Stories of Transformation.
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There is no better way to understand the tremendous impact of microfinance than through stories and pictures. Click on the following to watch a slideshow of assorted photos depicting a variety of people and businesses that microfinance is currently supporting. Each one of these represents a real person, with a real story, whose life has been transformed because of microfinance.
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This one comes from Opportunity International…
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Elsa Reyes
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
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Elsa Reyes and her husband Salomón Ríos have been partners in life ever since they were married in 1941. They have been partners in the family bread making business for five years. Salomón brings in the firewood, maintains the oven and sells the bread on the street. “We work as a team,” Elsa says. “He never sits down.”
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Bread is a family business for more than the happy couple. Daughter Alicia Munóz is an employee, while her husband, Santiago, pitches in without salary when he can. In all, Elsa and Salomón have 15 children and 45 grandchildren.
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Loans from Opportunity International allow Elsa to buy her ingredients in bulk, increasing profitability. Now on her 12th loan, Elsa has expanded her business by selling water from a fresh-water storage tank she recently installed. Profits from her business allowed Elsa to put in a cement floor in the cooking area outside her home. She turned her muddy yard, where she bakes, into a hygienic, cement bakery with a canopy. People know her bread is clean, so business is good.
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Elsa’s bread is a hit in her neighborhood, especially for children, to whom she always gives free samples. “God gives so we can share with everyone – mainly children,” she says.
