RAFInspires

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly declared sanitation as a basic, universal human right.

Coming from a family of skillful patisseries, Josephine De Lara has transformed her hobby into a business. However, this was not an overnight decision that she has made. Before she took the leap of faith to become a full-time businesswoman, Josephine was once an office employee of a private sales company.

Born as the 5th child in a family of 11, Juvelyn Glorio learned to juggle both work and study when her father died due to a lung problem. With the meager salary as a laundry woman, Juvelyn’s mother could not fully support them.

Anita Wasquin didn’t need any diploma to prove what she’s good at — being a businesswoman. Growing up in a less fortunate family, Anita made a promise to herself that even though she wasn’t able to finish elementary, she will strive hard to give a comfortable life for her family.

“Small but terrible” — this idiomatic expression is one that would describe Mary Grace Bayalas. A woman with a small figure but with a terribly big heart of service for others, Grace is a 29-year-old midwife-entrepreneur from San Fernando, Cebu; the fourth of nine children, Grace has become one of the breadwinners of the family as she supports her three younger siblings to school.

On its 52nd year, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) will continue paddling together to achieve its goal of building happy and livable communities.