Marietta

Marietta is married to Roy. They adopted a new-born baby but sadly he died when he was 16 years old, due to illness. She then adopted a 7 year old girl, who she sends to school and provides for her needs. Marietta and Roy run and manage a shop near a sea port and it is their main source of income to deal with their living expenses.

Mrs Marietta is a 52 year old married woman. She lives with her husband Roy who is also 52 years old, in the village of Hagnaya in the town of San Remigio in Cebu province. The couple supports a seven year old girl who they adopted, with her needs and schooling. The couple manages a shop where they sell food items such as cup noodles, biscuits, chips, bottled water, hot and cold drinks, powdered drinks, hygiene products and much more. She purchases most of her stock from the big stores in Bogo city because the prices there are much cheaper. Her shop is open 24 hours a day at the Hagnaya port. The couple work shift duties to manage their business hours. Most of their customers are passengers and ship workers. They have been in this business for 20 years now. She has 40 regular customers who are ship workers whom she sells quality rice and grocery items to. The workers provide her with lists of items they need and then Marietta purchases them. She gets paid every two weeks. Her daily sales range from 3,000 to 5,000 pesos (about £42 - £70).

To increase her working capital, Marietta became a member of Lendwithcare's microfinance partner organisation, Lamac Multi-Purpose Cooperative. This is her first loan and she will use the money to purchase 12 sacks of quality rice that cost roughly 33,000 pesos (about £462). She will use the rest of the funds to restock her shop with more items such as cup noodles, biscuits and bottled water. Marietta hopes to sustain what she is earning now so she can repay the loan and deal with their living expenses.