{"id":42849,"date":"2018-01-18T16:19:44","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T21:19:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging21.finca.org\/uncategorized-en-ca\/fresh-start-later-in-life"},"modified":"2024-11-04T02:07:31","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T07:07:31","slug":"fresh-start-later-in-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finca.org\/en-ca\/fresh-start-later-in-life","title":{"rendered":"Access to Microfinance Brings a Fresh Start Later in Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

On any given day, Rosa Us Zacarias\u00a0can be found\u00a0standing in the corner of her bustling little flour mill.\u00a0Consisting of just one room, the\u00a0mill was constructed with cinder block on two sides, timber on the other two, and a single sheet of aluminum running overhead.\u00a0It is seldom quiet.<\/p>\n

Rosa spent the better part of her life in Santa Cruz del Quich\u00e9,\u00a0Guatemala<\/a>\u00a0sewing and mending clothes by candlelight. But at the age of 51 she had grown bored of it. Most of all, sewing was never enough to better her family\u2019s living situation. Their life was overshadowed by a dirt floor home and the noticeable absence of electricity and running water.<\/p>\n

Defying the odds that you can\u2019t teach an old dog new tricks, Rosa was ready for a late-life career move.<\/p>\n

\u201cYears ago, my late husband ran a flour mill in another area. Living here, I noticed families had to travel far to find a mill, so I thought it\u2019d be a good business,\u201d Rosa recalled.<\/p>\n

There was only one problem: grinding machines used in flour mills are quite expensive when you\u2019re surviving on limited income.<\/p>\n

Finding Success Later in Life<\/h2>\n

Rosa had heard about FINCA and applied for a\u00a0microfinance<\/a>\u00a0loan. Shortly thereafter, Rosa paired her initial loan of $675 with a small savings to purchase her very first machine. And she hasn\u2019t looked back.<\/p>\n

Three times a day \u2013 about an hour before each mealtime \u2013 a long line of customers forms at Rosa\u2019s mill. The line extends out the door, around the corner, and down the dusty road. Women, men and children can be found eagerly waiting. Each\u00a0carries a large sack of raw corn that\u00a0will be turned into flour for making tortillas, a local delicacy.<\/p>\n

As customers\u00a0empty the contents of their sacks into the metal funnel, a cacophony of sound\u00a0thunders from the machine. To keep up with the constant demand, Rosa added a second machine, again using a FINCA loan. Both machines are typically in full use,\u00a0and\u00a0Rosa\u00a0employs the help of her two sons to keep things running.<\/p>\n

“A FINCA loan is what enabled me to start this business,” said Rosa. “And this business is our main support.”<\/p>\n

\"FINCA