For 20 years, Marianne Genecila worked as a sidewalk vendor around the Coastal Road area in Parañaque City. The mother of eight was exposed to the sun’s heat and rain but had to endure the elements so she can make a living and help her husband support their large family.

Genecila also had to run whenever there is a sidewalk clearing by MMDA men, who chase illegal vendors and confiscate their merchandise. Then customers dwindled affecting her income and forcing her to look for a more stable job.

Meanwhile, Maria Dizza Pedrasita, a BS IT graduate residing in Barangay Pag-asa, Quezon City, was forced to quit her job at a travel agency when her twin daughters were born two years ago so she can take care of the babies. But with her husband’s meager pay as a school facilitator, Pedrasita wanted and hoped to work again.

Genecila and Pedrasita separately saw a scholarship opportunity on social media last year. Bloomberry Cultural Foundation Inc. (BCFI), the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Solaire resort, and Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI), the CSR unit of the energy and fuel company, launched a caregiver scholarship program for Quezon City and Parañaque residents. The two moms applied and were among 100 who qualified for the scholarship.

After their six-month training at the Asia Pacific Caregiver & Healthcare Training Center and CAP Training and Assessment Center Inc., Genecila and Pedrasita earned their National Certificate II in Caregiving. Genecila started her new professional career as a caregiver for a popular influencer with a spinal injury while Pedrasita now cares for retired Jesuit priests.

On 7 November, BCFI, funder of the scholarship, and PSFI which administers it, celebrated the transformation of Genecila, Pedrasita and other scholars into caregivers with a ceremonial graduation and send-off event at the Metamorphocare 2025 held in Eastwood Richmonde Hotel in Quezon City.

PSFI president Sebastian Quiñones said the caregivers are embarking on a mission of hope.

“These caregivers are ready to go out into the world and make a difference with compassion and excellence. Working at home, in the hospital or the community, they will give comfort, strength and hope. It’s not only the body that you will heal but also the heart and spirit of people, particularly the family that you will support,” according to Quiñones.

The transformation of the caregivers will continue, he added. “Because as you do this mission of hope that you are undertaking, you yourselves will see the purpose that the Lord has given to you and use that going forward and transform the world, too. So, your metamorphosis is not yet over,” he said.

Wherever their profession will take them, in a hospital in Manila or abroad, Quiñones urged the caregivers to bring the Filipino spirit of care, compassion and excellence.

Martin Joel Barrameda II, BCFI project officer, said Solaire, the foundation and their partners feted only the first batch of graduates of its technical-vocational scholarship program.

“We have a lot more graduations to look forward to,” he said.

The scholarship aims to produce 100 caregivers per year coming from Solaire’s host communities of Quezon City and Parañaque City.

Barrameda said BCFI is also funding scholarships for nurses, doctors and STEM professionals with the aim of increasing the number of healthcare workers in the country. Some 493 scholars are currently supported by BCFI through PSFI’s education program.

In August, BCFI celebrated the graduation of the first batch of nurses under its scholarship program.

BCFI and PSFI are expecting to produce 760 graduates over five years to strengthen the healthcare and STEM workforce of the country.