Twenty-one years ago, a series of devastating blows made caring for her family feel impossible for Ate Tina.
She’d recently gotten married, and only seven months after the wedding, she became the sole breadwinner of the household when her husband suffered a life-altering medical condition. Employed by a factory in the Philippines, Ate Tina worked grueling, long hours. When she learned she was pregnant, the factory’s demands were downright inhumane.
“I ended up giving birth at home because I wasn’t allowed to leave work,” she recalls.
Two months after her daughter was born, Ate Tina had no choice but to return to the factory, leaving her daughter in the care of others. Yet over time, she began noticing troubling changes in her daughter’s behavior that left her concerned about the quality of care.
Ate Tina says she remembers turning to the Lord in desperation, praying for a livelihood that would allow her to provide for and be present with her family.
A small loan that brought breakthrough
In 2008, Ate Tina connected with the Center for Community Transformation (CCT), a partner of HOPE International in the Philippines. At first, she was approved for one small loan of $80 (U.S.), yet as she repaid it and met with CCT staff and fellow borrowers, she began nurturing relationships built on trust, savings, fellowship, and God’s word.
By her third loan cycle, Ate Tina borrowed $800 (U.S.), which proved to be a turning point. With those funds, she bought three sewing machines and rented an apartment where she could begin a sewing business.
“I am really grateful that CCT trusted me and has continued to trust me. Because of that trust, I was able to start a business I can call my own,” she says.
Adapting, learning, and praying
Even with that remarkable initial progress, Ate Tina’s journey has not been easy. Her business has needed more machines, more fabric, more space, and careful management of every loan repayment. She’s faced tight deadlines, increasing competition, and the challenge of training a growing team while maintaining quality.
During the pandemic, demand shifted suddenly. Ate Tina had to adapt quickly, including taking on large orders for face masks so the business could continue.
Through each season, Ate Tina kept reinvesting, learning, and praying.
“I’ve learned that God’s timing is always perfect, even when it is not what I expect,” she attests. “His ways are often mysterious, but He always provides exactly what I need, just when I need it.”
Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly
Today, what started with an $80 loan has grown into an online clothing enterprise that employs around 70 people.
But based on her days at the factory, Ate Tina knows that simply providing people with work isn’t what the Lord requires of her. Instead, she seeks to invest in her employees, training them in various skills, encouraging them to save, and pointing them toward the support she herself found through CCT. Ate Tina views each job she provides as an opportunity for a household to earn, learn, and move forward.
Ate Tina once prayed for a livelihood that would allow her to care for her child. God answered that prayer in a way that now reaches her family and far beyond.
