“Nanmaliw ya dalan su DSWD-SLP onpian makala kami na NC II ed panagmasahe tan makaanap na regular ya trabaho (The Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 1 through its Sustainable Livelihood Program helped me secure a National Certificate II (NC II) in massage therapy and find a regular job).”
From a homemaker to becoming the family’s breadwinner, Gina T. Navarro of Brgy. Isla, San Carlos City, Pangasinan provides for the needs of her family by rendering massage therapy and beauty care services in one of the resorts in the City. Her husband needs to stay at home to recover from a head injury sustained from a car accident in 2017.
In 2017, Gina was among the 40 DSWD-SLP served participants in San Carlos City who underwent a skills training conducted by Maxima Technical and Skills Training Institute, Inc. and received NC II in Beauty Therapy and Straightening with Entrepreneurship from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in the same year.
Just in time when a resort is in need of wellness staff a month after receiving their NC II, the DSWD-SLP endorsed its served participants where six (6) of them were successfully hired. The resort later shouldered the training and securing of NC II on Beauty Care to expand their knowledge and skills in manicure, pedicure, and foot spa.
“Bukod ed komisyon mi ya PhP80.00 kada sakey oras ya panmamasahe, iitdan da kami ni na PhP100.00 ya allowance kada agew. (Aside from the PhP80.00 commission for every one hour massage, we are entitled to a PhP100.00 daily allowance),” shared Gina. She earns an average of PhP340.00 to PhP700.00 a day depending on the demand. Her clients often give her tip for her excellent service. To maximize productivity during her day-off, she renders home service massage.
Some of her batchmates prefer to use their skills as their part-time income opportunity as they need to attend to their family. They do on-call home massage and hair treatment services during their free time to augment their family income.
“Ag mo pupulyanan ya nu anto ka natan et umman ka la. Awaten mo may pagkakataon tan mantiwala ka ya kayam su manmaliw a maruong ed apilem ya trabaho. Napan-aralan met ya amin (Do not allow yourself to be stuck at where you are. Grab opportunities and believe that you can be good at your chosen craft. Everything can be learned, anyway),” she added. (by: Janine Joy B. Altero, Social Marketing Officer, Sustainable Livelihood Program)
