When Leonora Calipay’s children finished school and she came home to the Philippines, she knew there was something more to her life than retirement.
Leonora’s neighbor noticed her desire to do meaningful things in her free time, so she taught Leonora to sew rugs. With this new skill, Leonora started her own small rugmaking business. She hoped to empower her neighbors—especially the single mothers in her community—to make a living through the same craft.
Jovelee Maala didn’t know the Payatas Controlled Disposal Facility as the largest open dump site in the Philippines—for her, it was home.
Opening in the 1970s, the site served as a fixture in Jovelee’s hometown, Quezon City. Local families built their homes there, and thousands more traveled to the site to pick through the trash, searching for items to sell—and when she turned 18, Jovelee joined them.
Lina Feria never imagined that her small business selling homemade snacks could grow into a flourishing general store. Yet her story testifies that God can use small loans and persistence to transform a business and a whole family.
Building a business brick by brick
When Lina first decided to become a member of The Center for Community Transformation (CCT), HOPE International’s partner in the Philippines, she was selling traditional rice cake snacks (called kakanin) that she made at home.
Although she was not a Christian then, Lina joined CCT because she was curious about their Bible studies. As she got to know staff members and read the Word, she slowly began to learn more about God and eventually gave her life to Him. Continue Reading…
Twenty-five years ago, Analyn Saturnino’s world crumbled around her.
While pregnant with her first child, Analyn began to experience arthritic pains throughout her body. Her baby boy tragically died only seven months after being born, and as she mourned the loss of her child, Analyn’s physical pain grew worse. Her condition soon rendered her permanently dependent on a wheelchair.
Overwhelmed, Analyn remembers crying out to God in a moment of Job-like despair, “Why do you torture me like this? Just take me.” Continue Reading…
Starting out as small business owners, Leah Reyes and her husband relied on an unstable income to meet the needs of their young family. And even as they gradually grew their tricycle transport business, they could only employ a few neighbors from day to day. They needed larger loans to invest in greater community impact.
In 2006, Leah took her first loan from CCT (the Center for Community Transformation), HOPE’s local partner in the Philippines, to help her scale up her transportation business. Since that time, she has added a line of trucks and buses and expanded into managing a grocery store, a cooking gas business, and a large logistics operation. With later loans, she even purchased a cargo ship to transport agricultural supplies to the small island she lives on. Continue Reading…
On May 23, Islamic State militants took control of Marawi, a Filipino city on the island of Mindanao. Over 500 people have been killed, and 300,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes to escape the occupation. Now months later, as violence continues in Mindanao, we ask that you join us in prayer for […]
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