DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – A 67-year-old woman from Camarines Sur, working for a single family as a nanny for two generations since 1981, has gained popularity in the Filipino community here because of gowns she makes mostly with discarded plastic bottle caps, empty coffee sachets and rice sacks.
Marissa B. Postre said she came up with the idea five years ago when she joined a contest honoring household service workers (HSWs) in Dubai.
“Naisip kong gumawa ng recycled dress dahil sa mahal ang presyo ng gown. Nag-usap po kami ng madam ko kung puwedeng mula sa recycled materials ang gawin na gown. Binigyan niya ako ng idea sa mga design na puwedeng gawin at materyales na gagamitin. Simula noon iyon na ang naisip kong gawin tuwing may event,” said Postre, who these days has become a regular guest at various Filipino community gatherings for her unique clothing. She said she has made 17 gowns so far.
(I thought of making my own dress using recyclable materials because gowns are expensive. I told my employer about it and she gave me ideas about designs and materials to use. From then on, I have always made my own gown whenever invited at events.)
“Ang pinaka-damit po niyan ay sako ng bigas, ‘yung mga tag-limang kilo na sako, at mga plastic ng mga mineral water,” Postre said.
(The main dress is made of rice sacks sewn together and empty plastic mineral water bottles.)
Postre, fondly referred to as “Nanay (mother) Marissa,” or “Ate (big sister) Marissa,” won at that annual HSW contest, dubbed “Gawad Kasambahay,” for having spent the longest time with a family – 43 years.
Postre was brought to Dubai in 2009 by her employer who was just a seven-year-old girl when she started working for their family in Manila in the 1980s.
“Dinala niya ako dito sa Dubai para mag-alaga naman ng mga anak nila,” Postre said.
(She brought me here to, this time, look after her kids.)
That seven-year-old girl is now a mother of three boys – a 17-year-old, a 14-year-old and an 11-year-old.
The fifth of 12 siblings, Postre said she has grown to love her employers and their children, having treated them as second family through the years. She was a factory worker making P70 a month prior to becoming a domestic help with them when she was 24.
“Masaya naman ang pakiramdam ko sa kanila dahil nakakatulong ako sa pamilya nila. I feel proud,” she said, adding that they usually have light moments together.
(I feel happy with them because I have been able to help.)
Postre has had a hard luck, life journey from a poverty-stricken, farming family in Brgy. Calagbangan Sipocot, Camarines Sur. She has been a domestic helper all her life, making P10 a year in 1967 when she started out at 10 years old in Batangas.
She went back to her province to continue grade school in 1969 but had to leave for Manila when she was 15 in 1972 to once again work as house helper.
Cupid had also been mean to her. “Nagkaroon ako ng isang anak. Hindi lang pinalad sa naging tatay ng anak ko. Ayaw po ng nanay niya sa akin kasi po katulong lang daw ako. Hindi na ako nakapag-asawa. Nag-focus na lang ako sa pagtulong sa pamilya,” Postre said.
(I was able to have a child but was not fortunate with her father. His mother did not like me because I was just a domestic helper. I was not able to marry. So, I instead focused on being a house help for the family I work for.)
She said her daughter’s father left her when she was five months’ pregnant.
Postre said she raised her daughter on her own, having sent her through vocational school, finishing a computer secretarial course.
“Hindi man lang nagbigay ng sustento ang tatay niya. Kaya binuhay ko ang anak ko sa pagiging kasambahay po. Mabait naman si lord. Hindi ako pinabayaan,” she said.
(Her father did not provide financial assistance. So, I raised my daughter by being a domestic help. God has been kind. He did not abandon me.)
Postre’s daughter is now 34 years old and currently in Dubai.
