When Rogelia started the WEP last year, she primarily sold fruits and vegetables, door to door through her community. And this year, she began to see how she could expand her business – and we’ll tell you how in just a moment.
We recently asked Rogelia how her business is going and she said with a smile, “It’s going well, very well. Before joining the WEP, I just took care of things around the house, but now with my own business, I feel like I have improved my life and business a great deal. Now, I go out into the community to sell my products rather than just staying at home. I am very appreciative to God and everyone in the project for the help they have given, especially because I am learning to read and write –and I am improving all the time!”
As we mentioned before, Rogelia has expanded her business beyond just selling fruits and vegetables, so we asked her to share a bit how she’s done it. “I noticed that when the fruits and vegetables were becoming too ripe people didn’t want to buy them but they were ripe enough for Popsicles. So, I’ve taken advantage of having all that ripe fruit and thereby, I’m not wasting the produce and not loosing out on my investment. Currently, the flavors I sell are zapote, strawberry with milk, and coconut.” And, Rogellia hasn’t stopped there. She also is testing her sales of boiled sweet corn, yuca and sweet potatoes with honey and a hot corn drink called atol. We haven’t tried them yet, but we bet they taste delicious!
We are also so happy and proud to hear how much Rogelia is dedicating to improving her literacy skills. Rogelia heard that a new literacy course is starting soon near her and she is excited to join it. Last year, the Ministry of Education provided a literacy course to her and other entrepreneurs and it really helped strengthen her skills. Right now, Rogelia is very focused on getting better at all aspects of reading and writing.
Rogelia’s main goals and dreams are related to supporting her family. Rogelia wants to continue being able to have her family stay together and united. In the future, she desires to have her own home where they could all live.
We are certain that Rogelia will achieve these dreams and goals as well as others. She has demonstrated that she is a strong and capable person who can achieve whatever she sets out to do. Today, more than ever, we are proud of Rogelia. Soon, we’ll share more about the progress she makes in her life and in her business!
