Today Wascar has rebuilt his business and has hired another employee.

Wascar lives in Santo Domingo with his wife Ana, and his 4-month-old daughter. In 2009 Wascar started his own business of buying and selling second-hand shoes. Everything was going well for him, his family, and his business when in March of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly struck the Dominican Republic. Many businesses were forced to close their doors for a time, including Wascar’s.

Wascar shared with us that he felt incredibly sad, anxious, and distressed about his situation. He was unsure how he would take care of his pregnant wife at the time. Merchandise that accumulated at his house was covered in dust with no incoming demand from customer’s insight. Wascar lost all hope of ever restoring his shoe business.

A woman from his church introduced Wascar to Mentors International and the vocational/ entrepreneurial courses we provide. He immediately got in touch with our Director Ruth and registered for the Sales and Customer Service course in May 2020.

As he was learning and implementing the skills and principles he was taught, hope awakened in him and the passion for shoe sales was reborn.

Thanks to the course and the personalized mentoring he received, he has been able to recover more than 85% of his regular clients. After a meeting with Wascar and his wife, his mentors helped him organize his finances. Mentors International then approved a loan of $1,711 USD to grow his inventory.

Wascar was enrolled in the virtual mentoring pilot program with the Utah State University SEED interns. Every Monday he met with our professionally trained business interns from the United States. He also met weekly with his mentor Milagros in the Dominican Republic. Wascar received additional help from another student also attending classes from Mentors International. They helped him promote his business through social networks and helped him design a new logo. (pictured above)

All of this combined support had a great impact on Wascar’s life and business. Today he has rebuilt his business and has hired another employee. He has increased his sales through partnerships with other small clothing stores that are now selling his shoes.

Wascar frequently expresses his gratitude and joy for the opportunity he had to participate in our programs. He tells everyone he knows about Mentors International and encourages them to get involved with our programs.

These are the words Wascar wanted to share: “Thanks to Mentors International and its great team of professionals, my business continues to grow, I have four new locations where I sell and distribute my products. I have a goal to open two more locations.

“I also feel super grateful, for the personalized mentoring team, for lessons every two days, for the group meeting and for the Saturday mentoring meeting with Ruth and Milagros, both instructors have been a great blessing to me”

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