From poor to rich: A country’s reality.

1. This family was a very poor family. They lived in a humble house that didn’t have real
windows, nor a real bathroom. The kids would go to their neighbors’ homes to ask for food or
just stay there and eventually get something to eat.

2. It was a big family. The father, Don Hernan, was a security guard in a residential complex
located in a wealthy part of the city. The mother, Doña Liz, was a housewife that used to take
care of their children. They had 5 children, 4 girls and 1 boy. They all went to school because
they wanted to become professionals and help their family.

3. One day, Don Hernan was working and one man, very rich and well-dressed, talked to him to
offer him a chance to get some extra money. Don Hernan had never received such an ambitious
proposal, so he didn’t know what to say at first. The rich man told Don Hernan to think about it,
and he also said that that was the way he had become so rich to get a luxurious apartment in
that wealthy residential complex.

4. That evening, Don Hernan arrived home and his wife served him dinner. It was just some
rice, with a tiny piece of meat, a little portion of salad, and some aguapanela. Don Hernan
looked at the food and he thought to himself that he had never tried something nice to eat. As
Don Hernan was eating, his wife looked at him and she noticed something unusual. Don
Hernan was thoughtful, something was happening.

5. After that, they went to bed. Their room didn’t have a door, but it had a large piece of cloth
that helped them isolate themselves a little from the rest of the house. Doña Liz was worried, so
she asked Don Hernan what was happening. Don Hernan told her that one rich man had
proposed to him something to get extra cash. He also said that with that money, they would be
able to build a better house, have better food, and give a better life to their children. Doña Liz
didn’t hesitate for long, and she encouraged Don Hernan to take that chance.

6. The next day, Don Hernan told the rich guy that he had spoken to his wife and that they both
had agreed that it was a good chance, so he was willing to take the job. The rich guy seemed to
be happy, and he gave Don Hernan an “adelanto” (anticipated payment), so that he could have
a nice dinner with his family. Don Hernan arrived home later that day, and he bought a big
roasted chicken with soda. The whole family had a nice meal. Jair, the little boy, said “I had
never eaten something this delicious!” Thank you daddy!

7. That weekend, Don Hernan did his first task in his new job. He was scared, because it was a
new job for him, and, being honest to himself, his mother had not raised a child that would take
a job like that. However, Don Hernan only cared about his family’s future, so he kind of put a
shield on him and did the job effectively. In that first task, Don Hernan got enough money to buy
himself a motorbike, and finish the construction of a nice house for his family. They went from
having a one-level, humble house, to having a three-level, beautiful house.
8. After one year, Don Hernan had earned enough money to buy a car for the family, and buy
two other houses in the same neighborhood. The children stopped visiting their neighbors to
ask for food, and they became so self-reliant that their birthday parties were like Christmas
parties around the block.

9. The 5 children eventually finished school, but they did not want to take on a university life.
They wanted to follow their father’s steps, so they also started working on the business.

10. Jair, the boy, went even farther. He thought to himself “If my father had been poor all his life,
and he became so rich in his 50s, why couldn’t I do something similar and get so much money
so that I have a luxurious lifestyle? I deserve it!” So, he went abroad and he became the boss of
one branch of the business.

This is a story that is lived by plenty of people in this country. But, what was the business that
helped Don Hernan and his family become so rich all of a sudden?