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Young People Who Rock
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Posted December 7, 2008
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Filipina Youth Social Entrepreneur – Reese Fernandez
Filipina Youth Social Entrepreneur – Reese Fernandez Reese Fernandez might not be famous but to the people she touched, she is considered a celebrity. For a young age, she has definitely achieved and she did this is by giving back to the community. Others will only give back their blessings once they receive but it’s a completely opposite case for Reese who gave hope to those who had least and her blessings came from there. Prior to college graduation, she joined the activities of groups such as Gawad Kalinga and from there the social responsibility was instilled in her. She is very admirable as she has proven herself as a young Filipina leader who can be socially responsible and achieve at the same time. She finished BS Management in 2007 from Ateneo de Manila, where graduates become tough corporate people but as for Reese, she took a role as a social entrepreneur. She is currently the EVP of Rags2Riches, a group who uplifted the lives of the Payatas women by giving them earning potential of more than 5x of what they were earning back then. Originally, these women created rags and sold them to middle men but with the entry of Rags2Riches, they made bags from the same materials and sold them at a higher price skipping middlemen. She was one of the 20 young social entrepreneurs chosen by YouthActionNet for its Global Fellowship Program. Being chosen here means that one has made notable successes in attaining positive change in the society through their innovative ways and capability to move peers and members of society to support their goals. I conducted a short interview to help us understand better how Reese ticks. Background: Q: In not so many words, who is Reese Fernandez? A: A servant leader through social entrepreneurship. I’m currently the Executive Vice President of Rags2Riches Inc., a social business enterprise creating high-fashion social statements that advocate and promote Fair Trade and creative recycling. Q: What is it like to be Reese during her early years? A: Looking back, it was like I was part of an Indie film. I grew up in the streets of Quiapo because my Mom was into mission work. I have always identified myself as a common person who struggled to survive and at the same time keep my ideologies and dreams alive. It was difficult to keep both. I believe that my Mom’s strength and faith, and the generosity of many, opened the opportunities for me to strive for a better life. Q: Are there any people, events or happenings in your life that shaped and led you to what you are now? A: There was a time before when I jumped off the normal track and became rebellious and self-destructive to some extent. There were series of events that helped me realize my blessings instead of what I lack. It was not easy. I had to lose some friends, let go of some really comfortable grudges, and make a conscious effort to believe in my own goodness and capacity. Q: What were the typical activities that you enjoyed doing back then that probably help mold you to what you are now? A: I really enjoyed spending my time with people who remind me about where I came from and what I could do. Back in college, I used to go to CRIBS, Payatas dos, Gawad Kalinga build activities, and absolutely anything and everything that would give me the chance to serve and inspire. Q: When I search your name in Google, your name pops out in websites such as Changemakers.net (Ashoka). Can you tell me similar sites that you are in and tell me something about them? A: Most of them are social networks of social entrepreneurs. Since Social Entrepreneurship is an emerging field and is still quite young, it is very important for me to have a support group and some friends who are like-minded. Q: What personal values do you hold dear? A: Integrity. I strongly believe that we are what we do and what or who we talk about. Life in School Q: Which school organizations or groups did you join? A: Tugon (Socially Oriented organization that helps abandoned babies and survivors of sexual abuse), Ateneo Christian Life Community (Serving youth communities in Payatas), Gawad Kalinga (Nation Building), and Ateneo Management Association (I helped start the Social Entrepreneurship Challenge that merged business and social purpose) Q: Did school help you realize or learn new values? A: Ateneo really makes a great effort to impart Ignatian values to the students. Being “men and women for and with others” became concrete for me as I accepted and joined every opportunity that my school opened for us to actualize our mission. Q: Were you involved in politics in school in one way or another? How did you tackle them? A: I used to be politics-averse. Like most young people, I used to believe that engaging in politics is the most futile, energy-draining, and corrupting form of trying to serve the country. When I joined Gawad Kalinga, I met so many inspiring leaders who are in government positions. The likes of Mayor Baby Congco of Cabiao Nueva Ecija, Mayor Sonia Lorenzo of San Isidro Nueva Ecija, and Mayor Jesse Robredo of Naga, really showed me that it is possible to be ethical leaders even in Government. As a result of being inspired by the leaders I mentioned, I headed the events committee of Team RP, and advocated for Truth, Accountability, and Reform during the height of the Jun Lozada event. Q: Can you mention non-academic awards you received which were given for your extra-curricular activities? A: Megaworld Leadership Scholarship After College Q: After graduation, what did you do? What was your mindset during that time? A: I was sure that I want to take the social entrepreneurship route. I knew that as a bread winner of the family, I have the responsibility to take care of my family first. But I also knew that I have been given so much and that I have the capacity to make a difference in the lives of more people. I was determined to not make any compromises. I should be able to serve my family and serve the country at the same time. Social Entrepreneurship is an innovative way for me to do so. Q: Did you try applying to companies? Why? A: Yes. Just like any other college fresh graduate, I also wanted to get a taste of a real job interview. I considered some companies because of their strong Filipino and world-class values. I thought that