Having savings gives one’s self a sense of security. Being able to prepare for the future is something that everyone should be ready for.
Maria Cristina Mendoza, a 40-year-old woman, dreams of a secured future. As a single woman, she wants to make sure that when the time comes that she is unable to do things for a living, she has a back-up plan to support her finances and her family living in Cuenca, Batangas. She has been living on her own in Bacoor, Cavite since 2006.
A client of Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), Inc. (A Microfinance NGO) since 2015, Cristina is an owner of a small sari-sari store. She is living a simple and contented life until the pandemic happened. She is one of the Filipinos who has been greatly affected by the lockdown.
Good thing, she was able to learn about the moratorium that temporarily suspended loan payments. This gave her time and resources to recover since she can use the money she had to buy more goods for her small business.
Now, aside from her sari-sari store, she is now a seller of frozen goods like tocino and hotdogs. In the afternoon, she will sell balut, daing, tinapa and fruits just in front of her house to manage her store at the same time.
Being a 6-year member of CARD, Inc, her main goal was just to buy the house she is renting and be able to renovate it for herself and for her family, especially for her mother. She then added that it is really important to save for emergencies just like what happened during the lockdown.
This is why she always makes sure that the loan she availed in CARD, Inc. will never be put to waste by adding it to her capital and improving her business gradually. She had a hard time adjusting to the new normal, had thought of giving up during the first few months of lockdown but later on was able to see the silver lining.
“Parang di ko na kaya. Naisip ko, kung sumuko ako, walang mangyayari lalo. Paano ko matutupad ang mga pangarap ko?” Mendoza said. “Kahit gaano kahina ‘yan, kahit gaano katumal ang [negosyo] mo, push mo pa rin.” She added.
CARD, Inc. (A Microfinance NGO) is a member of CARD Mutually Reinforcing Institutions, a group of institutions with a vision of eradicating poverty in the Philippines. As of February 2022, CARD, Inc. has reached 2.3 Million clients nationwide.
