Amera Q. and her husband, Lorenzo, are engaged in the fishing business in their small village in Tabao, Zone 2, Valladolid, Negros Occidental, in the Philippines.

They started off in this business without owning a fishing boat, even a small one, as they had no money to purchase one. Their recourse then was to hitch a ride with other fishermen in their boats, fish and sell the fish to the local community. However, with a lot of hard work and a desire to improve not only their quality of life but also the education of their three children, Amera joined NWTF-Project Dungganon in 1999 and slowly they were able to improve their business. They were able to buy their own fishing boat, purchase more nets, venture into catching crabs, and now they are able to sell these not only in the local community but also to businessmen, who sell their crabs and some fish in the big cities, getting them more margin on their catch.

Now on her 13th loan cycle with NWTF-Project Dungganon, Amera earns between P6-16,000 a month from the business, which helps a lot in providing for their household expenses and sending her three children to school, and even allowing them to expand their fishing business. For her next loan, Amera needs P19,500 to purchase materials to build more nets to catch bigger crabs. At the same time she will use some of the money for additional working capital for the business, which will allow them to increase their catch and hopefully, save more money in the hopes of adding a few fishing boats to their fleet in the near future.

About NWTF
In a world full of challenges, Negros Women for Tomorrow Foundation, Inc. has answered the call of not just a few but thousands of women. Through the alleviation program, these women have progressed from earning less than a measly $1 a day, to surpassing the realities beyond their dreams. They have learned to live a life which can be called honorable. This is Project Dungganon.