Glee had nine children and many grandchildren—and there came a time when her husband couldn’t support their large family with his income. Glee began sewing rags to try to make ends meet, but their family lived in poverty in a graveyard community in the Philippines.
After a time, Glee was employed by a company as a seamstress and sewed shopping bags out of recycled juice bags. When she’d mastered the skill, Glee left and began to design and sew her own bags.
That’s when she met our partner.
With the work orders our partner provided her, Glee began earning an income to provide for her family’s needs and before long, they had enough savings to renovate their house.
The metal scraps for walls were replaced with brick, the family could afford electricity and water, and eventually, they even purchased a high-speed sewing machine, a washing machine, a television, and a sound system.
When we asked Glee how her job has changed her life, she told us:
“It helped me and my family cope with poverty.”
When our partner saw the transformation that employment could bring, they realized how many more families could be impacted through business.
Glee set to work teaching people how to sew, while our partner employed them to make juice bags—which Work of Your Hand purchases and sells in North America.
When asked about people like you who purchase her products, Glee said, “I will be happy to have them as my customers because then I will be able to help my family rise from poverty.”
In 2011, Glee moved on to different employment and in Christmas 2016, we learned that she passed away. We are honoured to have met Glee and worked alongside her to empower impoverished families.
Thank you for joining us in changing lives, one purchase at a time.
