KIMBERLY Mendoza is all smiles whenever she talks about her passion for cooking.
Along with her mother, Kimberly started a small food business in 2018 that caters to residents of Barangay Maimpis.
Being close to Diosdado Macapagal Government Center, government employees including staff from the Department of Labor and Employment in Central Luzon became her customers.
Kimberly would happily list down orders in the morning and bring her customers their packed lunch before noon.
That has been her daily routine.
Amidst her smiles and joy, Kimberly is battling with her life every day.
Kimberly is the eldest in a family of five children.
At 11, she was diagnosed with an aneurysm and started taking her maintenance medicines to lessen the risk of her condition.
But, because of her strong support system, and with DOLE’s assistance, she hopes to bike her way towards a healthier body and more sustainable living.
Opportunity
Kimberly is one of the 20 beneficiaries of the Department of Labor and Employment who launched the Free Bisikleta (FreeBis) Project under its Integrated Livelihood Program in 2020.
The program was meant to ease unemployment by providing opportunities to workers displaced by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
Filled with gratitude, Kim said that the bicycle has been of great help to her small food delivery business.
“Oftentimes, I rent a tricycle if I have a lot of orders. On some days, I just walk to save on costs. During ECQ, I was not able to sell lunch,” Kimberly shared.
Because of her condition, Kimberly had to choose a healthy diet and lifestyle in addition to regular exercise.
“According to my doctor, biking will be a good exercise for me. I am happy and very thankful to DOLE because this will help me do my job and battle my condition,” she said.
Kimberly is one of the millions of Filipinos whose jobs were affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic and nearly a year of quarantine.
With this, DOLE has provided different measures to alleviate the effects of a drowning economy by providing financial assistance as well as livelihood opportunities. DOLE’s Covid-19 Adjustment Measures Program (Camp), Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers (Tupad), Akap for OFWs, and Tabang OFW have only been some of the government’s responses to the affected workers.
Today, Kimberly continues to use her "freebis" in selling food she carefully made. Her bicycle helped her minimize heavy work and stress which is crucial to lessen the risk of having a ruptured artery due to her condition.
“Living with an aneurysm is not easy. But, because of my family including my daughter and DOLE’s support of my passion, I choose to be strong and live every day of my life,” Kimberly shared.