Maria Cordoba is a dedicated mother that wants her daughters to have every advantage that she didn’t have. Maria is also an entrepreneur and knows how difficult it is to start your own business, and even more so how difficult it is to start all over again.
As a single mother, Maria is the main provider for her family and was struggling to stay afloat financially, living day-to-day. With the little money she had saved, she began to sell consumable goods from her home. She had hoped starting her own business would help, but it only seemed to make matters worse, because what she had saved, combined with a scarce profit was not enough to sustain her failing business. She soon was forced to close her shop, but she didn’t give up hope.
That’s when Maria was introduced to Mentors International. She says the moment she heard of them, she felt that they could help her, and she was right. Maria soaked up every bit of information possible from the business trainings. She finally learned about how to properly run her business, how to save money, and other skills necessary to help her succeed.
After applying what she had learned in trainings, and after a considerable amount of effort, she reopened her store with a small loan of 2,000 soles about $3000 USD.
Now, with her business revamped, Maria is making new goals. She wants to grow her business, add more services to her store (such as selling mobile phone minutes and accessories), and find a bigger space for her tienda. As she confronts the ever-increasing local competition in Piura, her MENTORS help guide her as she tries to differentiate her store from others.
She recognizes that her struggle far from over. Yet, she remains optimistic, because she knows she can do it. She knows that as she presses forward on this path as an entrepreneur, with the on-going help of Mentors Peru and with the support of her family, she will be able to reach her dreams.
We are continually impressed by the love and service we see mothers in these developing countries give to their children. These mothers, like Maria, all demonstrate the same basic wants for their families: to give them a better life, to have them grow into better people.
This Mother’s Day, honor your mother by giving to mothers across the globe.
We will send her a personalized and meaningful card on your behalf.
