In today’s digital world, watching movies through livestreaming has become so easy that it has been taken for granted. But for many underprivileged kids, this reality is still a fantasy. How could they think of becoming couch potatoes if they don’t even have potatoes for breakfast?

Hence, for Marjorie de los Reyes, co-founder of the social enterprise Liwayway, small steps such as bringing poor children to watch movies or a play already goes a long way to boost their confidence and mental health.

In Laguna, for example, poor kids cannot go to their neighborhood amusement park Enchanted Kingdom even if they want to.

“Minsan kasi, ‘yung mga bata sa mga underprivileged areas, wala silang time makapag-sine, maka-Enchanted Kingdom… So may specific projects kami na para maranasan nila kung papano kumain sa restaurant, first time ko makasakay ng elevator (Sometimes, children from underprivileged areas don’t have time to go to the movies, Enchanted Kingdom… so we have specific projects that let them experience things like eating in a restaurant or riding the elevator for the first time),” Delos Reyes told DAILY TRIBUNE in an exclusive interview at last year’s Katutubo fair organized in Taguig City by local fashion brand Bench.

“These are just small ways but are very helpful in children’s development,” she added in Filipino.

Thanks to their non-government charity, Delépine Foundation Inc., de los Reyes said they have built play centers for play therapy, with a play center in Sta. Cruz, Laguna as among the newly opened ones. They have also been involved in building classrooms, canteens and provide continuous support for every school they back, including in Samar and Tagbilaran. Through collaboration with other foundations like Tagbilaran Foundation, they were able to provide free eyeglasses and eye checkup. 

Delépine Foundation Inc. is a Philippine-based non-profit organization linked with the French initiative “Les Oursins Enfants des Trottoirs” (Sea Urchins Children of the Sidewalks), focusing on supporting vulnerable children in the Philippines, especially after typhoon Yolanda, by providing educational and developmental support, with projects involving rebuilding facilities and fostering self-reliance through experience-based learning. 

Although the foundation has thrived from individual donors from France, Singapore and Hong Kong in the past 30 years, “It has been hard to just wait for donations,” de los Reyes said. Thus, she and her mom decided to put up Liwayway as a source of financial support for the projects of Delépine Foundation.

“Then, we used to just buy from the tribesmen and supporters of the foundation. But my mom loves to design, so I told her, why shouldn’t we start our own brand instead? So that’s how Liwayway started,” she narrated, recalling that they began their business with just one table of five designs of salt and peppershakers.

Slowly, the brand has expanded to include more items and clothing from the country’s north to south — from Abra to South Cotabato. 

Of the products they sell, the cherry on top are busts of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal and other Filipino-themed opuses from what de los Santos claimed as the “last porcelain factory in the country,” which she cannot name since the factory in Laguna usually churns out exports and Liwayway is the only local brand working with the factory.

“It’s a long process. You have to wait, most of the time, for six months to one year, for a new product. But every time something comes out, it’s very, very well-done. Really super good quality!” she said, vouching for the factory.

“We don’t want to only work with one Filipino fabric,” she shared. “Whatever that is the side of the Filipino, we want to highlight the best works of the Philippines.”