What can a coffee cart fuel? A more prosperous future
Windey is rebuilding her life in Colombia one cup of coffee at a time.
She begins her workday by lining up thermoses on her kitchen counter, filling each one with hot coffee. In between the dish drying rack and a blender, she counts change, stacking coins neatly before stowing them into her bag. She loads her coffee cart, adorned with decorative butterflies, with paper cups, sweeteners, and snacks.
Originally from Guárico state in Venezuela, Windey and her family resettled in Cartagena three years ago. Instability and violence had forced them to flee their home to Colombia, where she now lives with her husband, son, and mother-in-law.
They reached Colombia with very little. At first, like so many millions of displaced Venezuelans who have arrived over the past decade, they struggled to find housing, healthcare, and enough to eat. But Windey wanted more than getting by. She wanted the opportunity to build something lasting for her family. Today, Windey’s husband operates a motorcycle taxi while Windey supports their family with her coffee cart.
Windey’s first priority in Colombia? Putting food on the table for her family. That’s how she connected with Prosper Global initially, through a food assistance program. Later, she joined Prosper Global’s entrepreneurship program, building on her own experience and ambition with new tools to budget, market, and grow her business, along with funding to improve her coffee cart.
She used the funds to buy supplies, including the thermoses that keep the coffee warm and her customers happy. She enhanced the cart with wheels, paint, and added lights that guide her home at night.
“I’m more organized, I am able to work more easily and assist more customers. It’s been a big change, without a doubt,” said Windey.
“The day I got my cart, it was a beautiful feeling. You know what was even better than getting my cart and being able to work more easily? When people come up to you and say, ‘Wow, that cart is spectacular, congratulations, you’re growing.’”
What prosperity means in Colombia
“I would like to help the people in the street, create a foundation and go help those that are in the streets and don’t have enough to eat,” said Windey. “There are young kids, the elderly, the newly arrived, those who are asking for money to eat or even just for water, I would like to be able to help them with something, even if it’s just a sandwich.”
Windey’s story reflects something we heard when we listened to communities across Colombia: prosperity is rarely something people imagine achieving alone.
As part of our Voices of Prosperity initiative, we invited people across the world to describe prosperity in their own words. In Colombia, as elsewhere, many described their own success as deeply connected to the wellbeing of their families and communities.
“We are berraca [tough, unstoppable] people, people who are willing to work for the vereda, for the community, people who are ready,” said one Colombian woman. “The community is ready to work for ourselves. We are men and women who are available for our own good. And on the day when you have to go out and work, you go out and work. There are people who are very versatile, we adapt to everything. If today we have to plant, we go and plant. If tomorrow we have to go and cut, we go and cut. If tomorrow we have to figure out how to deal with the bridge, we go and figure it out. We don't know, but we learn.”
Windey echoed the sentiment: “Prosperity is not just economics, but it’s economics and family and spirituality. Those three are intertwined and go hand in hand. And that’s what gives us strength to move forward .”
I am very brave. I am a warrior, a fighter, an entrepreneur. Yes, I can.
Windey, Colombia
Windey’s dreams for the future are straightforward. She hopes to grow her business and create jobs for others. She wants a stable future for her son so he can get a good education and build a life of his own. Windey knows it will take a lot of work, and she’s ready to take it on.
“Prosperity is abundance, and that we get to do what we dream of, and we can make our dreams come true with enough effort,” said Windey. “Believe me, I know that to be true.”
Read more stories like Windey’s
Across six countries and four continents, more than 1,100 people shared what prosperity means in their own words. Their words shape how we work alongside communities to help people move beyond survival and pursue a full life.
