Juvy Pedregosa

Sector : Food
Country : Philippines
Town : Sagay City, Negros Occidental
Loan Amount : $425
Juvy Pedregosa lives in Negros Occidental, a province of the western Visayas islands. Her village, Talusan, is part of Bulanon, a barangay of Sagay City. She is 31 years old and married to Jerry, a 37-year-old fisherman. They have four children; the oldest is eleven, and Juvy just gave birth to her youngest child a month ago. Their two older children are already attending school, and Juvy hopes that she and her husband will be able to afford to send all of their children through school and on to college so they will have better opportunities in their adult life. In pursuit of this dream, Juvy has helped her husband in his fishing venture. They wake up very early in the morning so that they can reach the market ahead of others and get a good price for their catch.

In 2001, she decided to join NWTF-Project Dungganon to access additional capital for their fishing business. With the help of successive loans she has been able to purchase additional fishing gear, thus enabling them to catch more fish. With the help of one of her loans, she was able to purchase another fishing boat, adding to their income capacity. She now nets an average monthly profit of 6,000 PHP, which she is happy to note is quite enough for their young family for the time being. But she is determined to continue to strive hard to save up for the future.

She previously borrowed 19,500 PHP, which she used as working capital for her fishing business. She paid the loan's weekly installments without delay throughout the loan’s term. Now in this eleventh loan cycle she is borrowing 19,500 PHP so that she can both repair their existing fishing boat and buy a new one.

Juvy is shown in the photograph above with her boat.

About NWTF:

In a world full of challenges, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation (NWTF), is making a difference in the lives of thousands of women through Project Dungganon (a Hiligaynon word that means Honorable). Through its alleviation program, these women have progressed from earning less than a dollar a day to achieving realities beyond their dreams. They are on a life path that will ultimately make them Dungganon—a title of esteem that is bestowed upon a member of a community who has earned respect through a lifetime of hard and honest work.