Gloria Ruiz

At first glance, Gloria Amelia Ruiz is friendly, direct and a natural leader Her story and what she has overcome stand out as an example for Nicaraguan women Originally from the indigenous community of El Rama, Gloria faced many challenges and obstacles on her path to becoming a professional. “When I was 12 years old there were no secondary schools in my town, so I needed to travel to another city in order to continue my studies. But there was no money for that. So I was out of school for about four years. This was extremely frustrating for me, because I thought, "I'm intelligent I am a person with a lot of potential, but how am I going to get out of here, how are we going to escape poverty? And I felt that I had the responsibility to escape poverty to help my family escape from it. The success of the Nicaraguan Revolution was very important for me. What did I do? I joined the national literacy campaign. I was one of the best in the battalion; I was up in the mountains, in the remote regions of the Rama in a community called Pejibaye. She is the first woman to hold the position of Country Manager for the microfinance organization Pro Mujer. As she explains, she reached this post in an unusual way. “The most wonderful thing I found at Pro Mujer was the opportunity to integrate different tools to make a difference in women’s lives. That was how I arrived at Pro Mujer 15 years ago and my life has continued to develop, my economic conditions have improved.” Pro Mujer in Nicaragua is a social development and microfinance organization that provides more than 38,000 clients in Nicaragua with comprehensive financial, health and training services. “For me, Pro Mujer isn’t a job; rather, it is an incredible opportunity to fulfill my life’s philosophy. What is it? To support women.” In addition to being an enterprising and charismatic woman, Gloria knows how to allocate her time well among her family, her job and serving her community. Husband: “For me it has been… Being with her has given me a really full life. With her, one is constantly living life, feeling emotions, confronting challenges, in the same way she does. She is very proactive, very supportive. So one always has to keep up with her and when there is love, these things happen automatically.” Son: “Her kindness, perseverance and seeing how she helps other people, at work, here at home and in our community". With these motivational words we can conclude that Gloria is an inspiration for many women in Nicaragua and she has the track record to prove it.