La Esperanza Group

The La Esperanza (“Hope”) Committee is based in Marketalia. Marketalia is a settlement in San Lorenzo, an area where a large number of homeless and landless people gathered and, following a mass protest, forced the government to purchase and allocate it to them.

The committee is managed by several women who are experienced in organisational matters. One of these women is Maria Rosa Dominguez, affectionately known as Ña Michi, meaning “Little Lady” due to her small stature.Ña Michi is a hard-working woman who starts work at four in the morning every day, collecting and selling recyclable items made from plastic, copper and similar materials to mainly large businesses, which are the only ones with recycling facilities.

This loan will be divided equally amongst the members of the committee and each member will use her share in her particular area of activity. Some, for example, will purchase ingredients such as noodles, rice, beans, meat, milk, etc. to sell from their grocery stalls. One of the women will use the loan to purchase a massage table; others will use the loan to buy cosmetics, lotions, perfumes, and clothing for sale to their customers. However, because of her age, Ña Michi no longer has the strength to push her heavy cart full of scrap items every day. So she will use her share to buy and sell second-hand clothes.

Translated from Spanish by MuseAndThinker, Kiva Volunteer

Todas retiran G. 300.000 cada una. Son muy organizadas ya que algunas señoras que conforman el comité poseen experiencia en trabajos de grupo. Una de las líderes es la señora María Rosa Domínguez a quien cariñosamente la llaman Ña Michí, que significa señora chiquita en el idioma Guaraní, por ser ella muy pequeña de estatura.

Ña Michi es muy trabajadora, todos los días empieza su jornada a las cuatro de la mañana. Ella se dedica a la recolección y venta de artículos reciclables, las empresas grandes son sus principales clientes ya que son ellos los que compran elementos de plástico, cobre y chatarra para reciclar. Ella cuenta que por su edad ya no tiene fuerzas para recorrer las calles empujando su carro que todos los días lo llena y es muy pesado, por lo que ella utilizará el crédito para invertir en la compra de ropas usadas para dedicarse a la venta de estos.

Las demás señoras destinarán sus créditos a la compra de productos como, fideos, arroz, poroto, carne, leche entre otros para la venta en sus despensas y kioscos, otra de la señoras desea adquirir una cama para masajes y otras comprarán cosméticos, cremas, perfumes ropas y lencería.

About Group Loans
In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a group of individuals bound by a group guarantee. Under this arrangement, each member of the group supports one another and is responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members if someone is delinquent or defaults. Learn more