Trickles of Blessings
Name: Emma Morales
Branch: Cadiz, Negros Occidental
Project Group: Project Dungganon (May 24, 1989)
Businesses: Retail Store, Carinderia, Batchoyan restaurants, Backyard swine raising, etc.
Emma had tears in her eyes when she remembered how hard it was to leave her young children at home while she went to the rice field to earn a decent P8.00 a day. She would prepare a peeled stalk of sugar cane cut into pieces for her children so when they wake up and find that their nanay and tatay were not around, they will have something to chew and feed their little tummies. This daily routine was naturally accepted as part of their lives even for their children who had to learn the skills to survive at a tender age.
“My children were like little adults. At an early stage, they understood that they have the task to attend to each other’s needs since my husband and I were mostly out of their sight to work in the fields,” Emma recalled.
Born in 1961, Emma was raised near the sea. Her father, who was a fisherman, was working closely with her mother, a handicraft maker. After high school, Emma decided not to continue with further studies since her father’s gain from fishing and her mother’s “alat” business was just enough to keep up with their basic expenses. Being the eldest of three siblings, it was more practical for her to stop schooling so that her two siblings will have the chance to go to school. Emma helped her mother with the “alat” business while tending to some needs of their home and her siblings.
After a few years, she married a simple man named Gerardo Morales. Even with only two children to provide for, life was not easy for the Morales family. Extreme poverty has caused traumatic experiences for the children - a fact that was difficult for Emma to accept. Witnessing her own child almost pleading to eat the scrap food left for the pigs because they had nothing to eat was one of the biggest turning points in Emma’s life. With extreme hurt written all over her face as the tears roll down her cheek, no amount of money can ever erase the horrific memory of this ghastly incident. Because of her spirit that could never be broken, she promised herself that she would do anything and everything to give her children a more decent life where starving and begging should never be an option.
The year 1989 opened the doors for Emma’s promise to become a reality. When she heard about Project Dungganon, she grabbed the opportunity and signed up immediately to become a member. She was certain that it was her way out of destitution.
“No one would even lend me P100.00 at that time but Project Dungganon lent me more than that. It wasn’t just about the money. It wasn’t just about the money. It was about the chance to make dreams happen,” she said with pride.
With an initial loan of P1,000.00, she ventured into food vending at a school close to their home, selling banana-Q and snacks. Using only scrap planks, she was able to make a table to display her snacks. She realized that with her new business she was earning more as compared to her usual daily wage from working in the fields. This pushed her to engage in other endeavors like direct selling of cosmetics, plastic wares and added arroz caldo and batchoy to sell in her snack menu.
Meanwhile, her husband, who happened to be a skilled motorcycle mechanic without proper training, was exerting a lot of effort to have an income for his family. Emma would proudly relate that it was the experience that taught Gerardo to become an expert. He would go around town patiently and relentlessly marketing himself with his tools for hire. Eventually, he became popular for his service that landed him a job to work at Ginlo’s shop. When the Ginlo family migrated to another country, they handed all their tools and materials to Gerardo who continued with the business. Gerardo’s skills and industriousness did not go to waste because his motorcycle shop became the service center of Honda in their town.
To show support for Gerardo’s dream, Emma gave him some amount of money from her loans so he could buy spare parts for his shop. As Gerardo progressed, Emma had expanded the business to owning a “Karinderia,” a “Batchoy house” and a piggery. They also own a 1,316 square meters of lot with some banana plants that can produce 30 bunches every harvest time. She has purchased a Multi-cab, a Tricycle, two single motorcycles and was able to construct a boarding house that is open for transient clients like delivery truck drivers.
Since Emma and her family had a chance to a better life, it has also allowed them to make a difference in their community and a blessing to others. Even if Emma and Gerardo are still very much hands-on in their business, they have created jobs for 20 individuals assisting them with the daily ins and outs at their establishment. At the age of 47 years old, Emma has not ceased to keep dreaming and expanding their famous “Morales Eatery” to Manapla and put up a better motorcycle shop for her husband.
Emma and Gerardo’s dedication to give their children a good future have definitely paid off. Their eldest son, who years back would gather scraps for the pigs, is now a working mechanical engineer in the Sagay sugar mill while their daughter is currently a licensed teacher.
“Any small or big amount for investment will give a good return of investment as long as you know that you committed to it. You don’t change your ways. Just be who you really are. Live a simple life and you will have more blessings,” echoed Emma’s words of wisdom.
Last 2002, she was awarded by Citibank as “Micro-Entrepreneur of the Year,” a success she graciously shares with Project Dungganon. Through the years, her gratitude to the institution has never wavered because when no one would, they did and it made her believe that dreams do come true even in the smallest form.