Meet Blanca
Blanca runs El Baraton, a family-owned and operated thrift shop in Jackson Heights, New York, where she sells a curated mix of new and secondhand clothing, shoes and accessories. Her most popular items are the unique clothing items she imports from her native Ecuador.
Before starting her small business, Blanca sold food and jewelry and also had stints working in a factory and as a cleaner.
“I would try to do anything to be able to have an income for my family,” Blanca said.
Blanca decided to join Grameen America to open her own storefront, where previously she was selling apparel at various markets in her community. “At the time I saw the store for rent and needed money to be able to continue my business. Grameen America helped me with the small loan to be able to grow to a retail location.”
Married with five children, aged 10 to 30 years old, Blanca doesn’t have any external employees as El Baraton is a family business. Each day her husband and children run the store, rotating different schedules throughout the week.
The biggest challenges Blanca has faced since opening her business coincided with the first months of the pandemic, when all non-essential businesses were mandated to close. At this time, Jackson Heights was the global epicenter of the pandemic and Blanca was unable to reopen her store for over four months.
Despite social distancing, in April 2020, Blanca and her whole family contracted COVID-19 and her husband became so unwell she feared he would not outlive the virus. Together as a family, they spent a month at home quarantining, “waiting and praying that we would all make it out of this.”
While the family went on to make a full recovery, Blanca’s best friend, who helped her get established when she moved to the United States, died from the virus after two hospital admissions in quick succession. Across the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights, this story is all too familiar, with few communities untouched by the health impact of the pandemic.
When Blanca recovered from the virus, she was able to reopen her store safely, adopting new measures to keep herself and customers safe. Previously, Blanca would clean the store once a day and now she cleans it up to five times a day, temporarily closing the fitting room to avoid the potential spread of COVID-19.
Almost a year on from the height of the pandemic, in February 2021, Blanca received a new loan from Grameen America for $14,500.
“During this time it has been difficult but it’s great to know that there is an organization that still believes in us and helps us during this difficult time.”
She used this new capital to invest in more clothes and accessories and towards gas and electricity bills for the store. But Blanca’s day to day business has changed permanently.
“I lost customers and even though now we are open again, many people are still facing the challenge of losing family members and not having jobs. It’s difficult when people have to first provide for their essentials before coming to our shop.”
Before the impact of COVID-19, Blanca saved regularly. During the pandemic, she had to use her savings to keep up with the demands of feeding her household and rent. She is now putting money away for her future again and has plans to build a house in Ecuador for her retirement.
