Emberto Bongabong, Sr. of Davao City is making ends meet by selling items such as dolls, purses, and bags he made himself.

Thanks to a customer who posted a photo of his products online, more people learned about his creations that his wife had to help him make them.

But what really inspired his new customers is the motivation behind the daily grind.

Bongabong, even at 73, continues to work hard to provide for the medical needs of his son who is undergoing hemodialysis.

He spends hours, if not days, creating the products that he can sell in the streets for P40 and up to P1,000.

“Kung handle lang, sobra oras ni. Handle lang, wala pay labot sa bag, para man na sa bag. Ako lang nagbuhat sa handle para ang bag sa akoang asawa. Dugay pud mahuman ang bag, duha ka adlaw ang bag,” Bongabong said.

He said they are very happy with how things turned out for them because they can now afford to buy more of what they need.

“Happy na kaayo kami… makakwarta na gyud mao nang makapamalit mi bisan unsa,” Bongabong said.

Bongabong and his wife were vegetable vendors at the Bankerohan Public Market but when he was hit by an illness and sales at the market declined, they decided to look for other means to earn a living.

“2009, nihinay naman gud og kanang nimingaw na ang mga mamalitay ba. Mao to nangita na lang mi og paagi nga para naa mi manginabuhian,” his wife, Lerma, said.

In 2010, the couple started venturing into producing and selling handcrafted items.

The business didn’t go smoothly and their situation even became more challenging when their 44-year-old son suffered from a kidney disease and had to undergo hemodialysis.

Their son could not thank his parents enough.

“Dako ang akong pasalamat sa ilaha kay dako kaayo ang tabang sa akong sitwasyon karon nga wala pud sila nag-give up para sa akoa. Di pud ko mag-give up para sa ilaha,” he said.

“Duol lang jud ta sa Ginoo. Dili man musulay ang Ginoo. Ang demonyo lang man jud ang musulay sa atoa. Ampo lang ta unya naa man ang atong manlalaban mutabang man jud na sa kawad-an sa pag-asa diha lang ko midangop ilabi na sa atong inahan nga si Mama Mary busa ato jud nang dangpan sila,” Bongabong said.