Casimira Paro

Nobody would have thought that Casimira paro’s son and daughter-in-law had lost their house to a fire the day before the interview. She strolls into the room wearing a bright blouse and a big smile. She retouches her face powder and puts on some red lipstick. She wears hoop earrings, a ring and an assortment of bracelets. her nails are painted.

“I came from the market but passed by the house so I could change into this. I didn’t want to meet you wearing my apron with big-pockets,” she explains.

Iray started as a laundrywoman in Dolores town, Quezon province. She already had four children at that time, but because she was always out of the house — earning p45 a day (roughly USD$2 at that time) — it was her husband Nicasio who took over the household and raised their kids.

In 1997, she got wind of a microfinance company called CARD which extended small loans to people at no collateral. She had her doubts. This was too good to be true, but she decided to join anyway. Iray was able to borrow p1,000 which she to sell balut (duck fetus eggs), and later on, fish and shrimps which she offered to customers while making house-to-house calls.

Iray earned well over time, much better than what she was making as a laundrywoman. When she heard that a stall at the Lucena public market was being sold, she knew that she needed it to take her business to the next level. She applied for another loan from CARD to purchase the stall and had no trouble getting the funds since she had a clean record with the company.

Her instincts were correct. The well-located stall allowed her business to expand. Iray started selling grocery items, rice and frozen goods. CARD extended additional support by teaching her how to manage her thriving enterprise.

Her children say Iray’s presence positively affects sales at the store. When she is around, buyers seem to multiply, and when she is out, people ask where she is. “I am pretty and charming,” she proudly declares, “and that’s why my customers love me.”

And indeed they do, because despite her sweet smile, she is also a frank and honest person. She does not say anything she does not mean. She does not make false promises. When somebody gets on her nerves, she says so. Others may say she has a biting tongue, “But at least I’m real,” she says. “What you see is what you get.”

Iray values her customers so much that every Christmas, she sets aside a budget for holiday giveaways. In turn, they remain loyal to her. There is, for instance, a resort in the province that buys from Iray’s store daily, without fail.

Transparency is also Iray’s principle in meeting her monthly amortizations. She tries very hard to make good on her
obligations, and normally her income exceeds the amount she has to pay. however, there are times when the money falls short, and she hardly has enough to buy the next round of goods to keep the business going. Iray then immediately consults with CARD to explain her situation and ask for some flexibility. She then makes sure that she does everything in her power to ensure that she can deliver the full amount at the exact time promised.

Iray’s business is family-owned and family-operated. She does not see the need to hire an extra hand. She is proud that some of her children, despite having earned their college degrees, choose to stay and help her grow the business. All of them are trustworthy, hardworking, and lead vice-free lives.

She is especially thankful too, that the days when her children would miss her are long gone. As kids, they barely felt her presence. Now, Iray is thankful that the family is always hard at work together, even before the sun rises. During the day, Iray stays at the store while Nicasio goes back home to attend to the food, their clothes, and other chores.

One of her children is in Bahrain. Iray says she never expects her son to send home money to her, because she knows he also has dreams of his own. “I think he wants to save enough for a fast-food franchise,” she says. In fact, Iray rarely asks for help for anything from her children. Since they were young, they never saw their mother crying or showing weakness. Iray says she is simply that way — she does not have the time nor the luxury to brood over her
troubles. She just goes ahead and solves them.

She knows that if her family sees her as resilient, they would be inspired to be the same. Her daughter-in-law, for instance, was heartbroken over what they had lost in the fire. Iray reminded the girl that these were just material things which could easily be replaced through hard work. This was the same girl she advised to put away P100 in a jar every day for rainy days. The contents of that jar were surely doing their part now to help ease the difficult days ahead. She also encouraged the couple to think of trials as God’s way of strengthening their marriage and commitment to each other.

Iray strives to be the ideal parent, in as much as CARD has acted like a good parent to her and all its other members. CARD has enabled her to manage her business well. It has played a part in all its milestones — securing a stalls, diversifying products, even seeing her children graduate from college. CARD understands where you came from, and virtually holds your hand as you journey to where you want to be.

This year for instance, Iray is looking forward to establishing a water refilling station which she wants another son to manage.

Grand plans, indeed, but Iray keeps a low profile despite everything she has achieved. She confesses to buying her clothes from a second-hand shop. She has never been to the mall — despite a large SM branch near their place. Standard fare at home is fish and vegetables. The family’s only luxury is drinking soda — a meal is not quite complete without it. This is how they reward themselves after a grueling day at the market.

One would think that Iray would be more relaxed now that she has given her family a more comfortable life and her children their college education. But no — Iray says she is constantly thinking of other ventures she can go into. The loquacious Iray, once a laundrywoman and peddler of balut, does not seem to know exhaustion. “Shall I stop now, when I’ve been through it all?”

~ Casimira Paro