Xiamen City, 25 March 2022- In celebration of National Women’s Month, the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen held this year’s Ladies’ Night at the Consulate.

Pinays from Xiamen and Jiangxi who dialed in through Zoom and the PCG Xiamen personnel who participated in person were treated to the inspiring talk of Ms. Therese Clarence A.C. Fernandez-Ruiz, President and Co-founder of Intentionality, Inc. (formerly known as Rags2Riches, Inc), who also joined the celebration from the Philippines through Zoom.

In her opening remarks, Consul General Mendoza-Oblena honored the online participants—Filipino women based in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces, and hailed their strength and resilience, which was highlighted even more during the pandemic. She further mentioned that “even as we [women] have accomplished much, there are still other challenges to conquer.” 

 

In keeping with the theme, “Agenda ng Kababaihan, Tungo sa Kaunlaran,” Ms. Fernandez-Ruiz shared her and her team’s efforts towards empowering their partner artisans who were mostly women from underprivileged communities. The participants afterwards engaged in a brief but lively discussion with the speaker regarding the importance of training partner artisans and changing their mindsets as well as those of the public, championing fair trade, ensuring sustainability and market access, adjusting to change, and most importantly, caring for the people in one’s team.

Many of the participants later expressed their commitment in supporting locally-grown companies like Rags2Riches. END