keishahalili

A human trafficking survivor learns handicraft skills and earns a stable source of income working for a local craft organization.

Bonding over braiding. Olivia & Diego founder Yana Santiago (right) visits Jay Ann (left), the lead artisan, in her rented room in Davao City every few weeks. Yana gives Jay Ann raw supplies and gives details about the next orders. They also discuss ways to improve the designs. Yana also takes this chance to see how Jay Ann and her son are doing. Photo: Keisha Halili

Jay Ann slips off her slippers before climbing the wooden staircase to a room on the second floor of a wooden house. She have been living there with her five-month old son for the past three years. She slowly pushes open the wooden door and tiptoes inside, careful not to make the wooden boards creak. Jay Ann is used to being discrete, entering rooms that look just like this one, and quietly submitting to nameless men who made her do whatever they want with just a few paper bills.

But this room is different. The four walls are hardly the size of a sedan, but inside, she makes a living out of making bracelets and necklaces out of upcycled old clothes.

At 28, Jay Ann is one of the 824 survivors of human trafficking in Davao City. She left the sex industry in 2012 to start a new life as a crafter. She now makes bracelets for Olivia & Diego in the comfort of her home. The Davao company sells handmade accessories by upcycling old t-shirts and combining it with colourful yarn.

Jay Ann is the lead artisan and loves her new life.

“Mas maayo diri kay walay amo. Naa lang ka sa balay, mukita na ka. Asa pa ka ana. (I prefer to make a living this way because I don’t have a boss. I work from home but I earn),” Jay Ann said.

Human Trafficking in Davao City

Talikala, Inc., a non-government organization that helps survivors of abuse and human trafficking, estimates that in 2017 around 4,000 females are sex workers in Davao.

They range from nine to 74 years old with around 60% 2,400 younger than 18, the legal age for sex workers, says Talikala Executive Director Jeanette Ampong. But only 900 of all sex workers are registered with the city government. Davao is the only city in the country that has laws to protected sex workers.

Social Entrepreneurship as the Solution

Santiago and a group of friends created the company in 2013 as a spur of the moment decision to sell a product at a local bazaar in the city.

In 2014, they decided to expand to communities of women around the city and make Olivia & Diego a social enterprise.

One of the groups that responded was Lawig Bubai. Its members are survivors of human trafficking in the city. Talikala helped organize the group in 1995 to “unite, develop, and empower” them, said long-time member Lory Pabunag. They are given livelihood trainings, counselling, and legal advice.

“The women who did the trainings were perfect because the quality of their work is great. And they can even do better accessories than me and my friends,” Santiago said.

Santiago provides the women with the cloth, scissors, yarn, and other materials to make the bracelets. She used to deliver them to the Lawig Bubai center within the Talikala compound.

Jay Ann and seven other women from Lawig Bubai were the first to train in bracelet making in 2014. But now, she is the only one left in her batch.

“Ang uban man gud kauban nako reklamador. ‘Ay, dili ko ato kay sakit sa kamot.’ Bata pa man pud gud to sila. (The others in my group complained a lot. ‘My hand hurts.’ They were too young to understand,” Jay Ann said.

Santiago estimates that beginners produce an average of only five pieces per day. The tedious braiding process makes their hands sore from pulling the cloth.

That used to be Jay Ann’s average. Now, she can produce up to 30 pieces in a day. Jay Ann makes at least P30 for each bracelet. During peak seasons, like summer or Christmas, she earns up to P17,000.

“Sakto ra para makatigum gamay. Akong nagasto pampalit sa gamit sa bata. (I am able to save sa little. I buy things for my son with whatever is left),” Jay Ann said.

Weaving Into the Future

As of this year, Olivia & Diego has regular clients from Canada, USA, Japan, Malaysia, Belgium, and Germany. As their orders increase, Yana aims to train other members of Lawig Bubai to become future artisans.

Jay Ann hopes that her success making handicrafts, earning an honest income and raising her son would encourage others to leave their old lives behind – for good. .

“Lipay na kaayo ko diri. Dili nako itago kung unsa ko sa una sa iya. Pero karon, kabalo ko ma-proud na sya sa akoa. (I’m happy with what I’m doing now. I’m not going to hide who I was before from him. But I think he’ll be proud of who I have become),” Jay Ann said.

Baby Ibarro cries at the sound of his mother’s voice. Jay Ann picks him up from the hammock and hands him a ball of yarn. The baby smiles.