Alicia

Loan description:

Alicia Barriga is a 38 year old married woman who manages a small fish stall in the public market in the town of Tuburan. She has 5 children, the eldest being 20 years old and the youngest is 3 years old. Alicia has more than 20 years experience of selling fish, in fact she started life as a fish vendor at the age of 10, when she used to help her parents who were engaged in the same business. She calculates that she can earn on average between 400 and 600 pesos each day, that is between approximately US$10-15. She tries to save a small amount every day and deposits it with the microfinance organisation FCCT. Having her own savings means that she does not always need to borrow especially for an emergency. Alicia does though use loans to buy stocks in bulk for her business, she can negotiate a better price if she buys in bulk and also better quality. She is looking for a loan of US244 from FCCT to be repaid over 4 months. Actually, she is hoping that she can widen her business and perhaps open another stall nearby that her daughter can help administer selling vegetables. Her main aim is to ensure that she earn enough so that her children remain in school and do not leave to work too early.