“Andrea: Going From Shy and Insecure To Being A Community Leader”

Andrea Avelina Gironda is a client of Pro Mujer in Bolivia since last year. “I found out about Pro Mujer when its staff came to visit my neighborhood in El Alto and invited me to create my own communal bank group comprised of women,” she said.

Andrea owns a small grocery store and her life changed since her first loan cycle in Pro Mujer: She grew her capital and expanded her business so she could sell breakfast and lunch.

Andrea also transformed herself after improving her work skills thanks to the educational services that Pro Mujer has provided her. She went from being a shy and insecure woman to a leader who helps other women in her group, who, in her own words, “sometimes need a strong voice.”

Things at home also improved. Andrea says that now she communicates with her family more than before and she can pass along what she learned at Pro Mujer to her husband and sons.

The past year has been a year of positive impact. She visits the doctor’s office whenever she needs to or when one of her family members is sick. Andrea says she is grateful to her credit advisor because she reminds all the women in the group to visit Pro Mujer’s offices not only when they are sick but on a regular basis to control their weight and body size, and to get a Pap smear.

Since Andrea Avelina became a client of Pro Mujer in Bolivia, her life changed for the better.

Andrea wants to grow her small business even more and she dreams of having a bigger grocery store with more products and to offer wholesale trade. She also wants to get a bigger stove so she can serve more clients at her small restaurant.

Humbly, Andrea explains that, “every day I do my best to help my family and to give them the best I can. I want my sons to have a better future. I have some bad days at work, but we always have food at home. What keeps me going is that I always find a word of support from my credit advisor and friends at Pro Mujer. When the group gets together, we laugh a lot, and we really enjoy those two hours we spend every Friday.”