Carpenter’s Hammer

A carpenter’s trust to his hammer paves way to good work. More than just houses and buildings, carpenters all around the globe work laboriously to provide for their respective families while taking pride in an honest work that they do.

In a small town of MacArthur in the province of Leyte lived a highschool graduate Gualberto Tomenio who chose to become a carpenter out of poverty. Eventually, he settled down with his wife Prosperidad and raised four kids together.

Equipped with carpentry skills in the province, Tomenio left Leyte in 1995 to find greener pastures in the country’s capital, Manila. Joining him were his wife and two daughters, while his two sons were left under the care of the priests as sexton.

For 17 years as a humble carpenter, Gualberto provided a better future for his kids. His eldest currently works overseas as a Driver while his youngest is already a teacher. Meanwhile, Prosperidad found another source of income with the family’s own sari-sari store with the help of CARD, Inc. who provided her with P3,000 seed capital. Not long after, the business grew to become a photocopy center. The family has also become involved in the buying and selling of vegetables and swine.

In 2013, however, it seemed that all that they worked hard for had gone to waste. Typhoon Yolanda, the strongest and deadliest typhoon to hit the country to date, destroyed their house, belongings, and business.

“Yolanda was the worst thing that happened to us because of its damages. We don’t know where to start during those times because of the trauma. It was our first time to encounter that kind of situation and it gave us a lesson that will never be forgotten,” the 64-year old lady entrepreneur said.

Fast forward today, with an outstanding loan of 35,000 pesos, the Tomenio family plans to purchase a lot where they plan to build a farm and poultry.

For Gualberto, his vast carpentry experience had earned him a promotion when he became a foreman in a construction company. For two decades, he considered it as his biggest achievement and greatest desire in life.

“My hammer will be my weapon that will provide comfortable shelter to my clients,” he ended.