Tags: Inspirational Stories
By Marjorie Gorospe
QUEZON CITY, METRO MANILA — Young entrepreneur Reese Fernandez proves that Filipinos can help each other regardless of age and status in life.
The 25-year-old Fernandez, president and co-founder of Rags2Riches Inc., was selected as one of five Rolex Awards for Enterprise: Young Laureates Program awardees held recently in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Fernandez received a grant of $50,000 along with other awardees from Nigeria, India, Ethiopia, and the United States.
Rags2Riches empowers less privileged women living at the Payatas dumpsite to have an alternative yet dignified source of income through creating eco-friendly and recycled products.
The company started when Fernandez and a group of young professionals visited Payatas and saw that women were making rugs but were paid lowly while middlemen sell these for a much higher price.
Rags2Riches helps women in poor communities recycle scrap discarded by garments factories and turn these into high-end bags and accessories with the help of the best designers in the country, most notably Rajo Laurel.
“It gives them a sense of dignity… they know that they will be recognized with what they do everyday,” says Fernandez in this video.
“We do appreciate a lot of help from the outside but it’s about time that we help ourselves,” she says.
From helping some 350 women in Payatas, Rags2Riches has expanded this model to some 20 more communities in the country.
Not only has it helped transform the lives of less privileged women and their families, it also opened an opportunity for people in other countries to see Filipino ingenuity.
Rags2Riches is located at Unit 3B Cubao Expo, Gen. Romulo Avenue, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City.
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