Turon vendor rewarded for kind act
SPREAD STORIES OF GOOD DEEDS!
Here’s a story sent in my inbox by Smart Communications
regarding the good deeds of a turon vendor. It’s worth sharing. Read on...
Donations to victims of calamities run the gamut from
immediate necessities to discarded inessentials.
What Catherine Oliveros gave was the fruit of her labor,
through which she helps support her family. She donated 70 pieces of turon
(banana fritters), which she makes and sells for a living.
Her act of selflessness caught the attention of TV5,
which was running relief operations for victims of Typhoon Maring last month.
The 30-year-old mother of six told a TV reporter that she
only wanted to make sure that the children who were driven from their homes by the
floods would have something to eat. Food was scarce in evacuation centers in
severely affected areas in Laguna, where Catherine’s turon was
distributed.
At P10 each, the 70 pieces of turon cost P700, an amount
that could have sustained her family for up to two weeks.
Catherine’s husband is a security guard at the Social
Security System office in Quezon City. The job pays between P10,000 and P15,000
a month, not quite enough for a family with six children, five of whom are in
school.
Moved by her story, executives at Smart Communications,
Inc. and Sun Cellular decided to reward her with load retailer kits. She now
sells cell phone load to Smart and Talk ‘N Text, as well as Sun Cellular
subscribers.
Her new business augments the family income. But she
continues to sell turon, as well as banana-cue, or caramelized bananas in
barbecue sticks. She has been at it for as long as she can remember, having
inherited the trade from her mother when the latter retired. She said she’s so
used to doing it that she could peel, slice, and fry bananas with her eyes
closed.
What she can’t quite get used to is her new status as
celebrity of sorts in their neighborhood in Novaliches. Even the neighbor who
used to ignore her now greets her, calling her by name, after seeing her on TV,
said Catherine, who was also interviewed on radio.
“Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala (I still find it hard to
believe),” she remarked.
Proof of the change is the brisk sales of her turon and
banana-cue. There’s a bonus, to boot: Her buyers are now also load
customers.
“It’s like I’ve won in the lottery,” she exclaimed in
Tagalog. But this is even better, she continued. “I have much to be thankful
for… I was able to show that even ordinary folks like me can do something for
others.”
Her only wish is that her children all get to finish
their studies so that they could have a better life, said Catherine, who
reached only third year high school.
“People like Nanay Cathy, who are willing to give their
all for others, embody the true spirit of bayanihan…It is only fitting that we
thank her,” said Darwin Flores, Smart department head for community
partnerships.
Smart is part of Tulong Kapatid, the consolidated
post-disaster relief platform of companies belonging to the Metro Pacific
Investments Corp. (MPIC) and PLDT Group.