With The Good Guys Market, a former flight attendant has rediscovered her wings.
She was soaring across the sky.
She appeared to have it all at the age of 30. A glamorous job, a lovely home, and a stunning family
She traveled the world, made friends from all over the world, and reveled in the glitz and glam of her globe-trotting employment. Nothing, however, compares to the joy of being at home with her little family for Suzzaraine ‘Raine' Visda.
She and her husband Joff decided it was time for her to pack her belongings after she had accumulated enough money from her years as a flight attendant. Raine returned home in October 2019 after her final trip with Saudia Airlines, where she had worked for the previous four years.
Field Residences in Paraaque is where I call home. She was a frequent shopper at SM City Sucat and would frequently find herself admiring the condominium being built next door. It was her dream: a home so close to all of the business establishments she had frequented while renting an apartment in Sucat, as well as her second home, the airport. It was ideal for her requirements: providing her with the ease of being close to everything while still providing her with the breathing room and neighborliness of a subdivision She put her money into a one-bedroom apartment after working at a small airline. In 2018, she and her small family moved in.
For the young wife and mother, things couldn't have gone much better. She was full with anticipation as she packed her belongings for the one-way flight back home, anticipating a life spent with her family every day. She considered working as a freelance make-up artist or finding work as a flight attendant for a small airline. She'd be able to spend more time with her daughter Kiara while her husband worked.
Then came the epidemic. The airline sector was thrown into disarray. Even her make-up abilities were useless at a time when everyone was forced to stay at home and social gatherings were outlawed.
This go-getter, independent-minded woman suffered greatly as a result of the pandemic-induced economic doldrums. There were no job openings. She would frequently cry since she was unable to assist her husband financially. She was worried that she would lose her lovely home at one point.
Then she saw Self Made, a Netflix film based on the dramatized biography of black hair care pioneer and tycoon Madam C. J. Walker. Walker survived turn-of-the-century America's hostility, epic rivalries, and disastrous marriages to become America's first self-made Black female millionaire, according to the book.
Raine needed to find a way out of the financial bind and do something to assist her husband financially. And, just in time, she and her husband noticed a billboard on her home's elevator, inviting residents to join The Good Guys Weekend Market, which had previously sold fresh fruits and vegetables but was now selling cooked cuisine.
Residents would not have to leave their houses for sustenance, thanks to pastries and other consumables.
Raine wasted no time in getting down to business with her other hobby, baking. She began selling banana bread, cookies, and ensaymada to the public.
Tita Annie, who assisted her in marketing her items, was one of her new acquaintances. Her confidence in her baking and business talents grew with each weekend market. She began experimenting with different tastes in her baked goods, each one produced with passion and love for her daughter, after whom her company, ensaymada, was named. Kiara's Oven was given a name. She inspired another neighbor, Yen, an internet merchant, to join the market in true pay-it-forward way.
Raine, Tita Annie, and Yen are among the first group of residents to join SMDC's The Good Guys Resident Entrepreneurship Program, which now has 300 participants spread across SMDC properties in Metro Manila. Together, they inspire other locals to transform their passions into profitable businesses.
Raine has rediscovered her ability to fly. She and her husband were able to keep their lovely home, she met new friends, and, most importantly, she got the ideal job: full-time wife and mother who bakes for her community on weekends.
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