As a widow with five children and 22 grand-children and great grand-children, Tulia carried a heavy burden. Pursuing her talents as a seamstress with help from Opportunity International, she now has a home for 10 people and a place for family members to meet.

“I am head of the household – father and mother and everything,” Tulia says, explaining she’s more of a mom than a grandmother. She said she would never have managed to have a home before Opportunity. Tulia’s loans have risen steadily from 200,000 pesos, or $100, to her current loan of 480,000 pesos. She’s invested most of the money in materials, but with this latest loan she also bought a sewing machine.

“I taught myself,” she states proudly of her sewing skills. “I’ve never taken a course or anything. It’s all on my own.” Initially, Tulia made sheets, then pillows and now she also does bedspreads. On a good day, her sales reach about 50,000 pesos, with a profit of about 40%. Besides prospering economically, Tulia said she’s developed relationships with other people, particularly her 24-member Opportunity Trust Group. “We are very close in our group,” she says. “Very united.”

Tulia’s business acumen and ambition have had a positive influence on young family members. Two of her granddaughters have graduated from high school and are studying international business. Their dream is to one day export their grandmother’s sewing products.