Mary Jean Alvarado is a 21-year old call center agent with dreams of a brighter future for her family.

That is why aside from her night-shift job; Mary Jean is also an entrepreneur by day. She makes handmade paper weights for a living.

One by one, she painstakingly carves out paper weights from marble stones. She also sculpts novelty items such as table displays or photo frames from the same medium. She plans to explore further on creating beauty from scrap materials and recycled items.

Mary Jean had to work early on in life for her family. The youngest in a brood of six, she dreams of putting up a boutique featuring her entrepreneurial and artistic skills.

According to Mary Jean, "My dream is to someday own and run my business. I am setting aside some of the money I am earning as a call center employee to use as capital for putting up my own business. I am carefully planning on becoming a full-time entrepreneur."

Mary Jean owes her entrepreneurial skills to the WIWAG program of Holcim Philippines, Inc. a five-day training concept in business management based on a computer-assisted business simulation game.

Through the hands-on business training called WIWAG Business Weeks, Mary Jean and her co-participants learned how to develop a business or company by gaining significant insights in the vital areas of finance, human resources, research and development, production, and marketing.

WIWAG Business Weeks is one of Holcim's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) flagship programs. It is given to marginalized but business-savvy second to fourth year undergraduate students of public colleges and universities nationwide.

According to Teri Cruz, CSR Coordinator of Holcim Philippines, Inc., "It will not only give the students a better understanding of how a company operates, but also the proper preparation in entrepreneurship which helps address the unemployment problem of the country. When they create small businesses, they create more jobs."

Licensed global volunteer instructors from Holcim Philippines, Inc. and other partner-companies conduct the WIWAG student training courses.

"We team up with various companies as well as tap retirees to be part of our pool of faculty members. By doing so, we also instill in them the values of partnership and community service by imparting their expertise with the underprivileged," remarks Elaine Mapa, Executive Director of the Education for Youth Enterprise (EYE) Foundation, Inc., Holcim Philippines, Inc.'s implementing arm of the WIWAG program.

Recognizing the importance and the need to enhance business and entrepreneurship education in the country, Holcim Philippines, Inc. acquired the license to run WIWAG in the Philippines through the EYE Foundation. The EYE Foundation, Inc. is targeting 40 WIWAG Business Weeks runs for this year.

"I am grateful to companies like Holcim and its partners in WIWAG for giving us the beautiful opportunity of a brighter future," Mary Jean says with a big smile.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holcim is one of the world's leading suppliers of cement and aggregates (crushed stone, gravel and sand) as well as downstream activities such as ready-mix concrete and asphalt. The Group holds majority and minority interests in more than 70 countries on all continents. Holcim Philippines, Inc. (HPHI) is a Philippines-based cement manufacturer and a member of Holcim Group. Holcim Philippines is involved in the manufacture, sale and distribution of cement to the domestic and export markets. The Company produces four cement products: Holcim Premium Portland Cement, Holcim Excel Cement, Holcim Duracem and Holcim Wallright. Its products are sold in bags, jumbo bags and in bulk. Holcim Philippines operates four cement plants in La Union, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental, and Davao. It currently has 1,400 employees in the Philippines.