Meet Cherry. Cherry Francisco is a very disciplined and hard-working mother of three. Her husband works as often as he can find it – but this area of the Philippines does not have many jobs. Her three children are her life passion and focus: her eldest, a boy in High School, and two girls – one an honor student in middle school, and one a pre-schooler. Cherry loves to garden, “stitch”, and especially to cook!
Unlike most Dignity workers, Cherry HAS had a number of jobs over the years – one of which was at a distant factory site. Now, at Dignity Coconuts, she is a Line Leader in the coconut “de-shelling” area where she overseas her shift group, and maintains the flow and quality control of 8,000 coconuts each shift.
With only a small percentage of local residents finishing high school, Cherry and her husband are unusual as they both have diplomas. Her dream is to be able to see her three children go beyond them to finish college with the opportunity and mobility that would afford them. When her eldest was struggling in school, Cherry gained support and help from Dignity’s Plant Manager Shirley Manallo to get him back on track.
Cherry credits her training and close coaching relationships with Dignity’s leaders in helping her get through some family tough times. As her husband looks for work, she is “on-plan” to keep the family sound financially and on course for her children to attend college. Cherry says, "…because of Dignity, people like me are receiving help… I am proud to be working at Dignity."
