A mother’s love

Life may be hard but to a mother who loves her children, she always have to pick herself up and be strong in times of challenges.

“I will do everything for our children,” said Ruby Vergara, 41 from Brgy. Calicanto, Batangas City. Ruby is married to Ronnie and they have three children. “I decided to stay at home to take care of our children. More than that, I also decided to put up a small barbeque stand then a sari-sari store to help my husband with our daily expenses,” added Ruby.

Unfortunately, with so many unexpected circumstances, Ruby’s barbeque stand and sari-sari store were gone in just a snap without realizing what had happened. The capital was just gone. “I felt so down that time and I even wanted to give up,” she said, adding that her children are her source of strength to always stand up and fight.

Ruby pushed herself to start all over again, “but I was not so sure if I could or how I will do it or where to start,” she added. Good thing, she was introduced by a neighbor to CARD SME Bank. “My neighbor Vivian encouraged me to become a microfinance member of the bank so I can borrow money to start my barbecue stand business again. I was hesitant at first because I am really afraid of the idea of having a loan,” said Ruby.

Though hesitant, she decided to join and become a member and borrowed only a small amount for  capital amounting to PHP2,000. With that amount, she puts up a barbeque stand again. Eventually, she was able to put up a sari-sari store again. From then on, Ruby remains an active member of CARD SME Bank which she considers a well-trusted bank that truly helps in growing her business, not only in terms of financial support, but also in educating them. Through Credit with Education (CWE) offered by the institution done during center meetings, she learned how to manage her finances.

CARD SME Bank is a thrift bank that provides business loans to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through SME BizLoan Access  from P30,000 up to P5,000,000. Realizing the situation concerning microentrepreneurs who need starting or additional capital for their business, CARD SME Bank also provides microfinance loans starting from P2,000 up to P20,000.

Whatever challenges might come to their lives, Ruby will remain strong for her children’s sake. As the proverbs say, “a mother’s heart is always with her children.”