update on her life!

As I mentioned, Josephina is pleased to share with you that she successfully paid back her previous loan on time. She used the money to be able to offer a wider selection of shoes to sell to those in her area. She buys shoes from a catalog, which delivers the shoes directly to her house, and then sells them at a slightly higher price in order to garner a profit. In the past, Josefina sold Avon, which is the maker of beauty products, but she found that they didn’t sell very well, and when she obtained a loan from Esperanza, she switched to selling shoes, which she described to me in Spanish as, “easier, faster and for a better profit.”

In fact, Josefina gave me an interesting look into what borrowing money was like before Esperanza (and through us, Kiva) came to her small town of Las Galeras in the north of the Dominican Republic. In the past, she had to depend on moneylenders who charged her a much higher interest rate. While she didn’t remember the exact percentage, she did recall that the interest rate was so high that it eliminated any of her profits – she would end up even or a little bit behind after the lender fully collected.

Today, Josefina is on her eighth loan cycle with Esperanza. With her business, Josefina has been able to create a better life for herself, her husband and her children. She lives with her four children, and with the extra profits form her business, she hopes to support her children who are seeking to go to study in the university. For example, her two older daughters, 20 and 17, want to be a lawyer and a nurse. Beyond university classes, Josefina is also trying to support her son, who is 15, is currently getting the attention of Major League Baseball scouts. He is spending time in Santo Domingo to see if a baseball career is a possibility, and Josefina is making sure that she is able to take care of him, even when he is not living at home.

Josefina has also been able to make improvements to her home. Here in the Dominican, it is a big improvement if a house is made out of cement blocks, rather than wood. She has recently been able to replace some of her house with these blocks. As well, money has gone to paying for a television, dresser, and other amenities within the house. Profits also go toward paying for unforeseen medical expenses, and Josefina is very thankful that her business has provided the opportunity to make sure her family is taken care of medically.

In the future, Josefina shared me with me her wish to continue with loans from Esperanza. Though her current loan was not funded directly through Kiva, she hopes in the future to start selling natural medicine (herbs and other natural remedies). She’s not sure when she’d start selling this, and has not completely decided yet, but it is an exciting possibility for her in the future, and one which she sees as earning even more profits.

Josefina wants to thank you for your generous loan on Kiva. It has made a great difference in her life. I would encourage you to continue to find ways to give on Kiva, as women and men just like Josefina truly use these funds to improve their living situation. You can be assured that your loan does make a difference!

Thank you again!