Honesty Store: Selling for a Purpose

5:31 PM

Today, February 25, we established our CSR project, the Honesty Store in CARD-MRI Development Institute (CMDI), located in Bay, Laguna. The location is around 3 to 4 hrs away from Manila, and the actual school location is far from the city. I actually wonder how students manage to go to school everyday due to its distance/proximity matters.

Upon arrival, one of our group mates, Neil Polinag, give us a short background about CARD MRI since he is part of this company. According to him, CARD MRI is a microfinance and social development institution which provides assistance towards the economically challenged families in rural areas, and promotes empowerment to women, particularly mothers, in the society. This group issues loans to mothers of the poor families, so that they can use it for their small time businesses and be able to provide for their families. They actually prefer to provide loans to women, since they believed that women are more family oriented than men. They also provide business training in order for the poor families to have their own small businesses. Aside from granting loans and providing business by microfinance, CARD MRI has now established a school for BS Entrepreneurship program and plans to have BS Accountancy as well in the future. Their college degree programs are accredited by CHED. These programs and services that CARD MRI offers are the result of its passion driven goal of uplifting the poor.

This motto is posted along the building of Card MRI

After knowing the background of the company, I realized that it is really possible to set up a company that uplifts the marginalized sector of the society, and at the same time be able to sustain the business. I actually searched in the internet how CARD MRI started, and I discovered that their mother company, CARD has an initial capital of only 20 pesos and a typewriter. From then the company grew out of several donations from different local and international organizations during the time of Cory Aquino wherein a lot of NGOs where established and the society is in the midst of rebuilding the Philippines out of dictatorship.

Up to this date CARD MRI delivers microfinance and financial services. But, they are now providing additional programs and services for the poor like microinsurance, livelihood, health, environmental, agricultural, and educational and other community development programs.

The Actual Service Learning

After the introduction of the company by Neil, we then proceed to planning the Honesty Store concept and operation. Since our program will be run by the officers of Block 7 BS Entrepreneurship students, we designated responsibility to each class officers. We also recorded the things that we donated, because we plan to go back and see where our goods gone through. We plan to evaluate if honesty was really practiced and see if the business is earning. Right after planning and organizing our thoughts, we now proceed to meet these college officers.

Photo of CARD MRI students with our donated goods.

These students have already started their honesty store, but their problem is that they are lack in items to sell. That’s why we decided to support their idea and give them the supplies they needed to run this business. Aside from the earnings they can get out of this store, they are actually promoting the value of honesty by this kind of initiative. Honesty is one of the values that is hard to maintain, but through this kind of initiative wherein honesty will be practiced each time students buy, we are hoping that honesty will be planted in their hearts and become one of their personal core value.

Our discussion with the students - where they share their experiences and stories in running the store for 3 weeks.

We spend time to meet the students and interview their experience in maintaining the store. It actually amazed me that they already have separation of duties and proper recording of inventory and expenses. As young as they are, they already know the basics of maintaining a business. They already have an assigned person for buying goods, counting inventory, and keeping the money.

Photo of wooden box for payment and record of income for their initial week.

However, they actually encountered a problem in dishonesty. On their first week of operation, someone has stolen their jar of money. Around 700 pesos was lost by this incident. After encountering that problem, they decided that instead of an open jar, they make a big wooden box with a caption "God is our security guard", that has a lock to prevent further stealing to happen. On a positive side, given that they have lost around 700 pesos initially, now that they are on the third week of operation, their profits are enough already to cover that loss. That really amazes us because in a span of two weeks they were able to recover what was lost. So we ask them how, and their response is that some people are paying in excess. Some customers pay higher than their designated item’s price. The students count this as “donation” in their balance records. That really amazes me because there are a lot of other stores within the area, but the people choose to buy in honesty store and even pays on a higher price.

Aside from that, I’m actually inspired by the students, not only because of the idea and the earnings, but also because the money they earned from the honesty store is also spent on a good use. They are using it for their community immersion or NSTP program. They are doing feeding programs, read along program for the children, and seminars for women. Initially, I thought that these earnings were used for their education and other necessities, but I’m wrong. It is being spent to help other people. They are selling for a cause.

A photo collage of the students' community immersion.

All in all, I believe that this honesty store is really a good way of promoting and encouraging others to practice honesty. It is very inspiring that through the initiative of students in setting up the store, the earnings they get are being used in funding their community programs. I hope that in the future, the new batches of students will sustain this, and that the store will continue its cycle of earning and helping. Through this, honesty will continue to be promoted and more people will be reached out.