In January last year, when Goducate started a sewing project in Laguna, there were only 3 sewing machines in the community. A contract was secured for the 3 women to sew school uniforms, but they could not meet demand. However, over the year, thanks to generous Goducate sponsors, the number of machines available for contract work has increased to 12, enabling more women to be trained to sew. Unfortunately, payment for work done was often delayed.
For poor people, not only is regular payment very important, but also payment at short intervals. A contract that we were eyeing, to sew clothing for sale at shopping malls, had to be rejected because the workers were to be paid at 2-monthly intervals.
A contract has now been secured, this time sewing whole-body uniforms for an electronics company that pays weekly.
The machinists contribute a small portion of their earnings to Goducate, and another portion to the person in charge of the project.
