This Filipina mother of five struggled in poverty for years before she began sewing for Work of Your Hand. Although her husband was a construction worker, he suffered from poor eyes sight and could not make ends meet.
Thankfully, Leonila learned of Work of Your Hand through our partner church in the Philippines.
She began to sew bags for us out of recycled materials, which we in turn shipped to North America and sold for a profit that paid Leonila a fair wage for her work.
With that extra income, Leonila’s family was not only able to provide for their needs, but also moved to a nicer home.
When our team visited the Philippines in 2012, we were sad to discover that Leonila was very sick from asthma. At the same time, we learned that due to a lack of medical care, people actually die from the preventable condition in the Philippines.
We visited Leonila and listened to her laboured breathing—and then gave her money to visit a doctor. Upon our next visit, we rejoiced to discover that her asthma had been healed!
Since Leonila had moved further away, it has been hard to work with her, but we are thankful that we were able to help even a little. Thank you for empowering her to provide for her family—you are truly changing lives, one purchase at a time.
