Marìa Guadalupe Jimenez Ortiz

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Thank you for your loan. It has been disbursed to Marìa Guadalupe Jimenez Ortiz by FAPE in Guatemala. We are excited to watch this business grow. Over the 11 months of this loan, FAPE will be collecting repayments from this entrepreneur and posting progress updates on the Kiva website.

Dear Kiva Lender,

You made a loan to a Kiva borrower in Guatemala that was posted by one of Kiva’s local field partners, FAPE (Fundación Para la Pequeña Empresa). This message is to update you on the impact that Kiva funds Kiva funds have made through FAPE and to let you know how you can continue to support FAPE’s work to provide financial services to the underserved and to alleviate poverty - one loan at a time.

Over the past three months, I have been working with FAPE in Guatemala City, and I have had the opportunity to get to know the incredibly hard-working staff and clients that make this foundation what it is. FAPE was founded over 25 years ago and holds a strong social mission to help improve the lives of Guatemalans living in a state of poverty in both urban and rural areas.

The core of FAPE’s lending structure is in providing small group loans; however, with the support of Kiva and lenders like you, they have begun offering slightly larger individual loans to borrowers with proven track records. The partnership with Kiva has allowed FAPE to support their clients in this new way and has in turn provided their clients with access to larger loans. Over the past year and a half of working with Kiva, FAPE has lent $150,000 to over 147 borrowers and has served to expand businesses and to improve the quality of life of many clients.

In addition to offering small business loans, FAPE also works with a number of pilot projects in an attempt to continue providing support and education to the communities they serve. A few of these projects include providing in-depth business training to clients, health care facilitation, and an extremely interesting project in the Santa Teresa Women’s Prison, located in Guatemala City.

FAPE was one of the only organizations to respond to the Guatemalan government’s request for rehabilitation programs in the prisons. Over the past two years, they have conducted a series of small business training seminars for the female prisoners and have disbursed about eight small loans – four of which were funded by Kiva lenders. I had the opportunity to visit Santa Teresa Prison twice during my time in Guatemala and spoke with several of the women, and I was overwhelmed by their commitment, responsibility, and true desire to learn.

One of the most dedicated women of the group is Mirna Lau. Mirna has a bubbly personality, an infectious smile, and a truly entrepreneurial spirit. Near the end of 2008, she took out a loan of $625 for a bread and pastry business that she planned to start. Much of the food consumed at Santa Teresa is brought in by the families and friends of prisoners and then sold to other inmates. Soon after receiving her loan, Mirna’s business plans fell apart. Rather than dwell on her misfortune, and knowing that she had monthly payments to make, Mirna taught herself how to make crafts out of felt and within months had built up a profitable business. In February and March of this year, she sold over 60 items and continues to have a waiting list for custom orders. She has had to start hiring other women to help her in order to meet the demand. When I spoke with Mirna, she was incredibly grateful to FAPE and to the Kiva investors who believe in her and who have given her an opportunity that she otherwise would never have had.

Mirna’s story exemplifies the true spirit and objectives of FAPE. The foundation isn’t just about issuing loans. It’s about creating a supportive and long-lasting relationship with the clients and about providing opportunity where oftentimes there is none.

From Kiva, FAPE and all the hard working borrowers here in Guatemala, we thank you for your continued support.

Submitted by Andrea Bouch, Kiva Fellow with FAPE

Last March, you helped fund Maria with her loan. Maria has actually paid back her loan in full, but because of an error in reporting, this did not get reported on Kiva. You should see this reflected on the this month's repayment data.

Maria Guadalupe used most of her loan to buy cloths for the store. She is happy because with this loan, she has been able to move get ahead in her business and help out her kids. She also used part of the loan to invest in selling tuna, and other food, which she does at night when she is not working at her store. She has actually gotten another loan, and is in the process of moving ahead with her business even further.

For the past three months, I have been happily serving as a Kiva Fellow with FAPE, Kiva’s field partner in Guatemala City. As you may already be aware, all of Kiva’s loans are disbursed by its field partners to make the process as efficient as possible. It is the purpose of a Kiva Fellow to work with Kiva’s field partners to propagate Kiva’s core beliefs. FAPE and Kiva have been working together for over two years, helping to lend more the $215 thousand dollars to Guatemalan entrepreneurs. In my time here, I have been able to witness many of the successes and hardships faced by both Kiva borrowers and FAPE.

What has most surprised and excited me has been FAPE’s dedication to the Guatemalan community here in the areas surrounding the capital city. All of their loan officers—the people who actually hand the checks over to the entrepreneurs—live within the communities that they serve. This means that not only do they get to know Kiva entrepreneurs, but they also go through some of the same living experiences that Kiva entrepreneurs go through.

One of Kiva’s main goals is to extend access to credit to those who have been left out of the economic system. Because of the large Mayan heritage in Guatemala (about 40% of the population according to Wikipedia), many Kiva entrepreneurs do not speak Spanish but rather one of 22 Mayan dialects. This could be a reason why some of them have had difficulty accessing credit in the past. But with FAPE’s integration in the community, this is not a problem, as the loan officers also speak the languages that the Kiva entrepreneurs speak.

Bertha Carmelina Tohon provides a poignant example of this communal feeling. She lives in the small town of San Martin, just outside of Guatemala City, where she has a local eatery. She first started receiving small loans to invest in her restaurant as part of a group of women. When she proved that she could pay back her loans on time, she was able to get a larger individual loan through Kiva. Whenever I visited her town, she always made sure that I ate lunch at her place, which usually was a thick, corn-based stew typical of rural Guatemala.

In addition to her restaurant, she also has two other businesses: a typing school and making clothing. If you ask Bertha why she works so hard, she’ll tell you it’s for her kids' futures. And right now, with the help of Kiva and FAPE she is able to move ahead supporting her kids. One of her kids, as I write this, is finishing studies to become a doctor. And here I stumble upon one of the beautiful things about microfinance—with a loan, not only are you supprorting the entrepreneur, but you are also supporting her children. Kiva loans help on an individual level for the present, and a structural level for the future.

In December, FAPE invited Bertha to cook at the annual Christmas party. She obliged and whipped up one of her delicious stews for the occasion. FAPE was supporting Bertha. Bertha had been funded by Kiva. It was a joyous representation of Kiva’s mission: connecting through lending to help alleviate poverty.

Thanks for continuing to support FAPE and Kiva. Click here see FAPE's loans currently fundrasing on Kiva. Click here to join FAPE's lending team.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Lapedis

Kiva Fellow