Lindas Estrellas Group

Cristina, forty-nine years old, is a widow and mother of two adult children who still support her. She studied until the eighth grade but had to leave school due to lack of resources. Since she was young,

Cristina has worked selling food, and through hard work, she gradually increased her income. Twelve years ago, she switched from selling food to baking bread for street sales and custom orders; her son helps her with deliveries. Ten years ago, she opened a convenience store and, over time, added the sale of plastic utensils. For the past two years, she has also been selling American clothing in a rented space where her daughter helps her. With the Kiva loan, she wants to buy more clothing to keep the store well-stocked. Her goal is to continue growing, to have a larger space to offer bread, utensils, and new and used clothing. She also dreams of opening a steakhouse, a tortilla shop, and acquiring a vehicle to distribute the bread more easily.

Cristina is the president of the Friendship Bridge "Lindas Estrellas" community bank, made up of eight other women from the Suchitepéquez Department/state. Most of them are involved in selling spare parts, second-hand casual clothing, tire repair, dairy products, jewelry, fruit, tortillas, event planning, and pet food. The "Microcredit Plus" program is important for these women, as it provides them with monthly training where they learn about health, business, family, and women's issues.

Thank you, Kiva lenders.

In this group: Vilma Del Carmen , Yoselin Maricela, Cielo Bianca Belen, Isabel Nicolasa , Sonia Elizabeth, Cristina Evangelina, Florinda , Herlinda Sheyla Fernanda, Karina Elizabeth

Translated from Spanish by Kiva volunteerCindy Kendall. View original language description.