Yolanda Apaza De Chura

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Yolanda Apaza De Chura by Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER in Peru. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 3 months, Manuela Ramos / CrediMUJER will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

As a Kiva Fellow living in Puno, Peru, I had the opportunity to meet with Yolanda Apaza de Chura and discuss her most recent loan from the Microfinance Institution (MFI), Manuela Ramos, through Kiva. Yolanda is a member of the community bank, “El 24 de Junio” (“June 24th”) and has been taking out loans with Manuela Ramos for three years. With her most recent loan of $1,000, Yolanda purchased two cows from Acora, Peru and sold the cows at the local market in Ilave, south of Puno, along the shores of Lake Titicaca.

In the past, Yolanda purchased small animals, such as guinea pigs, sheep and chickens, which she fattened on her small plot of land and sold at the local market in Ilave. She says her loans from Manuela Ramos allowed her to save money, increase her capital and eventually have enough funds to be able to pay for the trip to Acora and transport cows back to Ilave. Although she is happy she has been able to change her trade, she says that people in Ilave always try to barter with her for a lower price and it’s hard to make a substantial profit. She hopes to be able to continue to work and help support her family.

A glimpse at the MFI, Maneula Ramos: Manuela Ramos is an organization that was founded in Peru in 1978 and is dedicated to the implementation of programs and projects that advance the rights of Peruvian women. They have more than ten offices throughout Peru and seven of those are operating with a microfinance program. Their programs include educating women, primarily in the rural areas of Peru, about gender equality, domestic violence, women’s rights and environmental awareness. Twelve years ago, Manuela adopted a Microfinance program, CrediMujer, that assists groups of 15-30 women in coming together, forming a community bank and taking out a loan together that they use for their individual businesses; this is where Kiva comes in, providing interest free capital for Manuela Ramos to loan. These community banks allow women to work together in idea building and sharing, create accountability to repay the loan (if one women defaults then the entire community bank defaults and no woman in this bank may take out another loan) and enable the organization to work more efficiently (the loan officers make visits to the community bank meetings rather than each individuals place of business).