Betina Ugalde Suárez

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Betina Ugalde Suárez by EDESA in Costa Rica. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the 36 months of this loan, EDESA will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Betina met with me with the sweetest, warmest, most maternal demeanor. After discussing at length her loan and her involvement in the women-only Community Credit Enterprise (ECC), Bansuperafe, she spent an hour or so walking around town introducing me to the other women of the ECC.

With her loan of $1,050 Betina bought four young female cows, novillitas, that at 9 months old will begin producing milk for both household consumption and to sell to neighbors. She says it’s quite simple to care for them; they eat bananas which are grown on the farm and otherwise just need to avoid fleas and parasites.

Betina is beyond appreciative of her local ECC. She says the group of women is a precious union of which to be a part, and that they work so well together. Living in an area where machismo is so present, Betina confides that women generally feel stuck inside their homes, without the ability to leave as they wish. They mostly care for the house and children all day every day. The existence of the ECC, run by the women members, “nos da algo de vivir,” gives them something to live for. “Ya uno está superando,” or “Now we are surpassing limits, excelling as individuals.”

Needless to say, Betina loves being a part of a women only Community Credit Enterprise (ECC). Additionally she is grateful to have the Kiva program available to them as a fountain of resources.

See the picture of Betina and her grandson.

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