(October 9, 2019, Diamond Hotel, Manila) Today, I was honored to speak at the 12th ALCUCOA Annual National Conference on the topic, “Industry and Academe Partnership: Insights into the Future of LCUs and its Graduates.” ALCUCOA is the accrediting arm of the Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU).
Addressing the audience of top school
officials, faculty, curriculum leaders, researchers and stakeholders from
various LCUs and affiliated academic and tertiary education institutions from
all over the country, was a bit daunting as it brought memories of my
childhood, growing up in a family of academicians. But then, I thought, I have to share with them
the perspective of industry.
So, forge ahead I did as it was a great
opportunity to highlight the need for industry and academe to work together to
bridge the job skills gap, and to ensure that graduates are equipped with 21st
century skills to be globally competitive.
Of particular importance is the need to improve English Language Skills
as this is the global language for business.
It is sad that currently the English Language Proficiency of Filipino
graduating students is declining, and I urged the audience to do what they can
to stop the decline and keep this critical competitive advantage of the Philippines.
I presented possible partnership models, like
those of Amcham, Accenture, Ayala. The Information
Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) has developed
an extensive Industry-Academe Playbook, which IBPAP members and partner schools
can use. I encouraged the audience to establish
ties with IBPAP to ensure that we have skilled and industry-ready workforce.
ALCUCOA presented a post-humous award to Prof. Tomas B. Lopez, Jr.,
Former President, University of Makati and Former President, Association of
Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU). I
remember Tommy, whom I knew from AIM days, as an affable fellow who was great
at communicating his ideas. From the
accolades extended him, it was obvious that he was much loved.
I trust that the audience will take heart and work together with
industry to address the job skills mismatch, unemployment and underemployment
in the country. As DOLE Acting Undersecretary
for Worker Protection, Joji Aragon said, “We need specialist workers, not technicians. We need to produce graduates who are fierce
in this competitive environment, and who are trained with deep, useful skills
in the growth areas.” ALCUCOA President
and Executive Director, Dr. Raymundo P. Arcega, CESE acknowledged the challenge
which Usec. Joji and I presented, and said ALCUCOA will take heed and collaborate
with industry to ensure that graduates are job ready.
I shared the career journey of Michael James Hamlin at the conference, as an example of the challenges that our graduates face in getting jobs, and finding their niche in the work world. Michael James is an excellent example of a young man who studied in the province, and worked his way up the ladder, securing additional certification in money laundering and financial crime to excel in the IT-BPM industry.
(July 31, Manila) When my friend Ces Rondario, founder and CEO of Impact Hub Manila and Regional Lead for Impact Hub Asia Pacific, asked me to be a speaker at the July 31 Cartier Women’s Initiative: Female Founders Breakfast, I readily agreed, not knowing I was in a for a most enjoyable and meaningful experience.
On the way to the event, I
googled who the other speaker was, and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Audrey
Pe, founder and executive director of WiTech, short for Women in Tech, started
her business at the tender age of 15. WiTech is a community organization that educates,
inspires and empowers youth to break gender barriers and use technology to make
positive differences in society. My
curiosity was piqued and I looked forward to meeting Audrey.
Arriving at Happy Garden Café, I was ushered to the speakers’ table, where everyone seated there seemed younger than my children. I met Audrey, with her colleagues Marla Abao and Bing-Rong Hsieh of Launchgarage, and Carmina “Carbs” Bayombong of InvestEd. It was refreshing to meet such young women engaged in start-ups and serious about their craft. Soon, our keynote speaker, Republic of the Philippines Sen. Risa Hontiveros arrived, tipping the age balance slightly in my favor.
Our panel dealt with the issue of
building an effective ecosystem for women entrepreneurs to thrive. Moderating our panel was Riva Galveztan,
founder of Customized Dating, who I met years ago at another event, this time
by the Business and Professional Women – Makati. Riva is another accomplished young woman, who
has overcome odds and come out stronger and better. She is an entrepreneur and
wellness advocate. Aside from running her company The Natural Shelf, which
offers a variety of essential premium quality
Filipino-made natural health products, Riva mentors students at the ABS-CBN
Bayan Academy Grassroots Enterprise Management Program.
