Help Nicaragua's Poor Climb out of Poverty

“Before I didn’t have any savings, but now I have some for my family in a time of need.”

When Christina Guatemala first became a member of an Opportunity ASODENIC Trust Group in Jinotega, she had a tiny business making and selling tortillas and tamales to support her two children. Christina’s Trust Group motivated her to take a risk and expand. With careful savings and a second loan of $330, she opened a small store in the front of her home.

Today, as she sits in her pulperia, or store, Christina is living proof of the incredible change that is possible in the lives of the poor with access to credit. She now makes almost twice as much as she used to and has also managed to put aside $22 in savings, something she says is very important to her as a mother. “Before, I didn’t have any savings,” she explains, “but now I have some for my family in a time of need.”

Her loan officer calls her an inspiration to the rest of her Trust Group. “The other members see her life and are encouraged because she has done so well,” she says. The Trust Group is very supportive.  “When someone doesn’t have the money to repay their loan, we don’t wait for them to get it from somewhere, we pay it for them,” Christina says.

For Christina, the pulperia is the tool she will use to fulfill her dreams. “I want my kids to be somebody in the future,” she says. “I want them to get a good education and be special.”