Gemma came into GPMI in January, 2020 through her landlady who also happens to be a member. She and her husband were ambulant vendors before they decided to rent a small space in Project 4, Quezon City. Her loan from Grameen was intended for the expansion of their store offering to include varieties of rice produce. Later, increased income helped them invest in cold storage that allowed them to offer frozen meat and poultry to regular patrons.

Only a few weeks since they stepped-up their business, the Philippines was placed under strict community quarantine. Gemma could not continue delivering produce to clients outside the neighborhood, cutting down her family’s revenue drastically. With just the fruit stand as the sole source of income, she remains thankful that her store was able to tide them over the crisis.

Gemma is optimistic that with the easing of the community lockdown, she will be able to revitalize her business, and she feels even more confident knowing she can rely on Grameen Pilipinas to back her up.

On June 30, 2020, Gemma and her family were among those 1,500 recipent families that received food relief, a COVID-19 response of GPMI with AROWANA and Dana Asia.