Born as the 5th child in a family of 11, Juvelyn Glorio learned to juggle both work and study when her father died due to a lung problem. With the meager salary as a laundry woman, Juvelyn’s mother could not fully support them.

This time, Juvelyn knew that she had to support herself in her studies. She worked as a saleslady in one of the general merchandising stores in Bogo City, Cebu. She worked full-time during summer; her salary meant food on the table and additional savings for her allowance in the next school year.

Juvelyn’s hard work paid off when she graduated from high school but in as much as she wanted to pursue college, her family’s needs had to be prioritized. She chose to work to support her younger sisters and brothers since her elder siblings got married early. The responsibility of helping her mother fell on her. 

Juvelyn got married in 2006 and she moved to Sibonga, Cebu with her husband. Both of them worked as security guards. In 2011, Juvelyn’s sister from Bogo shared her knowledge on chicharon making and that was when her chicharon-making business began which she co-managed with her husband. 

During the early years of the business, they could only produce a few packs of chicharon because they had limited access to capital. They had to wait until they were able to sell their products before they could produce another batch. That was when Juvelyn decided to join RAFI Micro-finance, Inc. (RMF).  She borrowed Php 5,000 pesos in her first loan and used it to buy all the needed equipment and ingredients for her business.

She started producing larger amounts of her product and sold them to the market and sari-sari stores for Php 8 per pack. Her business flourished until she started selling her products to nearby municipalities of Aloguinsan, Argao, Asturias, Balamban, Badian, Carcar, Dumanjug, Moalboal, Pinamungajan, and Toledo.

Over 700 packs of chicharon are produced per day depending on the bulk of orders from Juvelyn’s loyal customers.

For her, giving back to the community is very important and so she hires every student who could use an extra income through the packing of the chicharon, paying them P1/per pack. In most weekdays, about 18 students go to Juvelyn’s place for packing while during summer time, over 30 students come over to her place and help her with the packing together with their mothers. 

Juvelyn wants to show to her three children the importance of giving back to the community. She is very close to her working students, as can very well relate to what they are going through, also having juggled work and studies while in high school.

It’s not every day that business went well for Juvelyn. One of the major challenges the business often encounters are the rainy days since they have to sun-dry their chicharon before cooking. Thus, Juvelyn and her husband made it a point to produce more of their products and store them before the rainy season.

Juvelyn’s life may have been very hard but she learned a lot from her experiences. She worked hard so that her own children will not be able to feel the hardships she experienced before. It made her strong and have the heart to serve the children that needs help in their education. Her little act impacted the lives of those children. She also now serves as a role model not just to her children but also to the community.

RAFI Micro-finance, Inc. (RMF) celebrates its 20 years of elevating the lives of Micro-entrepreneurs. RMF is a program of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) that provides the vulnerable and disadvantaged with comprehensive financial services that enable them to have a stable and rewarding means of livelihood to elevate their quality of life.