May 2016: Joana Ojeda-Martínez struggled to make ends meet as a shoe seller in the city, often selling only 10 pairs a week, while her husband Ariel worked 12-hour days as a security guard. They rented a tiny house without a yard in a dangerous part of the city. One of their four children, Bautista, suffered from bronchospasms and spent several months-long stays in the hospital. Their youngest daughter, Mimi, lost much of her hair from stress and began to constantly cling to her mother. Joana longed for the country, where she had grown up, but she did not know how her family could afford to return.
May 2019: After going through the Welcome to my Village program, including training courses and business mentoring, Joana now sells 1,000 pairs of shoes per week. From her new village headquarters, she fields orders from customers in provinces across Argentina. She re-branded her company, created new products, and shifted from retail to wholesale. She employs five people, and her husband and her eldest daughter work with her. Once an informal entrepreneur, she now pays taxes. With their new earnings, the family not only bought a car and expanded their home, but also grew their savings.Their son Bautista’s health troubles have ended and he now likes to ride his bicycle through the village, while Mimi’s hair has grown back in, thanks in no small part to her family’s newfound tranquility and prosperity.
