CARE-trained entrepreneurs make tents for hundreds of families
LIMA, Peru (August 24, 2007) - The global poverty-fighting organization CARE has called on the talents of two Lima-based women entrepreneurs to produce hundreds of tents for earthquake survivors in need of shelter. As an estimated 40,000 families have lost their homes, and most continue to live in the open streets and fields under tarps and teepee-like structures, Maria Esther Landa and her sister Elvira Landa have gotten to work welding together heavy steel tent frames and stitching together durable covers. Each tent is designed for a family of six.
Maria (left) and her sister Elvira (right) get to work making tents for quake survivors (Allen Clinton/CARE 2007)
"I think a lot about people who were affected by the earthquake," says Maria. "I don’t have a lot of resources, but by making these tents we can provide some comfort to people in their time of need. We can make big things happen with a lot of little things."
Maria, 31, and Elvira, 33, aren’t your average women, especially in a society where marginalized women have a traditional role in the home, preparing meals and caring for children. That easily could have been their path in life. But in 1994 their curiosity for making and fixing things peaked when they received skills training from CARE, learning how to weld. Today the sisters are recognized as the best in Peru. And because of her entrepreneurial skills, Maria was selected as one of 17 emerging women leaders from around the world who attended a month-long mentoring program earlier this year with FORTUNE’s Most Powerful Women Leaders.
"These are girls who can do it," says their proud father. "CARE opened the doors for my girls to do great things. They are setting an example that girls can get out of the house and achieve whatever they set out to do."
Realizing a woman’s power and potential
In a small shop across the street from where their family-managed business, Santa Maria Industries, is located today in the commercial district of Villa El Salvador, the sisters practiced their trade throughout the 1990s, making model airplanes, toy cars, chairs, doors and window frames. They worked during the day and continued their studies at night. Mastering their trade, they began welding engines for real airplanes. Eventually, Maria said she had had enough of working for someone else and started her own business. But when she applied for a bank loan to help expand her new business, they told her she was too young and had little collateral. Her application was denied.
In 2004, Maria approached CARE and received a loan through its in-country Edyficar microfinance program. Expanding to make tents for events, her business thrived -- and she paid off the $10,000 loan in one year. With a total of 15 staff, Elvira and the rest of Maria’s family all pitch in help manage this business.
Maria is not just an entrepreneur, but a role model for other women," says Milo Stanojevich, CARE director in Peru, who first met Maria when she was a teenager learning how to weld. "She’s a leader in Peru and we have no doubt in her ability to deliver a quality product that’s actually made in Lima for earthquake survivors."
Over the years, Edyficar has provided microfinance loans, skills and business training to thousands of women in Peru like Maria who have started their own businesses. Newfound business skills also help marginalized women spread into other areas, improving health and educational opportunities for themselves and their families. Switching hats from its development programs to respond to the earthquake, CARE is targeting its relief efforts outside of the city of Pisco in smaller, more remote communities that include Chincha Baja, Tambo de Mora, Pueblo Nuevo, El Carmen and Afro-Peruvian communities in Canete. To date, CARE has reached over 10,000 survivors (2,000 families) with supplies that include tents, blankets, food, water and flashlights.
"The earthquake has caused a lot of fear and need in Peru," says Maria, taking a break from welding tent frames. Speaking to women survivors, who have been most affected by the quake as they have the primary responsibility to care for their children and feed their families, she says, "Being a woman is a big responsibility and we have to define our own roads in life. Together, we have the power to make things better."
Maria received public recognition from the Peruvian government "In Merit of Her Business Spirit and Her Contribution to the Economic Development of the Country" in 2004, and the "Miss Micro-Entrepreneur of Lima" Award in 2006. Her success story is also mentioned in Mujeres Batalla (Women Fighters), published in 2007, which compiles the entrepreneurial successes of Peruvian women.
About CARE in Peru: CARE began work in Peru in 1970 following a 42-second earthquake that killed 50,000 people and left 600,000 survivors in desperate need of food, clothing and shelter. Since then, CARE has expanded its programs in Peru to support long-term development needs and empower marginalized women through programs including health, education and microfinance. CARE projects in Peru benefit more than 500,000 of the poorest people in the country. For more information, visit www.care.org.
:
Atlanta: Allen Clinton, CARE USA,
clinton@care.org, (404) 979-9206, +1 (404) 457-4635 (cell)
