The handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus started the Rainbows of Love Livelihood Center in Santa Rafaela (Legazpi) to help women to put their skills to good use, making bed sheets, bedcovers, pillows, and clothes to sell on the Internet. Sister Nette M. dela Cerna tells their story.
Manila (AsiaNews) – Sister Nette M. dela Cerna, a member of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (ACI), told AsiaNews that encouraging self-reliance among poor and marginalised communities is a priority because this can enable families go beyond mere survival and live with dignity and be fully alive.
In Santa Rafaela, a village near Legazpi (Albay province), she and a group of sisters help poor women through their empowerment and sustainable livelihood programmes.
One of the key issues women face in far-flung villages is the lack of opportunities to develop their skills that use as a source of income.
For those who are poor and live on the edge, self-reliance is a must to provides their families the means to live in full and in dignity rather than scraping by.
One way of doing so is the Rainbows of Love Livelihood Center, which was started a few years ago thanks to the generosity of a sponsor who provided sewing machines and other needed materials to local mothers.
The goal was to harness their skills to make beautiful and useful things, such as clothes, school uniforms, T-shirts, shorts, bed sheets, pillows, pot holders, curtains and more.
In the past, the women sold their products only in and around the village. However, Fr Rex Arjona, a parish priest in Tagas, encouraged them to promote their creations via Internet.
"To my surprise, immediately after I posted their works [online], orders for bed sheets, bedcovers, pillows, both from the Philippines and abroad, overflowed," said Sr del Cerna.
About a hundred women are certainly important and capable of making a difference in their community as they begin to experience a renewed sense of dignity as children of God.
"We believe that everyone has the power to make the world a better place," the nun said. "The journey with the poor has not been easy for me but it has truly been worth it.”
“We make an effort to let people know that they are truly loved and cared for by God,” the nun explained. At the same time, “I always encourage them to go ahead – dream and to work for it, take it as a challenge and have faith in God.”
Ultimately, she added, “It does not matter where you come from, the important thing is where you want to go because poverty is not a hindrance to success."