In her own words

Meet Julia.  Since joining the micro-credit program, she and her business partner Emma have started up a “fritanga,” a restaurant specializing in fried foods. Julia wrote this letter of thanks to the people who invested in her (original in Spanish, below).

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My name is Julia and I’ve been a participant in the Micro-credit program since November 2013. I live in Laurel Galan, a community about 5 minutes from the Self-Help office in Quinta Lidia. I’ve received 3 loans now.

With the first loan, I bought zinc for my home and, with the remaining money, I bought supplies for my business. With my business partner, Emma Mondragon, a local teacher and friend, I sell enchiladas, tacos, fried dough, repocheta and meats off the grill. The second loan provided the money we needed to buy more supplies to improve and grow our business, like two large cooking pots. We used the third loan to buy 3 seats and a table. By combining our money, we are able to buy supplies and continue to expand our business.

We feel very proud and motivated to be a part of this program because, not only do we receive loans, but we have learned so much in the associated training classes. Using the skills we learned in Self-Help trainings, we have been able to grow and maintain our home gardens, which have benefited us greatly. We are also very thankful to all the donors who support us here in Nicaragua and who never forget that we work hard and have a great deal of appreciation. Thank you to Self-Help and all of its supporters.

Julia