Luigi's "Asenso" program helps women earn a living

CEBU, Philippines - These women earn a living at home.

Sixth district Rep. Luis Gabriel Quisumbing's livelihood program "Asenso Sixto" helps wives and members of their families in the sixth district earn a living by just staying at home.

His livelihood program aims to promote productivity with environmental awareness.

"Products of the 'Asenso Sixto" that are mostly handicrafts are currently being sold in the ongoing "One Cebu Expo" at the Cebu International Convention Center, which runs from August 5 to August 15 with a midnight sale on its last day.

"Asenso" coordinator Dimples de Guzman said the program started before the campaign period in 2009.

The livelihood program focuses on handicrafts which benefits 61 barangays of Mandaue City, Consolacion and Cordova towns.

De Guzman said the program's recipients who are mostly unemployed wives need not buy machines or go out of their homes to work.

Distributed to the recipients were training kits, materials, and snacks to wives and members of their families who wish to learn a craft.

It was also learned that Quisumbing's livelihood program was also conceptualized through the help of his mother, Elizabeth, who wants her son's constituents learn how to earn a living without having a lot of skills.

"This is something that they can do while watching over their children or while watching TV. This is also one way to clean the surroundings as it will lessen garbage," Mrs. Quisumbing said.

She personally taught the training staff on how to make the products which she also learned from her cousins and friends.

It would not be difficult for the recipient to look for raw materials they would use in making these handicrafts because these are just scraps and waste materials which could be found everywhere.

These materials are newspapers, plastic materials, used clothing, cigarette and candy wrappers, and pieces of outdoor furniture that can be made into throw pillows, pot holders, paper clips, fabric placemats, wallets, plastic sealers, oil and water color painting, paper weaving, baskets, hampers, trays, boxes, rosaries, and jewelry.

Quisumbing's district office will buy whatever product is produced, as long as it has quality. However, the wives can also directly sell their products.

Since Quisumbing never practices "dole-outs" because he encourages the community to work.

His staff also teaches special livelihoods in the different chapels.

If a chapel needs a sound system and chairs and other things, the staff teaches chapel-goers how to make rosaries.

If a chapel needs 50 chairs, chapel members have to produce 100 rosaries made from paper before they can have what they want.

Reporters said products being sold at the booth of Asenso "Sixto" were among the most saleable items as many would buy after they knew that the products came from a livelihood program.

Jackie Sumalinog, 39, of Cordova town, yesterday said she used to have a parlor before but she closed it as she is now concentrating on making hampers which could earn her P650 daily for a set of three hampers.

She said a placemat can bring her P75. Both products are made from magazines or newspapers.

While Windy Parajes of barangay Mantuyong, Mandaue said she could make at least 100 tiny "puso" or hanging rice for key chains that are sold at 50 centavos each. (FREEMAN)