Alona Anguay

Your Donation Makes a Difference...

Alona Anguay’s mother died when she was 17 years old.  She had desired to study in college; instead she opened a small convenience store in her home in Cebu, Philippines to help support her family.  As the years went by, she saw little to no improvement in her business due to insufficient knowledge and lack of capital.  Alona learned that Mentors Philippines offers loans with business training and mentoring.  She immediately decided to join.

Alona started off with a small $65 loan.  With this small microloan she was able to start retailing prepaid electronic cell phone loads.  With the high demand in the industry she generated a great return on this investment.  Alona was able to save this additional income and add even more items to her little convenience store.  Through the business mentoring that Mentors International offered her, Alona learned about proper loan use, good inventory practices, and the importance of saving. 

After that initial $65 microloan Alona increased her income from $90 a month to $200 a month, more than doubling her income.  She has been able to save $250.  Now as Alona looks to her future, she does so with feelings of empowerment, confidence, and hope.  She feels joy in serving her autistic brother and in helping her father provide for the family’s needs.  She enjoys a sense of peace from knowing that opportunity has found them, and the chains of poverty need not last forever in the Anguay family. 

This is only the beginning....  It all started with $65.  Alona’s story demonstrates how far your donation goes.

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