“For me, being in Bromelia is the best thing that has happened to me since it is the first time in all my life that I have the opportunity to work. I always liked knitting or doing crafts and I always dreamed of working doing what I like, this is something that has now come true. 

I was very happy when I received my first payment and with that I bought medicine for my youngest son and I paid part of his school’s monthly payment. I hope little by little I can save money for when my husband and I get older in age. 

Thanks to being part of Bromelia, I feel that now I am more involved in various aspects of my life, now I do things that I didn’t do before. I had never worked in a group. I have learned to speak in public, before I never left my house, now we have to go out to find and talk to suppliers. Now I have much more knowledge.” 

“I am very happy to have this opportunity to do what I like, if I had not had the opportunity to be part of Bromelia, I would be working as a laundress, because opportunities for women are scarce. 

Now that I belong to this group I can really understand the meaning of the phrase ‘Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and you will feed him for life,’ because the skills that I learn and develop here will remain with me for life. 

The earnings that I obtain thanks to the association will allow me to save for the future of my children. My colleagues and I feel that we finally have the opportunity to fulfill goals and dreams that we did not see possible before.” 

“The truth is that I’d never had the opportunity to work before and joining Bromelia has been an incentive for me to learn new things, things that I didn’t know I was capable of doing. The friendships that I receive from my colleagues gives me the confidence to improve myself. They teach me. I didn’t know how to knit, they taught me the technique and they believed in me. After that, I was able to improve my technique and be very fast. 

By belonging to Bromelia I have the opportunity to have an income that will benefit my children and it is a task that does not take away time to be with them. 

My oldest son tells me that he feels very happy for me, to see all things I’m learning, and now I have a vision of a prosperous future for us.”