Save Today to Have Tomorrow

Santos’ life today is characterized by brightness, optimism and joy!  She sees the beauty in everything and believes all of it should be given new life.  A bright welcome sign made from bottle caps adorns an outside wall of her home, light bulbs past their prime hold herbs and spices and old purses double as flower pots. This, in part, comes not from her incredibly impoverished beginnings but also from all she has overcome and her accomplishments.

Santos has lived through hardships. After her father left when she was just 4 years old, she lived with an abusive caretaker before escaping with her siblings to live with her mother in a single room home built out of cardboard and plastic.

When she was 10 years old she started work as a maid and soon after she decided she needed to learn to read and write, so at 12 years old she started school for the first time.  Despite her hardships she completed high school, and after having a family of her own, she attended two years of technical training school to study agriculture.

When Heifer launched a project to help small-scale farmers improve their livelihoods, Santos’ knowledge of farming stood out. She was asked to take a leadership role in the project, which she happily accepted. She now runs a highly productive and beneficial seed bank, along with a  savings and loan program that is helping dozens of families build lasting economic security. 

The seed bank acts as insurance against drought, flooding and other climate challenges. It safely stores high-quality seeds, adapted to local conditions, for planting when times get hard and has proven to be very successful. 

After Heifer sent Santos to a three-month training in financial management, she returned with the knowledge and drive to create a savings bank. It has a dozen members who call themselves “Save Today to Have Tomorrow.”

For the first time, they are a unified community that bands together to help each other and the most vulnerable in their community. They care for their elderly neighbors by providing food baskets and have even built a sturdy sheet metal and wood home for an elderly neighbor who was living in a plastic-and-cardboard home, similar to what Santos had lived in as a child.

Santos strives to keep inspiring her group members and serve as an example.  We have no doubt that her strength, brightness, optimism and joy will be passed on to her grandchildren Jocsan, 8, and Nayisha, 5, who live with her and her husband.