Yerlin Rafaela

Yerlin Rafaela Espinoza is a 28-year-old beautician in El Sauce. She was born in El Sauce and was raised by her stepfather and grandfather; she never met her biological father, and has a distant relationship with her mother. Growing up without a mom has been her greatest challenge in life; she missed the support a mother would give. She has lived here her entire life, excepting the time she spent in Chinandega studying. She graduated from El Sauce’s high school, and then moved to graduate from a technical college with a degree in beauty. She has been with her husband for 11 years. He is her great inspiration; she admires how hard he works as a doctor and a lawyer, and how he provides for his family. She is the mother of two beautiful girls and an adorable little boy, who are her pride and joy.

Yerlin takes great pride in her work, and aims to leave every customer satisfied. At her beauty shop she dyes, cuts, and styles hair, as well as giving manicures and pedicures. She began learning her profession when she was 17 in her home with just a mirror and a chair. When Yerlin was in school, she worked in her husband’s pharmacy and selling clothing to support herself. She opened her shop three years ago, and it’s been growing ever since.

Using her loan from Enlace, Yerlin was able to buy better products and supplies for her studio, including professional hair dyes, which have enabled her to do a better job and thus increase her prices. She chose to work with Enlace as opposed to a bank because she wanted to work with professionals. With her extra profits and the bookkeeping strategies she’s gained from working with Enlace, Yerlin has been able to invest in her business and buy her children Christmas gifts. She hopes that in five years time her studio will be the biggest beauty parlor in El Sauce.

Norma Salazar

Norma Salazar is a 66-year-old natural medicine merchant in El Sauce. She sells medicine for many diseases and common ailments ranging from an upset stomach to herpes and cancer. Norma began learning her craft at a young age from her grandmother who often sent her to pick leaves that would be used to alleviate intestinal problems, headaches, fevers, cuts, etc. Her ancestors were involved in cultivating all the products she uses to create her medicine. As a kid Norma never attended a hospital, as her mother and grandmother would use natural remedies to tend to all of her medical needs.

Norma was born in Guayabo, Ocotal where she lived for 30 years. In Ocotal she studied up to the third grade in primary school. Growing up in a single parent home makes Norma long to have her family together. Now she tries to spend as much time as she can with her family as this unity makes her feel whole. She has been married for 53 years and is the mother of 13 children: 7 boys and 6 girls.

Norma has experienced a number of great challenges throughout her lifetime. In 1998, a hurricane struck Guayabo pushing Norma and her family to move to El Sauce for protection from environmental threats. The hurricane in Guayabo created landslides in the area that trapped a neighboring family of seven, killing two of the children in the process. This terrifying experience marked one of the most difficult moments in Norma’s life. Poverty has been a perpetual problem for Norma as it has followed her and trapped her family throughout her entire life. However, she is overjoyed today simply because she has a stable place to live. Norma was not able to pinpoint the happiest moment in her life, as every Christmas is special to her since she spends time with her whole family.

Norma says she is in a people business, her task is to provide her clients with the things they need. Enlace’s presentations and business plan have provided Norma with the expertise on how to run her business more efficiently. Prior to joining with Enlace she had neither experience nor knowledge on appropriate business strategies. She likes that the interest rates on microloans are low and hopes that in the future Enlace will increase the amount of money the project is lending. Norma used the loan to repair the refrigerator at her shop and would also like to purchase new display cases for her products. She has been able to see an increase in her profit margin as a direct result of her relationship with Enlace. Norma hopes to make her payments on time and to maintain a good relationship with Enlace so they can continue to work together.

--Written by Clarisol Salcedo, Carolyn Engelhardt, & Luke Quinlan

Maria Elena

 At 49 years old, Maria Elena Espinoza lives in the small community of San Ramon within the municipality of El Sauce. The government established San Ramon in efforts to provide land and housing to the victims of Hurricane Mitch whose homes were destroyed by the storm. Maria Elena grew up in Ocotal before moving to work in Costa Rica doing domesticity labor. She is the daughter of Norma Salazar, another Enlace client; Maria Elena has 6 children, the youngest of which is now 16 and the oldest is 29. Today she is married, lives with her youngest child, and enjoys spending time with her relatives who live in El Sauce.

Maria Elena has had to work hard throughout her entire life, as she was only 7 years old when she began selling tortillas, clothing, and cosmetics in Ocotal in order to help support her family. As the oldest of her siblings, she took responsibility at a young age in taking care of her younger brothers and sisters.

Today Maria Elena owns her own business and travels to nearby communities selling jewelry, shoes, and clothing. She began this business in El Sauce after returning from Costa Rica 17 years ago. She learned to make the clothing that she sells in a 6-month technical program; the program was paid by a scholarship. Maria Elena works independently in her practice and loves her job because of the satisfaction she gets out of doing it.

Maria Elena identifies her economic situation as having been greatest challenge throughout her life. Despite this continuous struggle, one of her happiest times is when she is working because it provides her with the resources she needs to bring home to be able to provide for her children. Maria Elena prides herself on honesty and is most gratified that she is able to work and support her family responsibly. Her biggest dream is to own and operate a very successful business in El Sauce. She wishes to be able to sell more without having to travel as much, especially considering a previous accident while traveling in which she fell and injured her spine.

Maria Elena chose to seek a loan through Enlace instead of a bank because with the latter she would have had to put her house at stake as collateral in order to receive the funds. She also would need to acquire expensive documents like official deed to her property, which is complicated due to the government’s provision of the land to the people of San Roman. She used the loan from Enlace to buy more products to sell and as a result her profits have increased significantly. For Maria Elena, knowledge about proper bookkeeping practices has been the most valuable thing that Enlace has taught her through its business training courses. Maria Elena plans to apply for another loan through Enlace soon so that she can continue to expand her business and care for her family.

