Hapinoy ever after

Is there room for three in a love story?

MANILA, Philippines - The answer is a resounding YES! if the menage a trois is made up of Mark, Reese and the Philippines.

Mark Ruiz and Reese Fernandez-Ruiz both graduated from Ateneo de Manila University (Mark in 1999 and Reese in 2007), but they soon discovered much more than their alma mater in common – a passion and commitment to uplift the less fortunate. Together, they’ve shared their own “Rags 2 Riches” tale.

The social entrepreneurs met when they co-founded Rags 2 Riches together with a group of like-minded young professionals in 2007. Officially launched in October 2008, Rags 2 Riches is a for-profit social enterprise that creates home and fashion accessories from recycled materials, in partnership with designers and community artisans.

“We started because we saw that there was a social problem in one of the largest dumpsites in the Philippines, Payatas, wherein the mothers who were making foot rugs out of scrap cloth were just earning one to two pesos per rug because they didn’t have access to the supply of scrap cloth and to the market,” says Reese, who is currently the president of the company.

“They were in between a series of middle men who would get the lion’s share and so we thought that this was a very scandalous problem because they are in poverty and earning P8 a day, but not because they’re not working hard – in fact, they’re working harder than most of us – but, because they’re part of a very unjust system, just a little part of the pie was given to them,” she explains.

Reese adds, “We also saw this as an opportunity because in the Philippines we have a lot of people in this sector who can actually make beautiful things, you just have to guide them through it, and they can bring themselves out of poverty.”

The social enterprise was pushed forward even more with the support of Rajo Laurel, one of the country’s top designers. It was Laurel who found creative ways to turn the foot rugs into elegant and fashionable items.

“We feel that the best way to be sustainable is not through selling out of pity or selling out of a good story alone,” says Reese of the Rags 2 Riches philosophy. “The product has to sell itself. It has to be beautiful. People will have to want to buy it.”

Starting with only three community members, the project has now trained 550 men and women, some becoming mentors themselves. Because of the initiative, community members have been able to feed their families well and put their children through school. “They have bank accounts in their own names,” adds Reese.

“When you’re in poverty, it’s so difficult to think about next week, let alone two years from now,” she says. “Having savings means that you can already think about something for the future and long-term thinking is a luxury... When you think about people in poverty who can now think of what their future will look like, that is such a hopeful thing.”

Going on five years, Rags 2 Riches has partnered with more designers, most recently launching a collection by Amina Aranaz Alunan. They will also work with designers and artists including Kenneth Cobonpue and Olivia D’Aboville. The group is also gearing up for the international market and getting ready to open their online store.

“We started working together in forming Rags to Riches,” says Reese. “Knowing that we have the same passion for development for the country… I think that when you find someone and you want to change the world together, that’s the best-case scenario for every love life.”

“It also helps that she’s very cute,” Mark adds.

Notably, the two came from different backgrounds, but it was their love for service that brought them together.

 “I was raised by a missionary mother,” says Reese. “I got exposed to the different realities of the Philippines – poverty and inequality – and I felt very compelled to change that all throughout my life.”

Mark, on the other hand, calls himself an “accidental social entrepreneur.” With a father who was a civil engineer and bank executive mother, Mark lived a very structured life. But, he adds, “They always allowed me the freedom to explore and chase my crazy dreams.” 

His parents supported his decisions even when, after working for Unilever for seven years, Mark decided to resign.  “I really loved my corporate job, but there was just an itch or a piece that was not fulfilled. That piece was directly helping people, and so I was looking for that… I wanted to do something more, with social impact,” he says.

Mark credits his Jesuit formation for his inclination towards social entrepreneurship, as well as a love of comics – “superheroes who want to change the world.”

Mark is president of Hapinoy, which he co-founded with Bam Aquino. “We help women in rural areas improve their sari-sari store business,” he says

Hapinoy started when the largest microfinance institution in the Philippines, the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), recognized a need to further support the sari-sari store owners, who make up 10 to 15 percent of CARD borrowers, says Mark.

The group empowers sari-sari owners and helps them grow the business through a three-fold formula – capital, which the microfinance institution provides; training and capacity-building; and offering new business opportunities such as the option to sell over-the-counter medicine or use mobile money.

“We see a transformation in the nanay and in her family and in the store itself,” says Mark on the impact of Hapinoy on its beneficiaries. “There is a behavior change – they begin to see the sari-sari store as a family business. Now they feel that their store is a legacy that they can pass on to their children and their children’s children.”

I’m actually more stressed now than when I was in corporate,” Mark admits. “But it’s a different kind of stress – and it’s a good stress. It’s rewarding.”

Reese says, “It’s the kind of stress that makes you want to jump up every Monday morning rather than just stay in bed.”

“You have to get into the world we’re in for the right reasons,” Mark adds, saying that though both of their social enterprises have received numerous recognitions, the real reward is the work they do every day.

Awards only challenge them to do more, the couple says. “It also helps the organization to gain more supporters and uplift the morale of the members,” says Mark. They are also proud to put the country in a good light when they present their projects in international conferences.

Reese and Mark are also ambassadors for Project Pagsulong, a contest that challenges the youth to come up with creative and sustainable solutions to alleviate poverty. Finalists get mentoring and business coaching, while top projects receive funding for implementation.

“We’re very honored to be Project Pagsulong ambassadors because we feel that the youth of today have a lot to share,” says Reese. “People love to talk about what should be done, but this time the younger generation is actually doing something about it… It’s a great platform for young people”

“I sense that there’s a generational change now,” says Mark, who also teaches part time at Ateneo. Through his interactions with the youth, he has realized, “People want to do something more, something that really contributes and helps out. Project Pagsulong is what helps them crystalize this desire to create change.”

Reese describes herself and Mark as “fiercely, passionately nationalistic.” In all their endeavors, “we both love the country so much and we feel that what we are doing is really creating a better country for our children and our children’s children, for the future. And wherever we go, if they know we’re from the Philippines, they know we’re from a great country.”

Reese and Mark’s is a continuing story of love – for country, for the Filipino, and for each other – that ends “Hapinoy” ever after.