one way of becoming a social entrepreneur is also through being a social entrepreneur inside an innovative and values-centered company. But in the end, I still decided that in order for me to be truly entrepreneurial, I have to take risks when I still can afford to. Socio-civic NGO Groups (eg. Gawad Kalinga) Q: What are the socio-civic activities and groups you joined and you used to participate or still participating at? (also include when you joined them) *A: Aside from my school-based organizations, I just joined Gawad Kalinga when I was in 2nd Year College. * Q: What made you join these groups? A: Gawad Kalinga made me realize that our people deserve more than just our spare change or spare time. Nation building should be a full-time sustainable vocation. I was always frustrated by other initiatives I joined wherein I taught kids, fed kids, or gave some donations. Sure, we helped in our “own little way” and we felt great about ourselves at the end of our every noble deed. But the reality is, we go home to our own worlds and the people we “helped” are left in the same house, same environment, and sadly, same future. True development should be sustainable, scalable, and results-oriented. Philippine Politics Q: You are sometimes spotted in gathering that involves Government and corruption. What is your exact stand on this? A: I believe that the youth should be involved in watching out for our country. We may try to escape our roots and our country but we will always be Filipinos. In the view of the world, we are reflections of our country and our country is our reflection. Q: Do you see yourself serving the people in the future by running for a government position? Elaborate. A: As of the moment, I don’t have plans yet. I have always been a strong believer on playing on personal strengths. My strengths are more on social entrepreneurship. I’m not really sure if I could systemically change a corrupt system even from a position of power. Politics and government is an unknown territory for me as a leader. Social Entrepreneurship though, is something I could use wherever I am. There are many qualities of a social entrepreneur that government leaders should have. I would not know where I would be needed in the future so I’m not closing doors to any possibilities. Rags2Riches Q: What are your parts in this group? What are your contributions? A: I’m co-founder, board member, and currently Executive Vice President, handling overall operations and marketing and sales. Q: How do you exactly help people w/ R2R? A: We are helping Filipinos from two social status extremes; the rich and influential, and the poor and disenfranchised. First, we help the women of Payatas realize their creativity and ability to change their lives for the better. These women are already very skillful and resourceful. They used to create rugs to help sustain their families. But because of their social status, they were always the victims of injustices. We have dedicated Rags2Riches to empowering these women and creating innovative solutions for them to become more sustainable. Second, we also help the privileged and influential members of our society realize that they could participate in a sustainable social enterprise that allows them to contribute their time, skills, and talents, instead of just one-time big-time donations. Q: What are the long term plans for you in R2R? A: We really want to bring Rags2Riches to the International Market. We believe that there is so much potential in the model that we are currently using and we know that continuing this would definitely help more people in a sustainable way. Helping more people and scaling up only means that we also have to expand our market beyond our current reach. Our dream is to become a global Filipino brand that gives the Philippines a good name and proves that it is possible to make “saving the world” a full-time, sustainable, and promising endeavor. Awards and Recognition Q: Were you nominated or awarded with the things that you are doing? Can you enumerate you nominations or awards? A: One of Top 20 Global Fellows of the YouthActionNet program of the International Youth Foundation and Nokia (chosen out of 800 entries all over the world). Model scholar for Ateneo de Manila University’s Sesquicentennial Scholarship campaign (with outstanding Ateneo Scholars such as Tony Meloto, Jim Paredes, Onofre Pagsanjan, and Jose Rizal). Moving Forward Q: I’m sure there are a lot of offers from corporations? What do you do when you encounter an offer? A: I once talked to an executive of a really big company and he told me that he would love to have me on board his company soon. Before I could even answer, he said “but I would love to be where you are now. You are living my post-retirement dream”. I get a lot of similar offers and similar remarks from people I meet. I guess all of us have the desire to go for our dreams at some point in our lives. It is my dream to share to people that it is possible to live our dreams and serve right now, and at the same time still be financially secure and promising. Q: How do you see yourself 5 and 10 years later? A: Married, a full-time family-builder, and still living the life of a social entrepreneur. Q: Putting your passion aside, what in it for you in your personal life in the future? A: I really could not imagine myself not living for what I am passionate about. I would like to be relevant, purposeful, meaningful, and financially free in the near future. Then again, my passion in social entrepreneurship is the only way for me to achieve all these all together. Q: What can you tell young future leaders to inspire them to make a change? A: Our biggest opportunity to create inspiring and sustainable change is when we are youthful, energetic, and optimistic. Let us take advantage of this wonderful time of our lives wherein the world is being transitioned to us. We are not the future. We are the Now. And Now is when we are needed. -end- Indeed very admirable for the deeds she has planned and is planning to do. For a third world country like the Philippines, people like her are needed knowing factors such as the economic situation can affect people drastically. Perhaps having more people like her in assistance to those who are in need, the world won’t have that much unfortunate people. http://www.rags2riches.ph/ http://www.youthactionnet.org/index.php?fuse=meetfellows&year=2008&page=3 pictures from Mark Ruiz and Reese Fernandez’s sites.
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