Xejuyu Concepcion Group

Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to the Xejuyu Concepcion group, consisting of Maria Xotoy Xep, Emilia Solis Dolores, Olga Mercedes Bocel Juracan, Dominga Juracan Xitamul, Marcela Solis Tzunun, Maria Solis Tzunun, Santos Bixcul Dolores, Catarina Sotoy Julajuj, Santos Lopic Bocel, Marina Xiap Solis, Carmelina Toc Solis, Aurelia Lopic Bocel, Candelaria Lopic Bocel, Teresa Tzunun, Francisca Leja Sequec by Friendship Bridge in Guatemala. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the next 9 months, Friendship Bridge will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

To get to the town of Concepcion, where the Xejuyu Concepcion Group lives, I had to travel by pick-up truck on a rural mountain road plagued with potholes. In the countryside above Lake Atitlan, the women of Xejuyu Concepcion Group gather in a small house with large windows to let in sunlight. As I entered the room and sat down on one of the benches situated around the room, Candelaria Lopic Bocel welcomed me to the group at the beginning of the meeting.

Group Xejuyu Concepcion, along with all of the members of the Concepcion community, works in agriculture. The town is well known for its production of white onions. Aurelia Lopic Bocel follows that tradition with her career. She farms carrots and onions with one of her three children. Aurelia explained to me that the loan she received has been very helpful for improving her life. Before the loan, Aurelia didn’t have enough money for daily requirements in her home. With the extra money she was able to purchase goods for her kitchen and blankets for her chilly home. Business now is good, and she is happy she is able to pay back the loan. Emilia Solis Dolores agreed that the loan has been helpful and has given her advantages she wouldn’t have had without the extra money. However, she also admits that the group loan can be difficult when business is poor and not everyone has the money to pay back.

However, the women of Xejuyu Concepcion all agree that their business is steady and they’re confident about their abilities to pay back. They are all excited to complete this loan cycle and begin a new one to help continue their successes.