DUBAI: Every payday for the past 10 years, Corazon V. Tarcena, a reception/accounts staff, would save a few dirhams from her small salary and head to the hand-me-down store. She’d sift through the pile of clothing and buy a pair of pants or blouses or shorts for kids.
She’d go home and wash them. “Nilalabhan ko na at pina-plantsa kasi mura ang sabon dito sa Dubai kaysa sa probinsya,” said Tarcena, school teacher at Paluan National High School in Occidental Mindoro for 15 years before she moved to Dubai 13 years ago.
Her beneficiaries? Mangyan ethic communities in Paluan. “Mga mangyan ang kauna unahang nagkaroon ng ngiti sa pakikipamili ng magkakasya sa kanila,” Tarcena recalls.
How does she do this? “Iniipon ko ang mga tig-Dh1 dirham na nabibili ko sa mga ukayan tuwing may time ako at naglilibang at bago sumapit ang pasko mayroon na akong 2 hanggang 3 malalaking balikbayan boxes.”
Tarcena says she has probably sent 30 boxes over the past 10 years. “Malaki na rin pala ang na-spend ko. Pero alam kong may biyaya din yun balang araw,” she said.
The Filipino Times asked her why she do what she does. She replied: “Masarap tumulong. At yun nga, di natin kailangang maging mayaman para magbigay ng ngiti sa kanilang mga labi.”
