10 ERMITA FOLKS RECEIVE SEWING TOOLS FROM CPPC
The Cebu Private Power Corp. (CPPC) has been helping Barangay Ermita in Cebu City by providing projects, training Catalina Gabutero, 80, was among the 10 beneficiaries of the Isang Pamunas, Isang Bukas livelihood project of CPPC
In an overly crowded Barangay Ermita in Cebu City were dreams seem to be unreachable, hope springs for an 80-year-old mother.
Catalina Gabutero endures the pain in her nape and continues to spend most of her time facing the sewing machine making rags to earn a living.
Every step on the pedal and every rag she finished is a step closer to the realization of her dream.
With her drive to support her family, this grandmother of 24 took her tailoring skills to the next level by accepting alterations for her ukay-ukay customers.
Even with her white hairs and face creases, Lola Catalina showed an unwrinkled smile and proud eyes as she shares how rags and altered ukay-ukay helped her grandchildren finished high school.
Lola Catalina does not own a sewing machine but she was able to borrow an equipment from the barangay that she used for her small business.
Tungod sa makina sa barangay hall naka tahi tahi ko og na
ka-kwarta,” she said. In 2013, Lola Catalina’s road had not been smooth as she would have wanted to be, after a fire destroyed her house, including the sewing machine.
The fire left Lola Catalina with a charred sewing machine and a deterred dream.
Barangay officials of Ermita offered her a part-time job as a garbage monitoring officer.
This year, Lola Catalina has been chosen as one of the 10 beneficiaries of the livelihood project of the Cebu Private Power Corp. (CPPC). This livelihood skills training on rag production with the theme, “Isang Pamunas, Isang Bukas,” aims to provide homemakers in Barangay Ermita an opportunity to earn extra income.
“I’m very happy and thankful to the sponsors. Because of this (machine), I will be able to (go back to) sewing again,” she said in Cebuano.
For years, CPPC has extended help to residents of Barangay Ermita by providing projects and training.
This year, CPPC donated four manual sewing machines, cloth swatches and starter kits to the women-beneficiaries who also worked as vendors and laundrywomen.
For Lola Catalina, having been chosen as CCPC’s livelihood project beneficiary is a new start to sew up her ripped dream on helping her family.
Cebu Private Power Corp., a 60/40 joint venture between AboitizPower and Vivant Corp., operates one of the largest diesel power plants in Cebu that can generate reliable peaking power supply. Aboitizpower. com