Blanca Azucena Mayorga (Susy)

Susy with one of her handmade pizzas

50-year-old Blanca Azucena, better known as Susy, was born on a farm but moved to León at age 12 to start working on her own. For ten years, she worked as a babysitter in León until she became pregnant with her first child, at which point she moved to El Sauce to settle down with her husband and children. In El Sauce, Susy first began to work as a housekeeper, which she continued to do as she raised her five children. Supporting her children has been a challenge, so she was proud to see all of them through high school. Now, she is helping fund the education of two of her children who have continued to university.

Once all of her children were old enough to go to school on their own, Susy decided to start a food stand at a local school that she has now been running for 15 years. At her stand, she sells pizza, enchiladas and chancho con yucca (a traditional dish) all of which she makes herself. Her customers, which include students and teachers alike, can also purchase sodas, juices and many different candies. Students past and present have fond memories of Susy always being there with the best snacks at lunchtime. Since she started her stand, Susy has always loved her job, she was able to see her children through school and to cook every day, which is something she loves to do.

After 15 years, Susy wanted to expand and improve her business at the school, so she applied for a U$200 from Enlace. With this capital, she was able to expand her snack selection to include chewing gum, chocolate, cookies, and other small snacks for the children. Additionally, Susy is planning to improve the infrastructure of her stand by reconstructing the walls and making some chairs for her customers to sit. The capital from her Enlace loan helped Susy to purchase the necessary construction materials to begin her remodeling project.

--Written by Jessica Kroenert and Cameron Houser