Success Story:
Lucia Tarqui
El Alto, Bolivia

Two years later, in El Alto, Bolivia...
-Chris Megargee, Global Partnerships

Lucia Tarqui’s driveway now boasts a white Toyota Corolla, circa 1986.

This is the first thing I notice when our PartnerTrip group arrives. I also see that windows and a door have been added to the back of the house, much of the courtyard has been paved, and Lucia is dressed in finer garb—visible progress since I last visited her in 2008.

The Toyota’s passengers— over 200 plaster piggy banks—wait patiently nearby, drying in the sun. Many are white, ready to be painted. Others are colorful, already painted using the air compressor purchased with Lucia’s first loan of $250 from Pro Mujer in Bolivia, one of our nonprofit partners with a strong focus on social impact.

Tomorrow, Lucia's husband will load the banks into the Toyota and deliver the orders to re-sellers. Lucia is thrilled she can stay home and mold more pigs, rabbits, lambs and frogs, instead of hauling piggy banks on public transportation.

Now that Lucia and her husband can deliver by car, the business is doing even better—which helps them keep their four younger daughters in school so they can become professionals like their older sisters (one a teacher and the other an accountant).

And Lucia’s current loan of $500 is helping her buy new molds to increase her inventory.

Just two years and she’s already bought a car and improved her home. Now that’s success--success fueled by Global Partnerships supporters.