When Maribeth Galleta’s husband walked out on her, she was devastated by the betrayal and terrified at the thought of raising 3 small children on her own. Having been a housewife for close to 10 years, domestic life is all she has ever known. There were days she wanted to shut herself from the world, but Maribeth knew she had to be strong and present for her children as they heavily depended on her.

In her first year of being a single mother, Maribeth offered laundry services to her neighbours to make ends meet. The little money she earned went to paying for groceries and sending her children to school. To supplement her measly income, Maribeth worked as a private caregiver for bedridden patients, a job that required her to lift and carry patients from one place to another. Helping them to the toilet, out of bed, into the car or up from a chair became daily routines. The constant overexertion to her back resulted in a spinal cord injury.

The day-to-day pains and aches made it impossible to continue the work and so, she resigned. To keep the momentum going, Maribeth joined her sister’s bottled water business hoping the pay would be enough to cover her family’s living expenses. This proved to be difficult as she struggled to attract customers due to her shy nature and was clueless in prioritizing business needs. As a result, she was earning less money than before and made the hard decision to return to her caregiver job despite her disability.

One day, Maribeth received a phone call that would change her life for the better. The caller extended her an invitation to participate in the R.I.S.E. programme. Initially, she was sceptical of the offer but figured she had nothing to lose from attending the programme. In fact, she saw this as an opportunity to learn entrepreneurial skills that could help revive her dying business.

The R.I.S.E. modules cover important business fundamentals such as sales strategy, financial management, and marketing strategy. It was never easy. A couple of times she wanted to quit, but she persevered and sought guidance from her mentors when she needed to. “It was the hardest thing I have done intellectually so far in my life, but looking back I’m grateful that I continued on with the training,” Maribeth said.

Emboldened by her newly-gained knowledge and support from her mentor, Maribeth quickly brainstormed new ways to improve her financial situation. She learned that she could put her cooking skills to good use and start a food business via the Profiling module. Maribeth also conducted a market analysis to help her understand potential customer segmentation and identify business opportunities. And so, she decided to start selling chicken bagnet (deep-fried chicken) to her neighbours before branching out to small sari-sari stores (convenience stores).

These days, the difference in Maribeth’s personality is apparent to those close to her. Now, she is more vocal about her opinions, decisive and self-assured in her decision making. Maribeth is not only a proud business owner, but most of all, she is a mother intent on providing the best possible future for her children. Today, she can rest easy knowing that her hard work cumulated in two of her children graduating from University this year, and her youngest son is set to finish his nursing degree soon.