MANILAfcplay, Philippines — The sounds of life filled Maginoo Street in Tondo. Laughter and chatter echoed from tricycle drivers waiting for passengers, while the pitter-patter of children’s feet raced over the uneven cement as they played after returning home from school.
But on the Centro Salvador building’s fourth floor, only the whirring sound of sewing machines can be heard, paired with the repetitive, dull thud of needles punching holes through fabric.
This was the seamstresses’ doing of the Be Blessed Marketplace, one of the livelihood programs of the Bless the Children Foundation Inc. (BCFI).
BCFI’s livelihood coordinator, 41-year-old Jane Mata, said the Be Blessed Marketplace started in 2015 to provide jobs for mothers in Tondo.
“Ang binibigyan natin ng [sewing] training ay mga nanay ng mga [sponsored children] natin,” Mata said.
The only exception is Marites de Guzman, 55, a solo parent of four children who resides in Bulacan and has been part of the livelihood program since 2015, despite not having any children sponsored by the BCFI.
“Malaking bagay sakin ‘yung pagpasok ko dito kasi dati hirap na hirap ako,” she said, recalling that a field worker of one of BCFI’s partner organizations in Bulacan recommended her in the Tondo livelihood program.
Being the third-oldest out of seven siblings, the seamstress started to work as a kasambahay or house helper at the age of 16 to help provide for her family.
But because she wanted to learn how to sew, then 16-year-old De Guzman would use the sewing machine of the house she worked at when the seamstress would go out, practicing with the small, leftover pieces of fabric.
“[N]agtatagpi-tagpi ako ng tela, tapos ginagawa kong bayong. ‘Yung telang pwedeng gawing bag, gagawin kong kumot,” she said. “[K]aya natutuo akong umapak ng makina.”
Marites de Guzman shows off the pants she sewed with unused fabric. She said working for the Be Blessed Marketplace enhanced her sewing abilities, as they allowed her to make clothes for herself despite being unable to pursue dressmaking. “Maluwag dito kasi naiintidihan naman dito ‘yung buhay na walang pera,” she added.
Cherina Gatapia
Having worked the longest in the livelihood program, De Guzman is in charge of making the sample for every product the other seamstresses create.
“Magbibigay sila sa’kin ng picture halimbawa [ng bag or pouch], tapos ngayon gagawin ko. ‘Pag nagawa ko na, gagawa ako ng pattern, tapos ituturo ko sa kanila,” she said. “Kapag alam na nila, sila na mananahi at gagawa na ako ng panibagong sample.”
For Vilma Arguelles, 53, one of the other seamstresses who joined in 2016, any difficult pattern can be learned.
“Lahat kailangan tahiin mo kahit mahirap, kahit ayaw mo. Kailangan matutunan mo rito kasi ‘pag nagpatahi dito, kailangan lahat. Hindi ka pwede mamili. Hindi mo pwedeng sabihin ‘ayoko niyan kasi mahirap,” she said.
Vilma Arguelles folds the fabric over itself to sew the edges, which will serve as the body of the bag. Arguelles said she made pillowcases in Taytay, Rizal when she was younger, but only learned to sew bags from De Guzman in 2016.
Cherina Gatapia
Arguelles stayed in the livelihood program for one year, after which she opened up a sari-sari store in her home.
But last March, a fire razed Tondo, leaving her and her family homeless.
“Dito [sa BCFI building] kami inampon ng apat na buwan kasi wala kaming matutuluyan,” Arguelles said.
She added she rejoined the Be Blessed Marketplace this April as she has no other means of income after the fire.
Before 2016, one of Arguelles’ children was already being sponsored by BCFI.
“Nag-start siya dito [as a sponsored child] noong Grade 2 pa lang siya [in 2013],” she said.
Arguelles added her child, now a tourism freshman at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, is still being sponsored.
Weaving new patternsAside from giving jobs to mothers in Tondo, one of the main objectives of the Be Blessed Marketplace was to sell affordable and durable bags for their sponsored children, which lasted three to four years.
“[D]umami ang imbentaryo kasi hindi na sila bumibili eh, pero tuloy-tuloy ang production, so minarket na sa labas, ibinenta na sa labas,” BCFI’s livelihood coordinator Jana Mate said.
She added the Be Blessed Marketplace officially opened to the public in 2018 but only became active on social media in 2021.
Since then, the small business regularly participated in trade fairs and bazaars hosted by the Department of Trade and Industry’s One Town, One Product (OTOP) program.
“Dahil doon, mas mataas ‘yung opportunity namin i-feature ‘yung products, mas marami kaming benta. Nadadagdagan rin kami ng clients dahil sa exposure,” Mata said.
Marites de Guzman inserts orange thread into the sewing machine to sew pouches. Aside from the products of the Be Blessed Marketplace, the seamstresses also make products for their partner brand, One Weave.
Cherina Gatapia
While considered a social enterprise for its social impact of providing livelihood to mothers in Tondo, the livelihood coordinator hopes the Be Blessed Marketplace would be an “established” and “profitable” social enterprise.
Out of the 1,910 children from Tondo, Baseco, and Navotas sponsored by BCFI, 318 are in college.
Mata said once the business has exceeded the breakeven point, the net income will be given to the sponsored college students.
The livelihood coordinator explained the sponsored children get P1,000 a month from Chalice Canada, their partner organization that funds the scholarship program.
She said that what the sponsored college students receive may not be enough and may prompt them to find part-time jobs as another source of income.
“Minsan ‘yun na rin reason kung bakit tumitigil sila mag-college, which is sad din kasi ang gusto namin makatapos sila,” Mata said.
The workstation of the seamstresses. One of Mata’s goals is to have consistent sewing training programs for more mothers of BCFI’s sponsored children.
Cherina Gatapia
As of this writing, there are seven seamstresses working for the Be Blessed Marketplace.
Despite being few, Arguelles treats her fellow seamstresses as family.
“Para na kaming magkakapatid, nagtutulungan,” she said.
De Guzman added that even though her older children advised her to quit her job, she would still continue to commute from Bulacan every Monday, despite instances where she fainted on the bus.
“Pupuntahan na lang nila ako sa ospital. Masaya kasi ditofcplay, andito ‘yung kasiyahan, kaligayan ko.” — intern, Cherina Gatapia