Danilsa has always wanted to teach ever since she was a young girl. Little by little, she started making her way to reach this dream and now she’s a teacher in a small school in the Dominican Republic. Her vocation inspired her to not only educate children. On weekends, she also teaches adults who want to catch up on the education they missed when they were younger.
Her mother, Eladia Polanco, knew about the Dominican entity of the BBVAMF through a neighbor. She only needed two loans to give her small businesses the boost they needed (a meat store and a dress shop). In time, she was able to provide for her eight children. “I thank Banco Adopem because they opened a door for me and I was able to take a step forward”, she shares. For this entrepreneur, seeing how her kids shape their future is a dream come true, “My biggest pride is seeing them prepared to face each day of their lives”.
For Danilsa, getting an Education degree was not easy. Her parents’ efforts propelled her to enter college, the same way her brothers and sisters did. Four of the siblings are degree holders and one is about to graduate. “My mother received a loan from Adopem (for her business) which made it possible for me to study”, she reminisces.
Accessing higher education in Latin America is not always that easy for a lot of youth like Danilsa and her siblings. The World Bank estimates that 70% of the region’s university students are the first generation in their family to study college. Although the enrollment rates for university studies have increased in the last decades, in 2013, the figures still reflect 43%. These data reflect the fact that while education is a right for all, it is still out of reach for many.
Committed to this cause, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, in its mission to promote sustainable and inclusive social and economic development, impacts various Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. Among them, SDG 4 seeks “to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. These are opportunities that Eladia’s family were able to avail through enterprising and constant efforts. “I thank my parents’ hard work and the support given by Adopem because this allowed us to receive education”, explains Danilsa, who is currently also a client of the entity. She trusts that she could do for her kids, what her parents did for her.
The Gil Polanco family now enjoy the fruits of years and years of hard work and dedication. “Adopem believed in me and in what I have to offer”, assures Eladia. Now, more than ever, she reminds us that “with work and effort, all dreams come true”.
