𝐁𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧

𝐵𝑦: 𝐻𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑦 𝐽𝑒𝑛 𝑂. 𝐸𝑣𝑎𝑠𝑐𝑜 𝑅𝑒𝑛𝑎ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎 𝐺.𝑃𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑜 𝐴𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑦𝑎ℎ 𝐾. 𝑆𝑒𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑎 𝗭𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗔𝗴𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫-𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐙𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐚, 𝐀𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐫, 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠, 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬, 𝐚 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲. Marilou, a bead-maker based in the municipality of Talacogon, is one of the City Hall’s suppliers of crafted beads. Her creative industry has enchanted the Manobo people in her town. But more importantly, it provided a clear path for her to live a more comfortable life for her family. Marilou’s bead-making business took off after the Talandigs failed to sustain their project. On the positive side, they taught her how to create colorful, attractive beads that portrayed her ethnic roots. Fortunately, the City Mayor supported her project by buying all her products. After a year in the business, she was able to earn enough to alleviate her poverty. Being the breadwinner for a family of six, Marilou had to face life’s harsh realities that led to her husband becoming disabled. He had to stop working and stay home, while Marilou had to seek opportunities for their family’s survival. It required her to double her efforts, and she could not afford to slack off. The tenacity, resilience, efforts, and tiresome days paid off, and she eventually turned her menial job into a profitable business. With the belief that teamwork makes the dream work, Marilou was able to give back to the Manobos by involving them in the bead-making business. She wanted her people to live better lives despite the challenges of belonging to an indigenous community. She exuded an unwavering desire to change the lives of the hopeless and the lost while representing women in leading improvement, innovation, and success in their chosen fields. Marilou wishes struggling women in her community to persevere and never give up despite the odds. They must persist for the sake of their families. She strongly advises the people around her to have faith in God, not lose hope, find their strengths, and use them to their advantage. Indeed, Marilou has conquered fate and shown what indigenous women can do to shape society for the better. nt, innovation, and success in their chosen fields. Marilou wishes struggling women in her community to persevere and never give up despite the odds. They must persist for the sake of their families. She strongly advises the people around her to have faith in God, not lose hope, find their strengths, and use them to their advantage. Indeed, Marilou has conquered fate and shown what indigenous women can do to shape society for the better. END