Clairy
The girls giggled as they secretly found makeup to paint their faces and pretend to be older than what they were…As soon as Clairy’s mom walked out the door for work, she and her friend would pull out their secret stash of makeup. They would take turns painting each other up while Clairy’s mom worked. Clairy was 10 and her mother didn’t permit her to use the makeup, but she and her friend made sure it was wiped off before her mom got home from her day of work. At heart, Clairy is an artist and people recognized it. She was always called on by the neighborhood to paint their nails and faces. She was good at it. And soon people in town got word of her talents and called her in to get themselves made up as well.
Life happens. Time moves on, and Clairy found herself in some impossible situations involving difficult relationships and an overwhelming amount of debt. Depression consumed Clairy and the thought of death seemed like a better option than living the hard life burdening her down lower and lower. She had been a part of her local micro-finance group and she couldn’t dream of asking for another loan as she could barely make the minimum payment required at every meeting. But sometimes all it takes is one person willing to listen, and the courage to share despite the embarrassment and confession it might take to start to make things right again. Through the micro-finance group Clairy has learned that God is unbelievably gracious, and although there are consequences for poor choices, His love and grace makes it possible to bear those consequences.
Today, Clairy has been given a second chance at getting out of debt and continues to move forward little by little with her makeup, nail, and baking businesses. She has strategically found a location for her shop in between a hair salon and a masseuse. She also takes orders from clients for her famous arepas and other sweets. Her dream is to have a business where she can have employees to run the shop. One day she hopes to have a vehicle where she can service those clients who are unable to leave their houses, and also provide a means to deliver her baked goods. Because of the micro-finance group, Clairy is now on her feet again with hope in each step. She can confidently say that at night she is able to sleep in peace.