Special Guest Speaker
Edelma Altamirano Espinoza 

Edelma Altamirano Espinoza of León, Nicaragua, is a mother, a successful business owner and a cervical cancer survivor.

Age 37, Edelma has been a microloan borrower with Pro Mujer, a Global Partnerships partner, for seven years. With help from Pro Mujer, she has built up a successful clothing resale business. She travels to Managua on public transportation to buy her wares three times a week and then travels to Honduras three other days a week to sell them.

Edelma credits Pro Mujer not only with helping her establish a successful business, but also with building her self-confidence. She never dreamed she would be a leader, but now, as president of her village bank, she takes pride in motivating members of her group.

Perhaps most important, she says that Pro Mujer’s approach of combining microcredit and health services saved her life. In 2006, Edelma received a health screening offered at her village bank meeting. Her Pap test detected early stages of cervical cancer. Pro Mujer arranged for her to see a specialist and have a biopsy and funded her subsequent surgery. She is now in remission.

Edelma’s children are well on their way to securing professional careers—her daughter is in her third year of pharmacy studies and her son is finishing high school. Edelma is grateful to still be a part of their lives, thanks to the early detection and treatment.