Tag: rice cakes

With an infant at home, Angie was hesitant to agree to attending ICM’s Transform program. She thought the responsibilities of motherhood and the unpredictability of babies would make it too difficult to attend the weekly sessions. However, Angie was excited at the opportunity of changing her family’s income and signed up for the program. The...

Carrying her three-month old daughter, Arlyn walked four kilometers round trip to her weekly Transform classes. However, the 30-year-old did not mind travelling the long distance.  “I didn’t mind the difficulties because I wanted to learn,” said Arlyn. With four children, one of whom has cerebral palsy, it was tough for Arlyn to leave home,...

In 2016, we celebrated the graduation of our 750,000th Transform family member. Her name is Mary Sunshine and her story is told in this video: Mary Sunshine and her family live in ultrapoverty. Mary Sunshine’s husband, Ryan, earns about US$34.88 (PHP 1,500) per week working with tires, not nearly enough to look after the small family’s financial needs....

Once she made the decision to attend ICM’s Transform program, Clementina never wanted to miss a lesson. She organized her life so that she would be able to attend the lessons and still have time to take care of household chores, her children and her disabled husband, Sulpicio. Clementina really enjoyed the livelihood lessons, particularly the...

Arlene worked at a vending stand and made US$3.33 a week. Her seasonal job, harvesting vegetables, occasionally brought in another US$6.50 a week. If employed, Arlene’s husband Arnel could earn up to US$8.30 a week, however his carpentry jobs were erratic. The parents of three teenagers were working hard, but money was always tight when...

As a child, Gerlie wanted to attend school. Even at a young age, she knew that education was important. Gerlie’s parents, however, refused her request for an education because there was no money to cover the costs of transportation, shoes and the school uniform. Wanting to escape the demands of her family, Gerlie married her...

Leonila had a small shop, however the paltry income made from daily sales was not enough to adequately provide for her husband and son. When asked by her local pastor if she was interested in attending ICM’s Transform program, Leonila quickly agreed.  Even though it meant she’d have to close her shop one afternoon a...