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Martha, José and
their sons
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Martha was
born in the town of Correviento, but moved to El Sauce when she was young with
her mother, after her parents got divorced. She completed her education up to her
second year of high school. After that, she started working in order to support
her family while her mom worked in Costa Rica.
Shortly after, Martha met her husband José while swimming at Rio Grande
during holy week. They soon married and Martha has since been working at home.
Martha and
José have two children together, José David, who are 11 and 9. When their
oldest son was 8 years old, he fell very ill with dengue, hepatitis, and heart
problems at the same time. Martha and José almost lost their son, but luckily
he was able to recover. Following that, Martha went to Spain to look for work.
After a year and a half she moved back to Nicaragua because she missed her
children too much.
Today, Martha
and her husband, another microloan program participant, own a small business
selling food. During the week, she helps her husband by making empanadas and
frescoes for him to sell on his bicycle. On weekends, Martha makes and sells
soup and nacatamales. Nacatamales are a Nicaraguan dish traditionally served on
Sundays consisting of corn, pork, rice, and vegetables, all wrapped in a banana
leaf. She enjoys cooking very much and always makes sure to make special
nacatamales for her sons.
Martha’s loan
of U$200 helped her buy ingredients for her nacatamles such as oil, meat and
banana leaves. She was also able to invest in a few chickens for her soup. For
Martha, the most valuable thing she learned in her training from Enlace was how
to save the money she earns instead of spending it as she makes it. In the
future, she may apply for another loan to expand her business further.
--Written by Jessica Kroenert and Cameron Houser
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