Adding to basket
Ericka is 25 years old, married, and has three children (ages 1 to 9). Her oldest son is in his third year of elementary school. Due to a lack of financial resources, she only attended formal school for four years. Her husband sells pillows and men's clothing.
As an empowered woman, Ericka has started two business ventures in the last five years, a food business and making and selling pants for girls. For her clothing business, she has rented a place at a market and sells six days a week. On Fridays, together with her three sisters, she sells delicious food in a rented place at a different market.
To keep her businesses running, she needs money to invest in them. She will use the Kiva loan to buy fabric, and a sewing machine to increase the production of her clothing business. Her goal is to build a shop and a house of her own.
Eight women who speak the K’iché language and Spanish form the Friendship Bridge communal bank group called “María Auxiliadora”. These women live in the department of Totonicapán, and some sell casual clothing. Others have small dining halls.
On a monthly basis, they participate in training sessions where they learn practical lessons on topics such as business, health, women, and more. This training teaches good business management practices and how to avoid over-indebtedness. These women continue to fight to provide better opportunities for their children.
Thank you, Kiva lenders, for supporting these ventures.
In this group: Maria , Antonia Vicenta , Isabel , Sandra Catarina , Catarina , Marcelina Angelica , Ericka Maria , Francisca Nohemi
Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteer Jarita Acosta. View original language description.
