The Mervin Parana Story

Turbulent Early Years. Mervin Parana, 31, grew up in Pagsanjan, Laguna, the second child in a brood of six. His parents split up when he was about 12 and for this reason he was unable to study beyond first year high school. Soon after, he went to Pampanga where he worked as a 'boy' (a lowly-paid helper) for an uncle.

Learning Masonry. At about the age of 20 he returned to Laguna and found a job as a laborer on construction sites. Within the next two years he gradually learned the work of a mason and soon grew confident enough with his skills to walk into construction sites and ask a foreman if there were any openings for a mason. From 2002 to 2009 he worked at several sites ranging from low-cost, one-story residential buildings to high-rises. 

All those years he also brought his 'bisyo' (vice) to the construction sites. He would join drinking sprees with co-workers and end up in brawls with them. Occasionally he would be unable to work because of a hangover.

A Changed Life. Then in 2009 he found work at what was to become the Center for Community Transformation-Training and Development Institute campus in Magdalena, Laguna. All workers were required to attend devotions (an hour of reading and meditating on God's Word) before the start of work each day. On Saturdays they attended corporate worship, a service patterned after Sunday services of Christian churches.

His employment with CCT brought him to other construction sites such as the retreat center in Tagaytay, the boarding school for children in Puypuy, Laguna, and the resettlement village for transformed street dwellers in Cabanatuan City. “In Cabanatuan we had devotions in the mornings and in the evenings,” he said. “In the beginning I would join simply for the sake of work but over time I began to look forward to reading the Bible and to listening to the preaching.” He has since given his life to God and his life has been wonderfully transformed. “During my teen years and my twenties I never went to church,” he says. “I prayed but when I did, there seemed to be something missing with how I talked with God. I've since learned how to come to God in prayer.” His drinking habit no longer has control over his free time. “I used to be hotheaded when dealing with co-workers. I have more patience now.”

Family Man and TESDA Exam Passer. Today Mervin is a hardworking father of four (his children range in age from eight years to nine months). “My wife and I practice family planning,” he says. “I want to be able to send all my children to college so they can find good jobs and not experience what I went through.”

He is also one of 39 CCT-assisted masons who passed a masonry competency exam given by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in February of this year. 

The workers underwent TESDA assessment as part of Sikhay sa Paggawa (SIPAG), a project  being overseen by CCT and run in partnership with TESDA , the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) with funding from the Alagad Party List. Mervin's TESDA certificate attests that he can work according to standards expected in the global workplace.

Tips for Fellow Masons. So what makes a good mason? Mervin says, “If you know you're working on a tight budget, you must be able work within that budget. One must be patient, because impatience and hastiness result in 'pingas' – chipped corners. And, a good mason has to be able to concentrate, must be systematic.”

For information on the CCT Group of Ministries, its programs and target beneficiaries,  please visit  www.cct.org.ph/new/.