From Bubble Gum Sales to Her Own Restaurant… Celebrating Happiness and Success on International Women’s Day

“I love my work. My daughters, my family… All I do is for them,” says Betulia. She lives near the Nicaraguan border in Choluteca, the southernmost department of Honduras. Before joining Adelante she spent her days going door to door selling bubble gum for just pennies a pack. Then in 2008, she took out her first loan with Adelante for $119.

Slowly she expanded her inventory, first adding drinks, then selling snacks. She began teaching herself to make pastries and breads, and seeing the demand for other foods, started making tacos, enchiladas, and cassava dishes.

Now Betulia runs a popular restaurant in front of her home. Last year, her earnings and an individual loan of $714 allowed her to invest in a snack stand, fresh paint, and more tables to accommodate the growing number of customers.

Betulia beams when sighting the changes that she has made possible, not only to her restaurant, but to her home. Before taking advantage of Adelante’s financial and educational services, she, her daughters, her sister, niece, and mother all shared a couple of old mattresses in a small room, which had no locks. Slowly they began to make changes to the home, and after receiving two home improvement loans, they have seen drastic changes.

The family has two bedrooms and a large living room for Betulia’s family to enjoy and her Adelante assembly to gather. Walls with cracks have been replaced and she has installed locks to make their living space more secure. Her twelve-year-old is in 6th grade, and Betulia is determined to put her and her sister through high school and, one day, university. Her husband drives a truck route and is usually away. Betulia gives the greatest support, both financial and moral, to her household.

Betulia is currently planning to install electricity for her family and clients to enjoy refrigeration and lights. “Adelante gives me the strength to keep working,” she says. Likewise, we say. It is women like Betulia who give us the strength to continue to improve lives of women and their families across Honduras.

Happy International Women’s Day to Betulia and entrepreneurial women everywhere!