Mireya

Loan description:

Mireya is 33 years old and separated. She has four children aged between five and 17. She has one daughter and three sons. Two of her children are studying at primary school and two are at high school. Mireya rents a part of a hall in the town of Vilcabamba where she cooks and serves food to people in the local area. She has been engaged in this business for over seven years now. Before she started her own small restaurant she used to stay at home and look after the house and the children. However, her husband left her and Mireya had to suddenly provide for all her family's needs. Everyday she cooks breakfast, lunch and dinner for people in the town and since she has been a member of the microfinance organisation, FACES, she has been able to offer more variety and replace her stove. Her dishes are now so popular that Mireya recently started a take-away service for construction workers and other local people. At the weekend Mireya is very busy since a lot of people come to the town centre to go to the weekend market. She now hires one woman to help her meet the demand for her services. In the hall where Mireya cooks her food there are two other small restaurants, Mireya says that she is successful at attracting customers to her business because she always has the best quality dishes and she serves all her dishes with love. Mireya will use this loan to buy more ingredients in bulk and improve the equipment she has to cook. She will repay her loan over eight months.