 |
| Lola Felisa and her stringed shells. |
At 86 years old, Felisa Aying is still a hard worker. He
spends her days at San Vicente, Olango, among the many women in their
neighborhood, stringing shells for her granddaughter’s business.
Lola Felisa starts stringing her shells at around 8AM in
the morning and ends around 4PM or 5PM. She takes her lunch break and resumes
again with work. She starts her day by walking for an hour from her house to
her granddaughter’s house for work.
“Makasugakod pa man ko (I can still handle it),” Lola
Felisa happily shared.
What makes Lola Felisa amazing is that she doesn’t use
glasses. Her eyesight is still clear but she is having problems with her
hearing, already. She also works with an ashtray beside her. She consumes half
a pack per day. She has already been smoking for more than six decades and does
not plan to stop anytime soon, even with the doctor’s advice.
She said she doesn’t really have problems with working.
She only gets a backache from sitting long hours. Her granddaughter hands her
allowance for her personal use in exchange for her little help.
Lola Felisa has six children and used to peddle clothes
when she was younger. So, she was used to hard work.
The strings of shells Lola Felisa makes are then used to
create shell chandeliers and necklaces that are oftentimes made and exported
for their different customers.
Jerlinda Patigdas, Lola Felisa’s granddaughter, started
the business 10 years ago. She hires women in their neighborhood to string
shells and make chandeliers and necklaces.
*photo credits to Fritz Menguito of LLC PIO*
No comments:
Post a Comment