Doña Yolanda Velásquez is currently 47 years old. She is married and, together with her husband, has three children. They live in Barrio Patzité, Momostenango.
Before meeting FUNDAP, she worked selling catalog products, which did not generate much profit and wasn’t enough to support her husband with household expenses or her children’s education. “I wanted to earn more income, but I didn’t have enough capital to invest,” she explains. In fact, Doña Yolanda had a job, but she was laid off during the pandemic crisis.
With the desire to support her family, she applied for her first loan with FUNDAP through the Las Momostecas Village Bank, for Q3,000 in August 2021. She used the funds to start selling traditional clothing. Additionally, she had previously begun selling eggs during the pandemic, but lacked the capital to grow that business—so she decided to invest in it to generate greater profits.
Doña Yolanda then applied for an individual loan to buy laying hens and start egg production and sales. Her first individual loan was for Q20,000, and just a month ago, she expanded her loan—continuing to invest in growing her poultry farm.
She is a reliable and consistent loan client, which led to her being invited to participate in leadership congresses at the Momostenango branch. She stands out in her group as a person committed to growth and self-improvement.
Since joining FUNDAP, she has benefited from various services, including Boost Your Dreams, Medical Clinics, and Agricultural Technical Assistance.
She has also applied the knowledge gained from the courses she attended. She now follows a savings culture, keeps detailed records of her business income and expenses, and has learned technical practices to care for her hens—ensuring better growth and improving the quality of the eggs they produce daily.
Over the years, she has reinvested her business earnings to support her household and her children’s education. She is now building an additional henhouse to house 150 more laying hens, and she dreams of opening a convenience store to better serve her community.
Currently, she is in her eighth cycle with the Las Momostecas Village Bank and her second in the Microcredit Program. She is a recognized leader known for her perseverance and her active participation in her group and community. Today, she manages a poultry farm with 360 laying hens, a clothing business, and a cosmetics sales venture.
She is deeply grateful to FUNDAP for all the financial, technical, and motivational support she has received, which encourages her to keep striving toward her goals.
