LIVELIHOOD. Jane Vaquilar cooks and sells street food at the evacuation center in Tuguegarao City. She earns livelihood for her family even amid floods and pandemic. (Photo courtesy of Gerald Valdez, SK-Annafunan East president)
TUGUEGARAO CITY – Although still stuck inside the Annafunan Integrated School as one of the 304 people or 86 families who evacuated since Typhoon Ulysses, 30-year-old Jane Vaquilar has found time to sell street foods to her fellow evacuees.
Jane, who has three children, said since the floods had forced her and her family to take refuge at the evacuation center until now as floods have yet to ebb along core shelter in Annafunan East, she decided that life must not stop and earning a livelihood goes on.
Jane said her husband -- as the authorized person outside residence -- would go early to the market and buy goods such as wrapper, bananas, potatoes, eggs, fish balls, kikiam and other ingredients.
She would then sell the turon (banana lumpia), French fries, fish balls, kikiam and tokneneng to fellow evacuees.
“I would sell turon for PHP5 while French fries may be PHP10-P20 depending on the size, while kikiam, tokneneng and fish ball are affordable street food, as always,” she told this correspondent on Saturday in an interview.
Lack of money sometimes hinders her from buying more goods.
“I just hope that after this pandemic and this flood, I would be helped by civic-spirited people and offer me help for my puhunan,” she added.
Her neighbor, Sangguniang Kabataan president Gerald Valdez of Annafunan East, took photographs while she was cooking.
“She is industrious. She is a role model for those who have been losing hope during these pandemic and floods,” Valdez said. (PNA)
