Résumé

She named the business Pom-Pom Candy Manufacturing after her eldest son to manufacture Pastillas de leche (sweet milk candies) that are usually served for dessert that is well known and loved by many people in the Philippines. She started by employing a male and a female employees supplying the areas of Pampanga and Kalookan City. Currently Grace is supplying thirteen (13) areas and is employing twenty-eight (28) employees half of which are females on a piecewise basis. Since they are high school graduates coming from the Bicol Region (southern most part of Luzon), they are provided with free board and lodgings located at the back of the factory. Her fourth child now helps with the business by doing deliveries. On her first try with the business, it was a financial loss of worth 600 k due to excessive moisture in pastillas and packaging. But this did not discourage Grace with the business, she started to investigate why the pastillas went so watery after some period of time and found out that the milk used were not for making pastillas. From then on, there are no excessive moisture in the candies. She doles out donation to churches and gave goods to the victims of Typhoon Ondoy (Typhoon Ketsana.) She hopes to extend the market inter-islands going as far as Visayas and Mindanao. Lend a Hand partner’s NPFC is helping Grace to acquire additional capital to boost the candy production and to support for the incoming orders.