Maria Gamilla

Maria Gamilla, who lives in the village of Barangay Himaya, Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, is 50 years old. She is married to Mario Gamilla, who is presently working as an elected barangay (village) councilor and who is also a farmer and a team supervisor in a sugarcane plantation. The couple have seven children: their eldest daughter already has a family, and the six younger children are still studying.

Even though Maria's husband has work and does odd jobs for additional income, the money he earns is still not enough to support the needs of seven children. Maria strives hard to help her husband earn additional income for the family and to sustain the educational needs of their children.

To help her husband, Maria started a fish-vending business, selling fish to households in her community and other neighboring villages. The income she earned went mostly to the support of her children's education. In 2003, when she wanted to expand her business, she joined NWTF-Project Dungganon so that she could borrow additional capital without putting up any collateral.

Because of her good credit performance, Maria was able to get incrementally bigger loans over the next loan cycles. From the loans and from her increased income, she was able to put up a "sari-sari" or general store and have another source of income. As she continued borrowing and paying off her loans at NWTF-Project Dungganon without any delays, her business ventures have gradually stabilized and now earn a monthly net income of PHP 3,000 for her family.

For her previous loan, she borrowed Php 17,000 as additional working capital for her fish vending and general store businesses and the loan was fully paid on time without any delays in any of her her weekly payments. Now, for her 15th loan, she is borrowing the same amount of Php 17,000 for her two businesses. The income from this will, as usual, be be saved for her children’s education.


About NWTF:
In a world full of challenges, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Inc. has answered the call of not just a few, but thousands of women. Through the alleviation program, these women have progressed from earning less than a measly $1 a day, to surpassing realities beyond their dreams. They have learned to live a life where they can finally be called honorable. This is Project Dungganon.

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