My name is Nilda del Panos and I am 61 years old. I live in Mandaluyon City, one of the 16 cities that make up Metro Manila. Because I am a community outreach coordinator, I have the opportunity to demonstrate God’s love in a practical way by helping people warmly and wholeheartedly.
Sunrise
I work on a movement called Bukang Liwayway (Sunrise for the Poor). Through the income project for underprivileged families, we offer work to the poor mothers from the slums in a kind of ‘social workplace’ context. They can then receive an hourly wage or unit price in the sewing workshop. The products they make are sold. The materials and salaries are paid from this. The remaining profit is used to support other operating branches of the organization.
Business approach
Before I came into contact with the MBC, our project was not going very well. What I especially learned from the MBC is that they approach our income project more from a business side. It’s not just about charity. People learn – little by little – to take care of themselves. They receive sewing lessons, and some can start their own business with a small loan. Then they have to get an eye for what a customer wants. It was especially important that everyone paid more attention to the good quality of their products.
Quality and presentation
For example, we made linen bags with a painted print. We used to pay little attention to the finish. And sometimes the bags looked really different or the print was spotty. Now we work more precisely and we carry out a quality check after the bags are ready. We’ll take out the bad ones. We also take better care of the presentation: a nice plastic packaging with a label on it gives the product a better appearance and so we have a greater chance of selling more. We learned that at the MBC. I received personal coaching with a lot of patience and understanding of my situation. As a result, we were able to help more mothers find work in our community. And because we made a profit from the products we made and sold, more young people from the poor neighborhood could go to school. How nice it is to see how people’s lives have changed through this project! This is how they get out of a hopeless situation. If they have enough assignments, they can take care of their family on their own. Our organization is also making a positive impact on the community and more young people are receiving support with their education.