Stunned at receiving no mercy from family in her darkest hour, Mercy Casibo came to the conclusion that a life out of poverty for herself and her family would come through her own volition and tenacity. Starting with an old, small and ragged boat, Mercy’s husband Eden overcame his fear of the ocean and hired an extra hand to begin a humble fishing business. Mercy would sell their daily catch to her regular clients at the local market. She heard of Project Dungganon from her sister, an active Dungganon client, and with dreams of growing her business took on her first loan of PhP3,000 in 2002. She invested every peso in her business and the maintenance of their fishing boat. A new home, all her four children in school, two large motorboats, a tricycle and a multi-cab later, the Casibo family continues to work towards the growth and success of their business. Mercy’s past experiences of hurt and denial by those closest to her during her time of need strengthened her values of honesty, discipline and sharing which became a large part of her personal and business life. She has offered financing to her less fortunate anglers, social security benefits, bonuses and Christmas gifts to her crew of more than 10 people. “For us, providing employment to our workers means extending the blessings we have received from Project Dungganon. Skills alone are not enough if good values are not instilled or imparted amongst the employees.” With the success of her fishing business and dreams of expanding into the passenger bus industry, Mercy can look back and can confidently say that she has achieved what she set out to do.
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