SOME people are entering 2024 in much better shape than they were in last year.
Ailene Solitas was spiraling into depression after her mother died, spending days in isolation. Then, as she told BusinessWorld in an interview, she heard about a program which was looking for applicants — L’Oreal’s Beauty for a Better Life program (BFBL), a free expert hairdressing training program given to people in vulnerable social or economic situations.
“Pinalangin ko sa Diyos na may instrumento na gagamitin ang Panginoon na may darating sa akin na ganito (I prayed to God that there would be an instrument from the Lord that would come to me),” she said. “Answered prayer.”
Even before graduating, Ms. Solitas — the 2023 program’s Marikina valedictorian — has already found employment and further training with the Aura salon chain.
A WILLINGNESS TO LEARNLast month, L’Oreal presented its BFBL graduates at a ceremony in Marikina. There were 54 graduates in total that year, 27 from Marikina and an equal number from Manila.
The pilot program was launched in 2017, in partnership with Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP). It has since had 423 graduates from various cities in Metro Manila, including Quezon City, Marikina, Taguig, Navotas, Manila, and Pateros. L’Oreal Philippines provides the materials, resources, knowledge, and training while PBSP coordinates with local government units (LGUs) to seek out the people most able to benefit from the program, and it runs the workshops.
Khairon-Niza Magundacan, Manager for Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Social Responsibility for PBSP gave BusinessWorld the profile of people joining BFBL: mostly women and LGBTQIA+ citizens apply for entry (but some men join as well); they are mostly unemployed, and they must be 18-45 years old (though some exceptions are made for some at 50); have a willingness to learn, and have the dedication to finish the program.
Elvin Uy, Executive Director for PBSP, explained why it’s important to focus particularly on women for the program. “The challenge for the Philippines is, overall, girls do better than boys in school,” Mr. Uy. said. By this he means that girls “learn better” compared to boys, and that they stay longer in school. However, “Despite their education — elementary, high school, maybe even college — not all of that translates to productivity in the workforce.”
According to their research, only about half of women and girls actually end up working, or look for work. “A lot of that would be (caused) not just because of a lack of training and education. There are other barriers to women and girls participating in economic opportunities,” he said.
CHANGED LIVESPrevious graduates from the program told BusinessWorld how much their lives have changed since receiving training from L’Oreal.
Nhelyressa de Guzman, a graduate from 2018, said that she had been a housewife since the store where she had worked closed. Then she joined the program. After training for three months, she first did house calls as a hairstylist, but found the guts to apply to David’s Salon, one of the biggest beauty salon chains in the country. She was accepted as a junior stylist and has since been offered an assistant manager position. But she told BusinessWorld that her heart was in hairstyling, so she’s currently training as a senior stylist.
While she credits L’Oreal for teaching her everything that she knew, a lesson that stood out was what her trainer said about earning money. The trainer told her that if somebody paid her P50 for a haircut, she’d have enough to buy some rice, and another haircut would mean P50 more for a dish to go with it. “Hindi ka magugutom (you will not go hungry),” she said. She recalls that when her husband was the household’s sole earner, his pay only went to paying off their debts. Now, they both have enough to save a little after every month.
Myra Binson, a graduate from the 2019 program, was emotional as she told BusinessWorld her story. A former street vendor, Myra now works with Toni & Guy, a salon chain known for serving celebrities. “Ito po ang una ko talagang trabaho (this is my first real job).”
Asked how her life has changed since graduating from the program, her voice broke as she answered: “Nagkaroon po ako ng pag-asa (I gained hope).”
She told us about raising her children in the same squatter’s area where she grew up. “Iyong mga bata po minsan makakakain, minsan hindi (Sometimes the children eat. Sometimes they didn’t).”
She had had a gambling problem, and had lost her way. Now she credits L’Oreal and PBSP for her new life. “Nagbago ang sarili ko. Iyong ugali ko; naging disiplinado po ako (I was changed. My character; I became more disciplined).
“Binigyan ako ng opportunity para magbago ako ng buhay. Hindi lang ang sarili ko, pati pamilya ko (I was given an opportunity to change my life; not just my own, but my family’s too).” She has been able to get one of her children into college. Their house, once patched up with sacks and tarpaulins, has been renovated and will soon have a second floor. The other women around her in the group interview applauded after she told her story.
“Kailangan mo mangarap (You need to hope),” said Ms. Binson. — Joseph L. Garcia