FROM A TAINTED SHIRT TO AN ANGLE GRINDER: Mary’s Untold Story!

A mother, fighter, worker, and simple citizen who is full of hope—who is she? She is Mary Joy C. Dorias, PTC–Davao Trainer in SMAW NC I, SMAW NC II, and EIM NCII, and this is her story. 

A 35-year-old woman currently residing in Brgy. Sto. Niño Tugbok District Davao City. Often called Joy, but her name does not match her feelings toward her life. Joy did not finish her studies because of life's circumstances. She was only 18 when she got pregnant with her first child and kept it from her parents out of fear and guilt. Became a single mother when she separated from the father of her three children. Her eldest is a girl, her second child is a boy, and the youngest is a girl. Even if she is not the biological mother of her third child, she treats her as if she was her own. 

Mary is a victim of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse from her ex-partner. She felt caged and miserable and constantly lived in fear, as her ex-partner was also a drug abuser. She dealt with and suffered for almost two years of her life, clinging to the belief that she hoped to have a complete family with her children. Until she was strong enough to let go of her abusive partner, no matter how painful it was. 

At some point, she thought that her suffering would end there. Life tested her. In 2016, she was diagnosed with papillary thyroid carcinoma, a common thyroid cancer. From that moment on, she thought life was punishing her; even questioned God about why out of millions of privileged people who could afford treatment, it was given to her. She prayed, begged, and cried inside the church and asked God for a sign that if she was meant to live; expenses for her medication would be freely given to her. She asked for medical assistance from Lingap Services. All of her treatments, medications, and thyroidectomy were all handled by Lingap. She never lost hope; she fought and survived! According to her, miracles happen. 

When Mary was introduced to TESDA, it changed her life. Before training, she worked as a morning construction worker and an evening student. She enrolled in TESDA because she was interested in acquiring new skills. She completed her Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC I and Electrical Installation and Maintenance NC II at the Provincial Training Center–Davao, and her Shielded Metal Arc Welding NC II at the Endonela Institute of Technology Foundation Inc. Further, she had her Trainer’s Methodology ™ at Marians Technical Institute.  

In 2018, she applied as an SMAW NC II trainer at the Provincial Training Center - Davao, but she wasn’t accepted. But that hasn’t stopped her from achieving her goals and the drive that she had to be one of the women welders. She inquired again in 2019 but was still rejected. She got a job instead at the JFS Electrical Company. Finally, in 2020, she received a call from PTC-Davao informing her that the center needs an on-call trainer to conduct community-based training in SMAW NC II in Barangay Wines, Baguio District; she immediately grabbed the opportunity after waiting for several years.

Because of her outstanding performance, she became a job order trainer at the Provincial Training Center - Davao until this day and is known as one of the "Babaeng Trainers of Welding." Aside from handling skills training for SMAW NC I and SMAW NC II, she also holds skills training for EIM NC II. In addition, she completed the training on Region XI Multiplier Training of Trainers in Work Readiness on 21st Century Skills in August 2021.

In keeping with the celebration of Women's Month, let's not forget to recognize the accomplishments of women and raise awareness about domestic violence and other challenges that women confront daily. She even compared herself to a tainted shirt before, as for her "Pag ang damit ay sobrang dumi ay madaling itapon, ipamigay at palitan." But now she is a grinder: "Na kahit anong dumi ay malilinis at malilinis parin," and that is her untold story.