From pain to gain

Susan Salvador, 50, a fish vendor from Cabadbaran City, Agusan del Norte, tried to compose herself while telling her story. The story she wanted to forget but could not. Every time she closes her eyes, she sees nothings but her angel’s face.

If there is one thing she hated the most, it is the smell of hospital and the sight of it. It always reminds her of the loss of her daughter.

“Ten years ago, I was given an angel to care for, but a few days later, God took her back from me. I felt like I am not worthy of her,” Susan tearfully said. The passing of her angel was the most tragic point of her life and there were instances that she felt hopeless to the point of neglecting the future of her family.

Years have passed and the sting of pain of her angel’s loss is still being felt. But Susan slowly realized that she still has her family and slowly tried to move on.

Susan is a mother of five and a wife of a fisherman. Their livelihood is dependent on the abundance of fish caught by her husband and its price in the market where she sells them. In her struggle to move on and give a bright future for her family came the assistance of the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), Inc., (A Microfinance NGO), an institution that offers microloans to support the livelihood of socio-economically challenged women and families. She joined CARD, Inc. in 2010 and started with Php3,000 loan as additional capital.

“CARD gave me the opportunity to move on further in giving a brighter future for my children and my family. Aside from providing me additional capital, CARD taught me to save and be ready for the future. And I realized that we do not know what will happen tomorrow so it is better to be prepared and move forward than to anguish in pain and be financially problematic,” was  Susan’s parting words.

At present, Susan has fully recovered from the pain of her daughter’s loss and improved their  economic life as well. She is allowed for a loan in CARD, Inc. of up to Php45,000.00 as additional capital, and with this she earns Php1,000.00-Php5,000.00 daily. They were able to renovate their house to a more comfortable one, send her children to school and buy things they could not afford to buy before.