--Written by Clarisol Salcedo, Carolyn Engelhardt, & Luke Quinlan

Marta Lorena Castillo

Marta is 27 years old and is currently working in her sister’s clothing shop in El Sauce. She lives in her sister’s house with her mother, son, nieces and nephews. While working at the clothing store she has been able to learn how the business operates; this knowledge has proved useful in running her own business. For the past five months Marta has been selling jewelry at her sisters shop; she hopes to open her own shop selling clothes, shoes, and jewelry.

Prior to working with her sister, Marta worked at Ludeca as a credit financier. Ludeca is a provider of reliability solutions and technologies to different industries. At Ludeca Marta was able to recognize the importance of making lasting relationships with her clients, as they are fundamental in the expansion of any business. Marta graduated with a degree in social work. Her degree has aided her in the cultivation of the relationships she has with her clients in her own business.

Marta grew up with her mother; her father left to Canada when she was two years old. They communicate via Skype and this has been their only form of contact. She admires her mother Angelina for raising her and her three sisters alone. She is proud of her sister because of her hard work and dedication to develop her business independently. Marta’s happiest moment in life has been to have her son.

Receiving the loan from Enlace helped Marta expand her business. She was able to buy more jewelry and has been able to collect positive returns. Marta sought a loan through Enlace because of the low interest rates offerings. Enlace’s presentations taught Marta to book keep and administer her money supply. She invests her profits in her business and also uses a percent for her personal needs. Marta is in the process of applying for another loan and hopes to continue cultivating her professional relationships with Enlace.

--Written by Clarisol Salcedo, Carolyn Engelhardt, & Luke Quinlan

Yader Isidro Esquivel Rivera

Yader with his wife, daughter, and grandson

Yader had a tough childhood because his family was always poor. He finished his education up to 6^th grade, but at age 12 he needed to start working to help support his family. He first began by cooking with his mother and selling the food that they made. Since then, he has developed a lifelong passion for cooking and still works with food today.

As of now, Yader works as a cook at a local bar/restaurant, however he is trying to start his own stand selling fast food such as hamburgers, hot dogs and sandwiches. He doesn’t like relying on others to earn money, which is why he decided he would like to start his own business. Eventually Yader hopes to open a restaurant where families can spend time together, as family is very important to him. Yader and his wife have 3 daughters and 9 grandchildren.

With his Enlace loan of U$200, Yader hopes to buy a caponera to sell his food, but since he is a recent participant in the program, he has yet to find a stall to buy. Despite this, he is enthusiastic about putting what he learned in his training to use, such as bookkeeping and how to better manage his money. In the future, he hopes to apply for another loan to get his restaurant started, but he says that depends on how well his first business does. 

--Written by Jessica Kroenert and Cameron Houser

Tanya Lissette Caballero Calvo

Tanya with some of her clothing

Tanya is a 25-year-old native of Telica, a small town outside of León. She finished her high school education and went on to study in León to be a medical lab technician. From time to time, it was difficult for her to finance her education because she was simultaneously trying to raise her 5-year-old daughter Britanny, so she decided to start a small business selling clothes that she bought in Managua.

After finishing her degree, Tanya moved to El Sauce with her daughter because she found a job at a local laboratory. Today, she works in the laboratory in the mornings and her afternoons are dedicated to her clothing business, which she has now transitioned into selling clothing exclusively for medical professionals. Tanya’s U$200 from Enlace helped her invest in more medical clothing, enabling her to make a greater profit.

According to her, the most important thing she learned from her training was to save money and to differentiate between necessary and unnecessary expenses. Right now, Tanya is saving up to open her own medical analysis laboratory in El Sauce. Eventually, she will invest her savings in new equipment for her lab, which she is hoping to open very soon. She is also considering applying for another loan from Enlace to have enough capital to start her new business off strong.

--Written by Jessica Kroenert and Cameron Houser

Shayla Maria Mairena Mandoza

Shayla outside her store

Shayla was born in El Sauce and is the oldest of three children. Her family was very poor when she was growing up, but both her parents were teachers so they ensured Shayla received a good education. After high school, Shayla went on to study psychology at UNIVAL (Universidad Internacional de la Integración de América Latina). After graduating however, she was unable to find a job in her field.

Since she could not find a job, Shayla decided to start a business with her father and together, they opened up a bookstore, which she still owns today. Shayla considers herself a very independent woman; though her husband also works, she enjoys contributing to the family income through her store. Her 15 year old daughter, also named Shayla, is the most important thing in her life, and everything she does is with her in mind.

Shayla, her sister, and two nieces 

In her store, Libreria Mairena, she sells a variety of goods including school supplies, craft supplies, and paper of various colors and sizes. For Shayla, the most fulfilling part of running her own store is attending and talking to her clients. Her loan from Enlace of U$200 helped Shayla better stock her store with items such as printer ink and tracing paper, which are very expensive.

In the future Shayla hopes that her business will be stronger because right now, business is slow. She is considering applying for another loan so that she can ensure her store is well stocked for her clients. Since her daughter will soon be graduating high school, Shayla wants to ensure that she is able to support her college education. She is grateful that Enlace taught her how to save money, and inspired by what she learned in her training, she recently opened a bank account for the first time. 

--Written by Jessica Kroenert and Cameron Houser