He works as a civil engineer in a construction factory. In Nica, foreign companies exploit factory workers with no overtime and low wages - at times, $9 for 20+ hours of work. He is seeking freedom by opening a panaderia (bakery) with his wife. He makes more money in 6 hours at the panaderia than he does in 2 days as an engineer. He saved for 8 months to accumulate $300 to build this oven.

He is seeking a loan to expand production by replacing the machine that makes his dough. We laugh about ‘Nica time"‘ - everyone is late and no one measures the monetary value of a time investment. But Lester knows: when it comes to bread, there is no such thing as Nica time…unless you want to eat a lump of coal.

He is a street vendor, primarily re-selling miscellaneous items on a cart around town. Sales have plummeted and now his family is on the brink of a crisis - scraping by on $1 per day. In the midst of survival, we saw a flicker of inspiration. Damaris, Freddy’s wife, told us that she has experience sewing, then brimming with pride, she showed us their daughter’s notebook filled with pages of doodles and designs.

Freddy’s 10-year old daughter dreams of designs and dresses. She is an inspiration to her mother, who wants to find a way to make the pages come alive in the form of real clothing. Today, this family is holding on by a thread of hope and determination, but they saw the power and potential of a team - sales, production, design, and advisors.

She needs a few more pieces of equipment before she can open the doors of her milling business. For months she’s worked many jobs, collecting and storing every little bit of money she can spare in this shoebox. In Diriomo, the ability to mill corn, oats, and other grains is essential to feeding a family. It is Carmen’s vision that her shop will be a gathering place for the whole barrio - a place of hope as this community rebuilds after the 2018 political crisis.

BlessBack granted Carmen a loan the remaining $800 she needed to purchase her milling equipment. She responded in the universal language: smiles and tears.

She’s spent most of her 72 years learning about plants, now she owns a nursery. She received a micro loan to invest in improvements that will sustain her inventory. Her goal is to make plants so beautiful that your heart cries if you have to leave them behind.

Her spirit alone impacts those around her, but through business coaching she’s learned that she affects her local economy too.