Economic Empowerment for 200 Women in Nicaragua

Sarita, 37 years old, married, mother of two girls, Karla 7 years old, and Hazling, 11 years old, she currently lives with her whole family in the community named Cruz Verde which is about 18.65 miles away from the main city of Rio San Juan – Nicaragua. Sarita and her family used to live in the community named Quinta Lidia, which was barely 4.35 miles away from the San Carlos city, but her husband had to travel a long distance to his work every day since he is a teacher in the community of Cruz Verde, after some time, the couple decided that it was better for them all to move together in one place to avoid more expenses and fatigue for the husband who used to daily commute those distances back and forth. Sarita along with her two daughters moved to Cruz Verde a mid last year, her daughters who are still in elementary school were moved to the school where their father is teaching.

In the community of Quinta Lidia, Sarita used to have a small business of selling few items of clothing as of pants, shorts, shirts, and T- shirts for adults and childrens. But, Sarita´s dream was to grow her business because she said she wanted to help her husband with the household expenses and for the education of their girls. On one occasion Sarita was invited by the Empwering Women Program officer to be part of this program in which she became interested and began to participate in all the training sessions that she considered necessary for her personal and business growth. Once she moved to the Cruz Verde community she look greater opportunity for her to achieve her dream as this community had more population density of people living on it. By that time she was receiving a basic bookkeeping training session from Self – Help International trought the women program, after those training she received loans provided by Self - Help International which were used by her to purchase more products for her small business this time she include more varieties of products such as clothes, purses, backpacks and shoes, and with the profits obtained, she reinvested in her small store until she had a more assorted, profitable business.   

Sarita shared with the Women Program Officer that when she lived in the community of Quinta Lidia she did not use her phone often, because her husband considered it was an unnecessary expense to make, and she was obedient all that time and didn´t use the phone if it was not really an emergencies, but when she arrived to the Cruz Verde community and stared her chlothes business, the customers began to ask her for her phone number in order to place orders online using differents platforms as of Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, inmediately Sarita realized how she was waisting her time and loosing money by not using those platforms to make bussiness transactions. She continued saying that she was disconnected from technology and starting that day she shared her phone number with all of her customers, because she realized that through the media she was selling more than ever, then, she decided that she had to use the media to grow in her business, realizing that she could not only promote her products but also that she could purchase from her suppliers. With the support of her two daughters (who by nature understand technology better than her) now Sarita has been learning how to use better her phone applications and platforms and sees the benefit of those skills to grow in her business. She remembers that in a training offered by the Women's Empowerment Program officer, she always advised to all of the women that the use of technology and media in the propper way can help people lives as everyone can be benefit by sharing information, promoting products or the simple fact of greet their families members, the loved ones.

Sarita now bring her two little daughters with her to participate in the training thaught by Self-Help International, because she now understands that the sooner they learn, the sooner they can make changes for a better future. Her childs have had participated in craft training such as making Piñatas and Funeral Crowns arragements, Sarita told us that when the girls learned how to make the piñatas they went to their homes very excited and made a piñata to celebrate a cousin's birthday, they are passionate about crafts and it is something that they like and in the future they can take advantage of those skills.

Sarita appreciate all the support she, other women and young girls are having in Self – Help International, because she feels that she have been changing for good in her attitudes, and raise her self-esteem, which is often low she said. And continued saying: I personally noticed my change not only in my business growth but also in personal life, my daughters and husband by accepting the changes for the better, now my husband sees that it is not use the media only to waste time and money, but to make my business flow and grow little by little.