Microloans Help Guatemalan Women Reach Their Goals

María Arcadia is an example of the power of a successful microcredit project.  With her first MayaWorks' microcredit loan, she purchased a cow and sold milk to the members of her small community of Agua Caliente.  That was in 2010. María Arcadia still has the cow and is still providing milk for her village but, just this past year, and after paying off her first loan, she requested another microloan to expand her livestock.  María Aracadia purchased a female calf that she will take good care of until she is able to produce a calf herself.  In this way, María Arcadia will grow the number of livestock on her farm.

MayaWorks is careful to teach loan recipients that they must consider all of the expenses related to their income generating project, not just the initial purchase cost.  For example, we asked María Aracadia what will it cost to feed the calf?  What will veterinary visits cost?  Will there be any expenses related to mating the cow?  What will the selling costs be when she has finished mating?  It is important to discuss all of these potential expenses with the loan recipient so she clearly can see whether the project will be profitable or not. After reviewing all of these costs, María Arcadia determined she could double her investment.

When women have success with their projects, when they really understand their projects, they feel confident to expand them and ultimately create more income for their families.  

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It’s incredibly inspiring to listen to the women’s stories.  One thing I hear over and over again is how grateful they are to have opportunities: Opportunities for ongoing work; opportunities to start small businesses; and opportunities to educate their children.   Elena Mux is grateful for the opportunities that have helped to improve her life.

Elena began to support her family at the age of 13 when her father died.  She earned money by weaving and sewing products that she sold in the local market.  Elena married young and continued to take on work as a weaver whenever it became available.

It wasn’t until Elena started working with MayaWorks that she began to earn a fair wage for her weaving.  She says the opportunity of ongoing work with MayaWorks has allowed her to be financially independent.  This has been critical for Elena: her husband died early in her marriage and she has been the sole supporter of her teenage son. 

Elena also sells Omnilife health supplements that she purchased with a MayaWorks microcredit loan.  Elena’s business has been very successful: she has many customers who seek her out for her products.  During a recent visit with her, she proudly showed me her inventory and thanked me for the opportunities MayaWorks has afforded her family.

MayaWorks also offers other opportunities to assist women toward economic security: Artisans have the opportunity to expand their ability to create beautiful products that will bring them more income through MayaWorks capacity building trainings; daughters of artisans have the opportunity to stay in school and reach their educational goals when they are granted a MayaWorks scholarship; communities have the opportunity to improve their reading skills through MayaWorks literacy workshops.

We cannot do this work without our supporters. Your support helps MayaWorks fund programs that expand financial and educational opportunities for women who are ready to take on the world!  Thank you and Happy New Year to you and yours.

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