Nanie: Ordinary Wife, Empowered, Food Entrep

“I am not a perfect wife to my husband nor a perfect mother to my children but I have achievements I proudly claim I’ve done for them.”

This is part of the message of Corazon “Nanie” Ogao-Ogao Tingcang during the Provincial Women’s Month celebration in Lazi, Siquijor. Nanie is a wife and a mother of six who now turns into a successful food entrepreneur amidst life’s challenges and in her best effort to give good life to her family, Nanie, as she is fondly called, is the owner of “Nanie’s Delicacies,” a small business that processes banana, gabi, camote chips and Lubiscuit (coconut cookies) which are now made available in pasalubong centers and groceries province-wide.

Nanie sits as the Vice-President of the Siquijor Association of Food Entrepreneurs (SAFE), an organization assisted by the local office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) here.

How she made her business like it is today, she proudly says, “all because of small business loan opportunities” she calls “utang.”

She shared she availed of loans, from both the government and private institutions, not just for her business but for her children’s education.

“Ang akong prinsipyo sa akong pagka Mama alang sa akong mga anak mao nga bahala ug magkautang-utang ko basta mapatapos ko lang ang akong mga anak sa pas-eskwela ug makabaton ug mga kurso nga sarang nilang makitaan kon aduna na usab sila’y pamilya (My principle as a mother for my children is that I don’t care if I’ll be covered with loans as long as I can send my children to school and give them the profession they need that they can use when they have families of their own),” Nanie confessed.

Married to Raul Laure Tingcang, a graduate of Marine Engineering who ended up a carpenter-farmer for lack of opportunities, the couple was blessed with six children.

Three of their kids are seafarers, although unfortunately one went missing.

Another one is a chainsaw operator and farmer, another, a policeman, and their youngest and only daughter, graduated in Business Administration and is now employed at the Provincial Capitol.

“Sa among pagpanganak, wala nako mahadloki kon unsaon nako pagpakaon among mga anak kay sa among hunahuna kon ang tawo magkugi lang, makakaon man gyud. Ug naa pud mi gamay’ng basakan ug baul sa kamad-an. Ang among gikahadlokan, unsaon nako sila pag-edukar labi na kay wala man ko’y sweldo madawat matag bulan,” (I was never afraid of what to feed our children because I was convinced that if we only work hard, we could really feed them. What I was afraid of was where to find the funds to send them to school and educate them when I have no regular income on my own), she recalls.

Her husband only earns a meager Php230 a day from his carpentry work at that time, an amount which is barely enough for a family to live each day, she said.

She then augmented her husband’s income by selling food at the school canteen, she added.

With her children entering college, so she entered into “lending business,” not as a lender but as a borrower.

It helped a lot, she said, although there were times when she had to hide it from her husband, even forging his signature just to get loans without her husband’s knowledge.

I even heard a lot of criticisms from the neighborhood but who cares, it’s not them paying, she said to appease herself that its okay to borrow as long as you do it for good and that you have the intention to pay.

“Kini pong duna ta’y bayronon – makapakugihan pud diay nato (The good thing about having debts is that it makes us work harder and think more creatively how we would be able to pay),” Nanie said.

She claimed her membership to SAFE is her biggest leap to getting trust from financing institutions and enhancing her products.

Ako moingon ko kaninyo nga garbo ko kaayo sa akong pagkapalautang ug kini dili nako ikaulaw. Tungod sa “utang” nakapahuman ko sa akong mga anak” (I am very proud to tell you that because of “loans” I was able to send my children to college. I am never ashamed of it.)

Of course “utang,” coupled with good credit standing, hardwork and perseverance are her secret ingredients to becoming an empowered woman that she is now. (rac/PIA7-Siquijor)