Helen

Loan description:

Helen Dela Cruz is 49 years old and married with four children who are aged 24, 23, 20 and 7. Two of her children have already finished college and are now working as a technician and a call centre agent while her third child is currently at college. Her husband is a 51 year old man named Danilo. Helen was able to provide college education for her children because of her hog raising business which has now been running for 20 years. She once managed a small water refilling shop before deciding to change her career path. Through the help of her supportive husband and one relative, she focused on growing her hog raising business by improving her small pigsty into a wide area where more than five hogs can stay comfortably. This new and improved pigsty is built from concrete and located beside their house. They live in Bunakan, which is in the town of Madridejos, Cebu province. Helen always keeps her pigsty clean and provides her hogs with healthy feed and vitamins. She finds potential buyers from the nearby market when her hogs are ready to be sold. The microfinance organisation, First Consolidated Cooperative, has been supporting Helen’s business for a year now. She has recently received a larger loan from the insitution to help her continue purchasing more good quality feed for her hogs. Helen looks forward to establishing a permanent market for her hogs in the future. The income she will earn is for the continuing education of her children. She intends to return the loan amount over a period of three months.