Las Rosas 2 Group

Thirty-one-year-old Norma shared that she graduated receiving her diploma in early childhood education. However, she was never able to find work in that field. She married an electrician and the couple are parents of two children who are two and seven years old. For eight years, Norma has raised chickens and also earned income from a weaving business. She learned to weave from her mother and can weave “huipiles”/traditional blouses, shawls, and scarves using natural thread. Her goal is to move her business into its own larger space, furnish it comfortably, and leave it for her children. She requests her first Kiva loan to buy a quantity of thread.

Seven Maya Tz’utujil women live on the shores of the magnificent Lake Atitlan in the department/state of Solola. Norma is  President of their Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Las Rosas 2”. Some are weavers while others raise poultry or sell delicious regional snack foods like tamales and “chuchitos” (small tamales filled with corn dough, chicken or pork, and a delicious red sauce). They participate in the “Microcredit Plus” program of loans, monthly educational training (health, family, women, business), and bi-monthly healthcare services (exams, consults, family planning). These “plus” services are essential to their success as women, mothers, and entrepreneurs, since many of them have no education, and healthcare services can be challenging to access.

Thank you, Kiva lenders, for lending a helping hand!

In this group: Maria Gertrudis , Elena , Norma Martina , Deysy Maria , Lucila Elena , Betty Nicolasa , Silvia Benvenuta