Lip Gloss Founder and Chief Executive Officer Maryann Borja-Arriola, right seated; President Frances Santos, left, back row; Vice President Darsha Camacho, left seated; Secretary Tiana Villagomez, center; and Treasurer Hazel Sadian pose for photo after their board meeting in Garapan on Sunday. On the screen is the group’s public information officer, Rafaela Enoé Fiallos Bertrand.
Reporter
Lip Gloss Founder and Chief Executive Officer Maryann Borja-Arriola, right seated; President Frances Santos, left, back row; Vice President Darsha Camacho, left seated; Secretary Tiana Villagomez, center; and Treasurer Hazel Sadian pose for photo after their board meeting in Garapan on Sunday. On the screen is the group’s public information officer, Rafaela Enoé Fiallos Bertrand.
A NEW non-profit organization, Lip Gloss — Where Women Empowerment Transcends, aims to “empower, educate and employ women of different backgrounds, races, cultures, social status,” including those with disabilities.
The group’s mission is to help women reach their full potential in finance, social entrepreneurship, women’s rights, and emotional intelligence.
Lip Gloss’s founder and chief executive officer is former Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Executive Director Maryann Borja-Arriola. The founding members of the board of directors are Frances Santos, president; Darsha Camacho, vice president; Tiana Villagomez, secretary; Hazel Sadian, treasurer; and Rafaela Enoé Fiallos Bertrand, public information officer.
Lip Gloss was officially incorporated on Dec. 31, 2021, and is now seeking tax exemption under Section 510 (c)(3).
The new group hopes to provide services to the most vulnerable women in the community. Its programs and services include regular informational talks and workshops on professional and personal skills development, emotional intelligence, business and entrepreneurship, technology and computer literacy, financial literacy, and women’s rights.
It will also assist women facing difficulties in life by teaching them how to write a résumé and find a job. The group will likewise offer vocational rehabilitation, therapy and rehabilitation for battered women and children, as well as educational and trade programs through strategic alliances with various universities and organizations.
Vision
Lip Gloss believes that “self-esteem and self-worth are improved through education and knowledge.”
Asked about the group’s name, Borja-Arriola said chapped lips could indicate the hardships a woman is going through.
She said women tend to experience more hardships than men. Society’s pressure on women is stronger since they fulfill several essential roles as a mother, wife, caretaker, and employee, she added.
“That being said, we will focus our assistance on women and children in the CNMI who come from the most vulnerable backgrounds that may include, but are not limited to, abuse, poverty, disability, and/or unemployment,” Borja-Arriola said.
“When your lips are chapped, lip gloss represents the better version of yourself, the one that shines,” she added.
Hope
Borja-Arriola said hope and education can “transform your life and make you a better person.”
She is speaking from experience.
Going through a lot of hardship in her younger days, she said she almost gave up hope. But a group of women who understood her dire situation came together and helped her, she said. “They encouraged me not to give up hope.”
She attended Northern Marianas College as a working student and then obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Argosy University.
Inspired
Lip Gloss secretary, Tiana Villagomez, said she was inspired by Borja-Arriola’s success story.
Villagomez said she, too, goes through a lot of struggles.
But it’s good a thing, she said, because “we can relate to those who come to us for help. Besides, one can’t give advice if she has not gone through the same struggle.”
Lip Gloss vice president Darsha Camacho said, “We learn from others so that we can climb up from our struggles.”
Lip Gloss president, Frances Santos, who was Borja-Arriola’s classmate at NMC, said their group is eager to help “mothers who have never worked because the husband did all the working.”
Santos said there are mothers who want to do more in life “but they don’t even know how to operate a computer because they have never worked before.”
Lip Gloss can provide training to these women, she added.
Lip Gloss public information officer, Rafaela Enoé Fiallos Bertrand, who worked with Borja-Arriola at the Empty Vessel Ministry in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Soudelor, said it’s a privilege to be part of Lip Gloss.
She said Borja-Arriola herself has gone through ups and down but never gave up. “She is resilient in life and I would say she’s a role model,” Bertrand said.
Reporter
A bachelor of arts in journalism graduate, he started his career as a police beat reporter. Loves to cook. Eats death threats for breakfast.
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