Elisa Bolivar, a 71-year-old single mother, stands
outside her small bakeshop which helped her provide for her four children
It all started with
a pandesal—a famous
bread roll in the Philippines usually eaten for
breakfast.
In 1992, Elisa Bolivar and
her family made baking
and selling pandesal in
Novaliches, Quezon City
as their only source of income.
Her husband
died in 1989, thus she had
to carry the burden of raising four children all alone.
One of her children is undergoing dialysis which
made it even more difficult
for her. Every day was a
challenge but she always
chose to go on and work
hard to provide for her
family.
Fortunately, her
sister showed her that she
was not alone in her journey and helped her learn
and operate the business.
“We helped each
other. With the support
of my children, my eldest
sister, and with the baking
recipe books, we gradually
started to adapt to the situation and feel at ease despite the challeng-es that
we go through,” Elisa said.
They started to
create their own recipe for
making monay, a brownish-dense bread roll,
which all became popular
in their area.
With the business growing in 2009,
Elisa needed additional
capital. Thus, she joined
CARD SME Bank, the
fast-growing thrift bank of
CARD MRI that offers financial products and services to support SMEs.
“At first, I didn’t want to
join because of the trauma
I experienced from a lending institution be-fore.
But later, I became a client of CARD
SME Bank because of the
benefits, insurance, low
interest, and weekly installment,” she said.
“CARD is really different. I can recommend this institution,” she
added.
For 13 years
now, she is still a loyal client of the said bank. Charina’s Bread Haus is now
widely known in their area.
Elisa said that
though their life was not
easy, they always remind
themselves that the Lord
has a great plan for them.
She will always provide
bread to others. The bread
that gives them hope to
survive hurdles in life.
“Just don’t give
up and do not be discouraged,” she said.
