Mujeres Tzanchaj Group

Twenty-seven-year-old Lidia shares that she lives with her parents and two siblings in the department/state of Solola. She attended school for six years. Five years ago, she opened her business, embroidering traditional blouses by hand called “huipiles”. Lidia has fifteen employees and delivers three dozen each month. She requests her third Kiva loan to buy fabric and thread. She wants to expand the business, increase income, and employ more people from her community.

Lidia joined seven other women in her community who speak Maya Tz’utujil and Spanish and formed the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Mujeres Tzanchaj”. These ladies embroider “huipiles”, make colorful beaded jewelry, and sell casual clothing. They look forward to monthly meetings where they make loan payments and then participate in educational training, part of the “Microcredit Plus” program of loans, education, and healthcare. Recent topics for the training have been about first aid and family gardening. Every other month, a visiting nurse, who speaks their language, comes to their community and offers all kinds of exams, consults, and family planning. These “plus” services are crucial to the success of these women because they have little or no formal education, and healthcare can be challenging to access.

Thank you, Kiva lenders, for lending a helping hand to Lidia and her friends!

In this group: Joaquina , Francisca Sarai , Magdalena , Concepcion, Francisca , Lidia Yohana , Maria Candelaria , Susana