Sen. Risa, a staunch advocate for
women’s rights, shared the importance of finding out and pursuing what you
really want to do in life and what makes you happy. She talked about her early days as a student
leader at St. Scholastica’s College which awakened her desire to help solve the
country’s problems. She is behind the
Safe Spaces Act that punishes catcalling, wolf whistling and online sexual
harassment, among others. Before the
event began, I congratulated her on getting this passed into law, and whispered
my fervent wish that all our public officials, from top down, follow the Bawal
Bastos Act.
Young, vibrant and driven, Audrey
is a poster child for women in STEM (Science
Technology Engineering and Math). While
still in grade school, Audrey decided to learn coding by signing up for online
courses and doing research. Realizing
that very few women pursue tech and that there is a dearth in women role models
in STEM, Audrey began a blog on inspiring women in technology. Her interviews and blog gained attention and
soon some friends joined her. The WiTech
community grew, and they organized the very first Women in Tech Conference
(WiTCon) last year, a student-led conference for
female students in tech. Together with
WiTech members, she travelled to Marawi, a neglected area in the Southern
Philippines that was bombed in 2017, to teach basic programming skills to teens
living in evacuation centers. Audrey shared her dismay upon finding out the
gender gap where women earned much less than men for doing the same kind of
tech work and so she has decided to make eradicating this an advocacy. Clearly, Audrey is on the right path to
helping empower women.
I, on the other hand, shared how I started TeamAsia in Hong Kong 27 years ago, organizing a management award program in six Asian countries, at a time when mobile phones and the Internet were still in their infancy stage. Proudly women-owned and women-led, TeamAsia is now an award-winning, strategic marketing communications firm that brings brands to the next level experience. I talked about the difficulties and choices I had to make as a wife, a mother, and as an entrepreneur, finding the right work-life balance while growing the company, and the need for women to have access to markets, access to finance, access to information, and access to a support system. For the latter, I said I could not have accomplished what I have without the support of my mother who took care of my children while I had to travel for work.
The
event ended with a conversation between Ces Rondario and Carmina “Carbs”
Bayombong. Carbs is president and CEO of
InvestEd, an investment platform providing student loans to underserved youth
using a proprietary credit rating algorithm. Coming from humble beginnings
herself, Carbs came up with the idea of helping marginalized youth to achieve their
dreams by providing student loans that cover tuition, miscellaneous fees, daily
allowance, dorm and project expenses. Why, there is even a laptop loan! This is such a worthy social endeavor, and she
proudly announced that her students have now started paying back their loans.
Carbs bested candidates from
other countries to win the Cartier Women’s Initiative laureate for SouthAsia
and Oceania in 2019. Only one other
Filipina has won this award, and that is Jeannie Javelosa, who came in as Asia-Pacific
finalist in 2012. A staunch advocate of
culture, sustainability and gender, Jeannie is co-founder
of the pioneering ECHOStore and the GREAT Women brand.
The
Cartier Women’s Initiative, an international business programme, was created in
2006 by Cartier in partnership with INSEAD Business School to identify, support
and encourage businesses led by women entrepreneurs (www.cartierwomensinitiative.com).
Twenty-one women entrepreneurs, three finalists per region (Latin America &
the Caribbean, North America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East &
North Africa, East Asia, South Asia & Oceania) are awarded every year. Seven laureates are chosen, one for each of
the different regions.
As
laureate, Carbs took home $100K in prize money which she is using for InvestEd,
a scholarship to attend the six-day INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Executive
Education Programme in Switzerland, media visibility, and ongoing support for
the further growth and development of their business. Carbs shared how all finalists received
one-to-one personalized business and financial coaching prior to the Awards
Week, attended a series of business coaching workshops and networking sessions
during the Awards Week, enjoyed media visibility in the months leading up to
the Awards Week, and were interviewed by
local and international press during the Awards Week.
