Palabra De Mujer Group

Gelene Delva is a young and spirited 18-year-old woman who lives in a very impoverished community on the outskirts of the capital of Santo Domingo. Gelene has applied for her first loan with Esperanza International for the amount of roughly $150 USD; she’ll be using the money from this loan to go to a local flea market where she can purchase used and new clothing in bulk.

The extra capital helps her not only to purchase more at once so she doesn’t have to spend money on the transportation for return trips, but it also decreases her overall costs, which will in turn slightly increase her profit margin.

Gelene says that it is very hard to maintain a successful business where she lives, but that she is willing to work hard and never give up. With the help and guidance she receives from her loan officer she will be given new tools and skills that will help her manage her business, savings, profits and merchandise better.

Gelene is an immigrant from Haiti and had to give up school a long time ago. She hopes that with the help of this loan her business will allow her to make enough money to pay for night classes at a local school so that she can learn to read and write. One day she also hopes to be able to own her own home and land where she can raise a family.

Gelene and her story represent the Palabra de Mujer Bank of Hope; she belongs to a group of 5 women who are taking out their first micro loan with Esperanza. Each of these women has taken out a similar loan to Gelene’s, and they will all be using them to invest in businesses that range from small corner grocery stores, to clothing sales, to raising pigs and goats—on behalf of all of them, and our team here at Esperanza, thank you for your support!



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

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