My name is Dolores Eliett Blandon Chaves. I live in Managua, Nicaragua with my two sons. Before I worked with The Lending Journey I was unemployed. I understand the challenges of single women who have been abandoned by their husbands because at a young age my father was gone from our home and my mother was left to raise my sisters and myself. I was the oldest, so at 12 years old I had to quit my school and go to work full-time.
I was a good student, so having to quit school made me very sad. Having to get up early every morning to go to work six days a week was not much fun. My mother only made a few dollars a day so I had to work. Many of the women we have lent money to have come from very abusive relationships and I had seen that with my mother and father as well.
Our borrowers have come to understand that The Lending Journey is not just about giving loans to poor women. We help them build their self-esteem and their self-worth. Many of these women don’t believe in themselves because nobody has ever believed in them. Our loan tells them that we have faith in them and that we believe they can succeed.