Alberto worked from midnight to 6 p.m. each day in the sugarcane fields, trying to make ends meet for his family of six. After 18 hours’ work, he returned home with $7 or less. His first loan from Esperanza, HOPE’s partner in the Dominican Republic, enabled him to open a small store, but because he sold things on credit, his customers were inconsistent in their payments, and he struggled to earn enough. As he faithfully repaid his loans and accessed larger sums, Alberto was able to buy a motorcycle to use for deliveries. “Before the loans, life was very hard, and now with the loans, it’s not as difficult. Life is better since HOPE has come,” he says. Alberto’s four children are now in school.