Many thanks, Ces and Impact Hub, for inviting me to the Cartier Women’s Initiative: Female Founders Breakfast, and for sending me this recap of the event: IMPACT_HUB_CARTIER_This was indeed time well-spent with the next generation of inspirational women leaders and entrepreneurs.
Today marks our 27th year. As I look back, I can’t help but reminisce a bit, seeing this behind-the-scenes ingress video of one of our events in the TeamAsia LinkedIn Page.
We started in 1992 as an event management company organizing the Asian Management Awards for the Asian Institute of Management and the Far Eastern Economic Review in six Asian countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Hongkong, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines). Back then, we were just a team of four: Mike Hamlin, my sister Pinky, Myles and me.
Mike and I would travel to each country, meet with the judges, the AIM board of governors, the AIM alumni association, business management schools, as well as local and regional media to invite companies to enter the Awards. We would print several thousand letters and nomination packets and send them out by snail mail.
Once the entries started coming in, we would pour over each one to ensure completeness of the responses. We would then organize meetings in each country to shortlist and then select winners, and with the media to promote the Awards. Once the winners were known, we would write each one to invite them to a gala awards dinner with the head of state as keynote speaker.
Raising sponsorship money to cover the cost of the project was another nail-biting challenge, as well as coordinating with the venue, caterers, florists, stylists, audio-visual suppliers, photographers and the like to ensure a successful press conference and awarding ceremonies. Why, we would even have to write the script ourselves.
Days before the gala awards in each country, our team would arrive armed with the glass trophies designed by Impy Pilapil and the exhibits that we would then have to physically carry and set-up ourselves. We would coordinate with the local registration team, print out tags, set-up registration, and brief the hired ushers for the event. We would arrange seating for between 500-700 VIP business guests, supervise the setting up of the backdrop and the styling of the venue, then dress up in formal clothes to greet the guests and manage the actual event.
Looking back, I am amazed that we were able to successfully organize the Awards for three years, at a time when there were no mobile phones, no faxes, no emails, no Internet. Truly, we’ve come a long way since then.
When we learned about the importance of sustainability through the League of Corporate Foundations, we decided to practice greening not just in our office, but in our events to reduce waste and impact on the environment. In the early days of event management, we would print thousands of direct mail invitations and send them by snail mail. As new technology was developed, we graduated to fax marketing and email marketing, supported by our team of dedicated telemarketers. Today, we promote our events through digital media, and hold virtual coordination meetings to avoid time-wasting city traffic.
We use event technology as an enabler to make the planning and marketing process easier, to engage guests and enhance their delegate experience, to capture online and onsite registration, share up-to-date event information to guests, collect their feedback, strengthen security, measure ROI, and more. We develop award-winning websites, mobile apps, AVPs, chatbots and audience response systems, and use different technologies for the WOW factor. Speaker presentations are no longer printed and bound in folders, but posted on the website and sent to guests for downloading.
While technology has in many ways made life easier for us, I must say that the secret ingredient to TeamAsia’s success is still the amazing people who create innovative ideas and deliver next-level experiences for brands using integrated marketing strategies.
From intimate executive briefings, corporate anniversary celebrations, and employee engagement activities to large-scale global conferences, TeamAsia handles each event with the same passion, excitement, and painstaking attention to detail. Armed with excellent organizational and story-telling skills and a creative approach to problem solving, our Experience, Creative, Content and Digital Marketing teams create unique turnkey events that bring next level experiences to brands, helping them connect meaningfully with their audiences.
Happy 27th anniversary, TeamAsia! It’s been an amazing adventure.
At the Jobs and Women in Philippine Tourism Forum organized by the Department of Tourism on April 30, 2019, we tackled various concerns of women in tourism, current trends in gender equality and women empowerment, as well as job opportunities in different sectors like farm tourism, travel and tours, and M.I.C.E. (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions/Events).
