Key Takeaways
- Dr. Fatima Al-Zahra Ditti (Doc Kulot) sold over 6,000 soaps on TikTok Live, earning 57 pesos per item, to cover the full cost of her mother’s Hajj 2026 trip
- She streamed four hours a night after full shifts as a family medicine doctor, starting late May last year and reaching her target by November
- Her 61-year-old mother, Mimbung, departed for Saudi Arabia on May 4, 2026
Dr. Fatima Al-Zahra Ditti (Doc Kulot) had made her mother a promise: she would send her to Hajj. What she did not yet know was how.
The cost of the pilgrimage came to 350,000 pesos — a sum that felt out of reach for a first-generation doctor still paying off loans and supporting her entire family on a single income.
Four Hours a Night, Six Months Straight
The answer came from her own TikTok audience. During a live session where she spoke openly about her financial worries, a follower suggested she try the platform’s live-selling feature.
She took the idea seriously. Every night, after finishing her shifts as a family medicine specialist, Ditti went live from 8 p.m. to midnight selling soap. Each bar earned her 57 pesos in commission — roughly $0.93.
“TikTok live-selling requires you to stay online for about four hours. I would do it at night, usually from 8 p.m. until midnight, after coming home from work. I really dedicated myself to it because I saw its potential once people started showing up consistently,” she said.
By November, six months after she started, she had sold more than 6,000 soaps and raised the full 350,000 pesos.
A Community Built on Honesty
Ditti has been active on TikTok since 2021 under the name Doc Kulot, where she first documented her medical residency.
Over time, she began sharing more of her personal story — growing up in the small town of Simunul in Tawi-Tawi, earning scholarships from elementary through medical school, and becoming the family’s main earner after her father died in 2017.
“I also started sharing my journey as a first-generation doctor and breadwinner, and that’s how people started connecting with me,” she said.
That openness drew a loyal following, later nicknamed the “Kulotism” community, whose early support helped her live-selling gain momentum quickly.
Carrying the Family Since 2017
Ditti is 33 years old and the eldest of five siblings. When her father passed away eight years ago, she became the one her family relied on — helping pay for her siblings’ education while managing her own professional life and debt.
“When my father passed away, the role of the provider was suddenly left empty and I had to step into that role,” she said. “People assume that once you’re a doctor, you must already be rich. In our case, we really had nothing.”
Last year, she was juggling loans and a single income stream with no clear path forward. The soap-selling campaign changed that.
Mother Departs for Hajj 2026
On May 4, 2026, Mimbung — Ditti’s 61-year-old mother — flew to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj 2026, joining hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathering for one of the five pillars of Islam.
“For every Muslim believer, it’s a dream to be able to perform it,” Ditti said. “She was so happy because she never imagined that selling soap would eventually bring her to Hajj.”
After reaching her fundraising target, Ditti kept streaming to earn spending money for her mother’s trip.
“I promised myself I will take care of her, and that’s what I am doing. Deep in my heart, all I wanted was to give my mother a comfortable life.”
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