When we started working in Los Cedros and bringing teams to help the community, we had a need for someone to provide meals while working in the area. Luisa was working in other another town as a cook but it was very hard, long rides on the bus and very little money. We offered Luisa the role to cook for the “weak stomached gringos” and she graciously accepted.
Luisa soon proved to be a very entrepreneurial, and we began working with her to sell clothing for the community. Every time that a team came to Nicaragua they brought bags of clothes that had been donated. From the profits a portion went to her and other portion went to support the school feeding program.
During that time Luisa and her husband German where taking some business classes at Eben Ezer church; after the class the teacher told us that she was a very smart business women and had some great ideas. Within a short period of time Luisa had developed a business plan for a “pulperia” (small convenience store) and presented it to us for consideration.
UNIDOS had been working to start a micro-finance fund, and through this process Luisa became our first borrower. Today Luisa is faithfully paying back her loan and running the successful pulperia. She knows very well that her repayment is helping enable other loans for people in her community. She still cooks for our teams and remains a very loving and welcoming person.
