Not sure how to celebrate leap day? Read how Alberto Francisco y Freuli used a loan from Esperanza, HOPE’s partner in the Dominican Republic, to provide a brighter future for his children, then take action to help others like Alberto Leap Forward at leapfwd.us.
Before receiving a loan from Esperanza, Alberto struggled to make ends meet. Though he worked 18 hours a day in the grueling heat of the Dominican sugarcane fields, he was paid less than $7 a day—barely enough to provide for his four children, aged 4-11.
With his first loan from Esperanza, Alberto opened a small store. As he faithfully repaid his loans and accessed larger sums, Alberto saved enough money to purchase a motorcycle, which he uses for deliveries. With his profits, he has been able to send his children to school, and he dreams of one day owning his own cooking store. “Before the loans,” he explains, “life was very hard. … Life is better since HOPE has come.”
