When you help an individual, that first step can lead to the lasting success of an entire family! At Cause for Hope, we know that sharing the skills that lead to self-reliance lifts not only the single person that participates in a program, but the whole family as well.
That’s certainly been the case for the Mejia family of Chiclayo, Peru. Doris Mejia, 54, is a single mother of three children. When she decided to participate in the programs offered by Cause for Hope, Doris asked her adult daughters Diana and Sara to enroll in the Business Improvement workshop with her.
A hard worker, Doris was selling local fast food favorite “salchipapas” (hot dogs with potatoes) for the equivalent of $5.60 per day, or about $168 per month. Despite her efforts, she needed additional training and skills to better manage her business sales and expenses. Doris decided to reach out and ask for help from Cause for Hope, her church, and her family to improve her situation and make the lasting changes that would lead to success.
Doris encouraged her two daughters to enroll with her in the Cause for Hope training courses because the whole family needed to learn more about how to manage their business. Not only did Doris take the opportunity to acquire the skills to grow her business, but she also passed along the chance for her daughters to learn new professional skills.
Both of the Mejia daughters decided to use their newfound skills to benefit the family. Since participating, daughter Sara has decided to take on the responsibility of managing the accounting and keeping the books for the salchipapas business. Diana and Sara also came up with a marketing plan that included naming the business “Saydi”-Tasty Snacks.
In the time since the daughters have gotten involved, the family business has become more profitable. Their income has nearly tripled, the Mejia family is able to budget and maintain a savings account balance, and they’ve set new goals to expand operations by reinvesting some of the savings into growing their business.
The Mejia family’s experience is what we would call a major success story! We know that when you help good, hardworking people, you’re making a lasting difference for entire families and the communities they live in. We invite you to learn more about how you can help us to make a difference to put an end to intergenerational poverty for the people we serve!