Loan Recipient Profiles + Video with subtitles

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet a few more people who have received a loan from Kiva/Prisma. The first people we visited were part of the group "New Hope." Gabriela, the group leader (who's just 20 years old!), sells tamales every day in front of the public hospital. Her mother helps her most days as she sells at least 50 tamales every day! In this picture you can see her mother and if you look closely inside the bin, some tamales wrapped in the traditional banana leaf.

From Honduras

The second member of the group is Gabriela's father...Gabriel! He goes to out to fishing towns near the borders of El Salvador and Nicaragua on the Pacific Coast where he sells used American clothing to fishermen. He travels a few hours in bus with a huge sack full of old American high school t-shirts, Delta Airlines caps, and other used clothing from the good 'ol U.S. of A. With the loan he hopes to grow his business and one day buy a car so that he doesn't have to rely on the bus. Here Gabriel is showcasing his merchandise.

From Honduras

The third member of the group bakes and sells bread as well as small items like lollipops, potato chips, and chocolate covered bananas (which she graciously let us try). She also invests in Honduran soccer jerseys around this time of year when they will have a lot of big games. It's one of the smartest things she can do because every time the national team plays (especially against big rivals like the U.S.), the city shuts down. The only thing I can compare it to is the Super Bowl; businesses close early, supermarket workers can wear soccer jerseys instead of uniforms, and EVERYONE watches the game. Here she is in her home/business.

From Honduras

Finally, here are all three from the group together:

From Honduras

After meeting with them, I interviewed Maria Vasquez about the loan she received from Kiva for her door-to-door clothing business. You won't believe this view from her home!

From Honduras

Unfortunately, the government declared the area she lives in a "Danger Zone" because the neighborhood is built on the side of a mountain and could be wiped out by a landslide. But on a lighter note, she says the loan she received really helped her expand her business and now she has one daughter in the process of earning a college degree! In the future she hopes to go to Mexico (where she can buy clothes at a lower cost) and sell them here in Honduras.

Today I spent the day preparing the credit applications for Gabriela's group (each person has to have their own application) and working on follow-ups for Kiva. Not nearly as exciting as going out to visit people, but it's part of the process, too.

Just a few side notes...
I posted a few new videos that may show up on the left side of the page but if not, just go to youtube.com and type in "Scottshuff23" and all of the video's I've posted will come up.
If you've got some time on your hands, here is an 8 minute long video of Doña Catalina (who I wrote about a few days ago) showing her home and speaking with Dilcia, the loan officer. I've added subtitles of what I think they are saying but I could be wrong so please correct me if you notice any mistakes! Just click here!
And finally, here's a shorter video of a lady named Esperanza getting ready to have her photo taken for Kiva's site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73PtpaZ7HAw

Hope this post finds you doing well!