With some help from Operation Blessing, Vilma learned how to make sandals. The new trade will bring her family the income they need.

ZACAPA, Guatemala – Vilma works hard to support her family, but as a single mother of three, it never seems to be enough.

Last year, Vilma’s husband left her alone to raise their children in a house made of tin and cardboard. In order to provide food for her family, Vilma made tortillas to sell and also did laundry for others in her community. But the money she earned barely paid for essentials like rice, beans, and vegetables.

Vilma’s eldest child, Esmin, took an after school job to help their family. The 14-year-old earns $1.50 a day distributing water around the community, giving half his earnings to his mother to purchase food, and using the other half to buy supplies he needs for school.

But even with all of the hard work and her son’s contributions, making ends meet was not easy for Vilma. But then she learned of OB Guatemala’s microenterprise project in her community called Shoe Shop of Blessing.

Already, the Shoe Shop of Blessing works with 7 widowed or abandoned mothers.

Vilma began working at the shop learning how to make sandals—a more lucrative business than laundry. Now that she is trained, Vilma is making 48 pairs of sandals each week, earning around $200 each month. The increase in her income will help provide her children with what they need. And with the shoe shop located close to her home, Vilma can still be there to take care of her children.

Shoe Shop of Blessing currently works with seven moms like Vilma, all of whom are widows or single mothers who have been abandoned.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

This microenterprise venture is one of many Operation Blessing projects touching lives around the world. You can be a part of improving the quality of life for impoverished communities by supporting these and other life-changing programs.

 

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