What helps make my job easier is that their website is cool. I like its use of flash and the elegant use of color. They also got a very pretty model for their Rajo Laurel line. The model, Krista Ranillo, is a good friend of Reese Fernandez and did the photoshoot for free. It was my friend Meiling Vergara (who (1) was my retreat directee, (2) is a member of my barkada–the Wednesday Group,(3) does my hair now; I get very discounted rates in her salon in exchange of some misguided spiritual advice every now and then!). Anyway, back to Meiling; she did the hair and make-up of Krista during the photoshoot for the website and for other models during the launch of the Rajo Laurel line at EDSA Shangrila. Meiling did the whole thing for free.

A whole new mode of volunteerism is evident here. Before, we always thought that “to serve” was to do heavy duty work–do something difficult, build a house, work in a soup kitchen, plant trees, etc. Now we see a whole new bunch of volunteers– a fashion director (in Robby Carmona), a hairstylist of a high-end salon, a fashion photographer, a model, a world-renowned designer (Rajo), a finance manager–doing what they do best for a cause. It makes service more accessible; more “i-can-actually-do-this” as against “i-want-to-serve-but-it’s-so-hard.”

Come to think of it, that’s a very Ignatian way of doing things and I’m not surprised that Jesuits and Jesuit friends are involved in this whole endeavor. It was St. Ignatius de Loyola who once said that God is found in all things. So that you do not have to do something totally alien to you. You can do it precisely because you can do what you do best for a cause.

In the end, that is the concept behind Rags2Riches. It is the women of Payatas–a place that is known more for its dumpsite than for anything else– doing what they do best; it is a group of entrepreneurs doing what they do best; it is men and women of he fashion world doing what they do best.

As another really good friend, Bro. Javi Alpasa, SJ–who is very much involved in this, would say: “Rags2Riches is about facilitating how the women can get from where they are now to where they should be. It’s about moving them from labor to entrepreneurship, from poverty to potential wealth, and yes, from rags to riches.”

Rags2Riches is not a charitable organization, instead it is a social business enterprise that helps the women—already productive members of their community—get the true worth of their hard work. Students and professors of Ateneo de Manila University, as well as various other volunteers including prominent alumni of De La Salle University such as the featured fashion designer and Robby Carmona work towards earning fair profits and sustainable livelihood for the women of Payatas.

1. The Explanation
2. Start Up Delayer