Santa Elena Group

In the highlands of Guatemala, it is quite common for girls under eighteen to marry and have children. Forty-seven-year-old Marta, a mother of four children who range in age from fourteen to thirty, was seventeen when she had her first child. She now has three grandchildren. Marta has no formal education but went to a sponsored adult school for two years. She is married to a driver of a “microbus”. Six years ago, she opened her business, making delicious regional snack foods and complete lunches. She advertises on social media. She has one employee. One of her sons makes deliveries for her. Marta shares that she has to sell as a street vendor and from her home because the rent increased in the building where she had her business. She requests her first Kiva loan to buy ingredients for her recipes and kitchenware. Her goals are to increase business and income, then find an affordable space to open her business.

Marta joined seven other Maya Kaqchikel women who also live in her community in the department/state of Sololá to form the Friendship Bridge Trust Bank “Santa Elena”. They learn how to manage their food, traditional textiles, used clothing, and jewelry businesses at monthly educational training. Every other month, they have access to basic healthcare services. The combination of loans, education, and health care is called “Microcredit Plus”.

"Esta foto ha sido manipulada para proteger la privacidad del prestatario".

Thank you, Kiva lenders!

In this group: Marta Micaela, Ana Luisa , Maria , Maria Elisa, Gloria Marina , Rosa Angelica , Maria , Karla Yuliza