Conchita Gasacao, 57, is a resident of Jaro, Iloilo City. She is already a widow with two children left to her. Her oldest son is Jeffrey, 20, a college student in University of the Philippines taking up Applied Mathematics and he is a college scholar, the youngest is Ian, 19, a fresh graduate from college.

When Conchita was widowed, this was a time when she experienced financial crisis. Her husband was a seaman but when he got sick and died, Conchita was left alone raising their two sons and with their small savings. She knew that if she did not use her savings properly then it would not last and worse, her children might not be able to finish their studies. To earn extra income she uses some of her savings to start a business in fish vending. Unfortunately, her fish vending was not that profitable so she decided to stop it. Once again, she decided to invest her remaining money in putting up a barbecue stall in front of her house and she sells varieties of barbecue like chicken and pork barbecue.

Her business becomes popular in their place because of her delicious barbecue and it was the only barbecue stand on their place. Her sons are helping her during their free time. They really help each other to make their business successful because it is the only source of their income and their only chance to survive.

Through her proper management of her business she was able to sustain the needs of her children especially on their studies. She was able to widen the space of her barbecue stand to offer seats for her customers. According to Conchita it was a hard job but for her children’s benefit she could do everything for them.

As of now, Conchita still needs additional capital for her business expansion. She wanted to put up a small sari-sari store in front of her barbecue stand to generate more income.

Additional capital will be a big help for Conchita and her family. She really wanted to give her children a better future and a good education.