At a mere 12 years of age, Blanca Margarita Méndez Pac was making tablecloth and dress deliveries to local neighbors and clients in Quetzaltenango to help subsidize her parents’ meager salaries. Alongside her sister, she learned early on how to sew bed and table clothes, scouring pads, dresses, and uniforms. Blanca continued to work assiduously as a seamstress when she got married, to help put food on the table for her husband and eight children. A self-starter, she had the ambition to advance her career but needed more capital to grow her business.

Blanca heard about Friendship Bridge in 2009, where she initially received a loan of Q1500.00 to help her get started. After 9 cycles with Friendship Bridge, she now has an average loan of Q5000.00 and is the President of her communal Trust Bank, Pyramid, in Xela. Blanca now delivers hand-crafted backpacks and uniforms to a private high-school in Quetzaltenango.

“With the financial and technical help that I have received from Friendship Bridge, all of the sales of my products have allowed me to support my children and to greatly expand my business,” Blanca says with a smile from ear-to-ear. Though she claims to have far exceeded her goals, she still wishes to build her dream house, afford putting her children through college, and to continue growing her business.