Meet Teonila Fermil
Teonila Fermil smiles at me and gestures for me to sit as she offers me a small wrapped candy from bowl on the counter. The bowl says the candy costs five pesos a piece, but she gives it to me for free as a gesture of hospitality.
We’re sitting in the cool shade underneath the awning that covers the eating area of Teonila’s colmado (corner store). One of the loan officers in the Samaná branch office, where I have been working this summer, recommended that I meet up with Teonila and learn her story. I took a motoconcho (motorcycle taxi) about 15 minutes up the dirt road, and found Teonila’s colmado easily- it was painted all over with bright red stars, just like my directions said it would be.
Teonila is a kind, soft-spoken woman. Her lot in life has made her more of a listener than a talker. But in the hour I spend with her, she gradually begins to open up. Teonila has had incredible success as an associate of Esperanza. Besides the visible prosperity of her colmado, Teonila’s success is evidenced by the fact that she is currently working on repaying her 8th loan. Each time Teonila pays one of her loans back in a timely and responsible manner, she is entrusted with a larger loan next time. Teonila's started with a loan of 5,000 Dominican pesos, but her current loan is for an astonishing 15,000 pesos!
Teonila is separated from her husband and has two grown children. She is the primary caregiver for her 3 year old grandson, and her income is the only financial support she has. Teonila owns a small colmado and cafeteria, where she serves lunch, fresh juices, and a variety of snack foods and consumer goods. Teonila has operated this business for over 15 years, but didn't begin to have real business success until she began her first loan with Esperanza.
Teonila used her first loan to move her colmado out of the living room of her home into a separate building, and used her subsequent loans to install a cement floor and tin roof to the structure.
Teonila in her colmado or corner store in Samana
She also purchased a blender, refrigerator, and stove for her cafeteria, and that allowed her to begin serving full meals. Many members of Teonila's community come to her colmado to get lunch or a snack nearly every day.
With her most recent loan, Teonila purchased a motorcycle and hired one of her neighbor's sons as a delivery boy. She has found that her profits have increased dramatically since she added the service of home delivery, because she can compete more effectively with the big supermarkets in the area. In addition, Teonila has used the profits from her business to "finally" (her word, translated) move to a new home! Her new home has a kitchen that is separate from the living room, an indoor bathroom, and tile floors (as opposed to the dirt floors and outhouse that her old home had).
Teonila tells me that her loan with Esperanza International has changed her life drastically, and has given her a hope for the future that she never dreamed possible. She tells me that she enjoys getting up every day and working hard, because she knows that her hard work will be rewarded with financial success. Teonila is grateful for the peace of mind that her new financial stability has given her.