REPORTER: David Brill
Manila is a city of contrasts from impoverished slums to glittering malls, but in upmarket stores like these the two worlds have been literally woven together.
REPORTER: How much do they sell for?
SALESGIRL: This one is $1,599.
REPORTER: Right! Do people buy the bags?
SALESGIRL: Yes sir.
REPORTER: Do women come in and buy them?
SALESGIRL: Yes sir.
These handbags are more than just a fashion accessory. They are the result of a pioneering project that's transforming the lives of some of the poorest people in the city.
REESE FERNANDEZ: It's a relocation area. So you can see that there could be several families in one compound.
REPORTER: This is where they make them here?
REESE FERNANDEZ: In their homes.
Reese Fernandez is a 27-year-old with a big heart and big ideas. The founder of - Rags to Riches.
REESE FERNANDEZ: These are one of our rugs.
REPORTER: They are made from what?
REESE FERNANDEZ: These scrap cloths, which came straight from the garment factory, these are cut offs, but they come in different shapes and sizes. We kind of have to cut them into strips.
REPORTER: These are scraps that would have been thrown away?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Yes.
Many of these women used to live on the country's biggest garbage dump. They survived by scavenging scraps of fabric and weaving them into rugs. As the cottage industry grew the women began using off cuts of material from the garment factories provided by middle men who were reaping all the profits.
REESE FERNANDEZ: Without access to the supplies and the market the women who will make it will earn 2c US per day for one rug.
REPORTER: For all that work?
REESE FERNANDEZ: For all that work.
REPORTER: So you have stopped the middle men?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Yes.
Reese was determined to make a difference. She helped to develop a range of new products and linked the women directly to both their raw materials and customers.
REESE FERNANDEZ: So that was the first thing that Rags to Riches did, was to really direct the community members to the market and to cut out the middle men. Today we go straight to the garment factories and we go straight to the market.
REPORTER: What makes you want to do this work?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Well, I think it's been my upbringing that I believe everyone should have the chance for a better life and for better opportunities. My mother has been a missionary worker. I have been exposed to this. But at the same time this is the kind of work that makes me want to wake up every Monday morning and feel like there is a chance and hope for the world for the future.
Rags to Riches offers more than just a job. The women learn valuable life skills such as managing their finances and looking after their health.
REPORTER: How has it helped the local people in this community?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Aside from the obvious increase in income we believe that it's about bringing back the dignity of people when it comes to their own creation and being proud of what they make and that they can believe there is a way out of poverty.
For people who once lived on a rubbish dump, life at this apartment complex is a big step up.
REESE FERNANDEZ: It's a really nice improvement from the usual homes that you will see in these communities. A lot of our community members like the one who owns this, using her money for home improvements so that her kids are more inspired to go home or go to school or just live here and study here.
REPORTER: Shall we go in and have a look?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Yes.
REPORTER: Is this the bathroom or the kitchen, we have the upstairs there.
REESE FERNANDEZ: Yes.
REPORTER: Here is the living room here.
REESE FERNANDEZ: Yes, it is. This is Tina, she owns the house. How many are you in this house?
TINA OROLA: We are nine. Seven kids and me and my husband.
Tina is one of Rags to Riches's success stories.
REPORTER: She makes money out of rags?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Especially the customised orders that we have.
REPORTER: It helps the family.
Tina takes me back to the Tondo dump site to show me how much of a difference Rags to Riches has made.
TINA OROLA (Translation): Before we would scavenge in the rubbish, then we went on training for rag-making and we transferred to government housing. After you have lived here, it’s good. When we were young we would go to school in rubber boots. We didn’t have any allowance, we would wait for our parents to sell what they had scavenged before we would get our allowance for going to school.
Tondo is one of the poorest districts in the country. Home to more than half a million people, it's one of the most densely populated patches of land in the world.
CHRISTINA ALSONA (Translation): If, you know, the weather is bad you can’t work here, unlike when you are in Rags to Riches. Even if you’re at home, you can work and earn money. At the same time, you work while looking after your kids without leaving home.
But Reese's revolution has only just begun.
CHRISTINA ALSONA: How many sizes and what price?
She has brought together a team of young talent to expand Rags to Riches and lift many more women out of poverty.
REESE FERNANDEZ: We have achieved even more.
I joined them as they prepared for the launch of their new product line.
REESE FERNANDEZ: This is about the company and how it's made. This is the name of the artisan who made the bag. These are from our new collection from Rajo Laurel, the designer for the season.
REPORTER: He is a Filipino designer is he?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Yes, one of the best in the Philippines.
ROLEX AWARDS: President, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Evening. Welcome to the Official Ceremony of 14th Rolex Awards for Enterprise…
Reese's hard work and commitment has been recognised around the world, winning numerous accolades.
REESE FERNANDEZ: When I found out that I was selected as one of the Rolex Young Laureates I was in a very crowded coffee shop trying not to make a scene. Happiness was an understatement.
REPORTER: When you started Rags to Riches did you think it would grow like it has done?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Yeah, we have always had big dreams for Rags to Riches, so yes we have imagined it to be really big. The key to our success and the key to these young people making a difference is that we're just open to collaboration and just trying to look at the good things in other people and how we can harness that to make our mission and our vision even bigger and more effective.
Reese says the project has empowered more than 450 women. But with demand increasing from overseas, she hopes to help many more.
REPORTER: Are you making a difference?
REESE FERNANDEZ: Yeah I think so, yeah. But more than me making a difference, I think they're making a difference in their communities. And in my life they are making a difference. People say that people from Rags to Riches inspire these community members. But for me, I'm inspired by them.
YALDA HAKIM: David Brill in Manila and David tells us that Rags to Riches has gone international, selling to overseas buyers. For more on Reese Fernandez go to our website.
Reporter/Camera
DAVID BRILL
Producer
DONALD CAMERON
Fixers
INKY SANTIAGO-NAKPIL
NIKE LORENZO
GIRLIE LINAO
Editors
NICK O’BRIEN
ROWAN TUCKER-EVANS
SUSAN BELL
Translations/Subtitling
RONALD MANILA
Original Music Composed by
VICKI HANSEN
Stills courtesy of Rags2Riches, Jake Verzosa (Photographer)
File footage courtesy of Rolex Awards