A staunch supporter of women empowerment and herself a role model of women leadership, DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat officially opened the forum.She shared her experiences as DOT Secretary and previously Undersecretary for the Department of Agriculture, where she met women from all walks of life as she traveled all over the Philippines, and how they warmed up to her once she talked about being a widow at a young age and having to take care of two children. Indeed, stripped of job titles, we are all women at heart, bound by a common desire to take care of our loved ones, and make a better life for them.
Atty. Edwin R. Enrile, Chairperson, Gender and Development Focal Point System (GFPS), Department of Tourism discussed Trends in Gender Equality in the tourism industry.It was interesting that the only male speaker in the morning heads Gender and Development at DOT.
Ms. Sandra Sanchez Montano, Board of Commissioner, Philippine Commission on Women, shared her passion about helping women succeed, and ensuring their health and safety, especially after her near death experience during an earthquake. I was happy to meet a fellow ASEAN Awardee, one who broke the barriers in a male-dominated field, driving ambulances and leading search and rescue missions during calamities.
Ms. Grace Baldoza, Deputy Program Manager, Bureau of Local Employment, DOLE shared statistics on In-Demand Jobs for Filipino Women.It was alarming that women workers in agriculture were declining, while women workers in other industries were on the rise.
Inspiring women to go beyond traditional careers and go where men only dared, Chezka Raumae Gonzales-Garrido relates how she, as a flight stewardess, decided to learn how to fly a commercial plane. Chezka is now a First Officer at Air Asia.She makes it her mission to continually inspire women to become achievers.
I spoke on MICE as a new product of DOT,and the job prospects open to women in MICE, from organizing business events as project managers to owning their own event management companies.Women dominate the Business Meetings industry in the Philippines, as can be seen from membership in the Philippine Association of Convention and Exhibition Organizers and Suppliers, Inc. (PACEOS). My owncompany, TeamAsia is women-owned and women-led, with 7 of 8 management committee members being women. Majority of our workforce are women as they exhibit the qualities needed for project management: excellent communication and people skills; ability to multitask, plan strategy and lead a team; creativity in designing and marketing events; being detail oriented; and managing and controlling a budget.
Likewise, Josie Costales of Costales Nature Farms spoke of the joys and benefits of working on agri-tourism.What started as a weekend retreat transformed into a thriving business, as she and her workers provided farm-life experiences to city guests.
Gina Romero of Connected Women shared how women need not be tied to a fixed schedule and be penned in a fixed work environment as they can do digital work from the comfort of their home. Proof that Connected Women is a vibrant network was palpable when a big group of participants suddenly asked to have a photo with Gina onstage.
Aileen Clemente, CEO of Rajah Tours, moderated the morning panel, which dealt with issues such as how technology is affecting or better yet enabling women in tourism.As Sharon ably put it, we women should support each other and practice ABC: 1) audit ourselves to know our strengths and weaknesses, 2) build our network, and 3) collaborate with other women.
The Department of Tourism envisions to empower women by creating more job opportunities, and to make the tourism industry a gender-responsive, community-and women-empowered. DOT is definitely on its way to achieve its objectives.
The afternoon featured a talk by Diane Zoleta, CEO of Yapak.ph, who shared success stories of Filipinas who served as tourism drivers fir their community, such as Apo Whang Od, the oldest mambabatok of the Butbut tribe whose fame as a tattoo master draws enthusiasts to her village for a chance to be tattoed, willingly trekking for miles. A woman vendor in Marikina, famed for her street food, draws foodies to her community to try her smokey delicacies. Another woman dared get into lantern making in Pampanga, a male-dominated industry, and her fame has attracted followers wanting to own one of her lanterns. As an aggregator of tourism drivers, Yapak.ph opens opportunities to women in Philippine tourism to show what they are capable of, helping make their communities thrive.
Mylene Abiva, CEO of Abiva, international ambassador for Robotics, and a fellow trustee of the Women’s Business Council Philippines, talked about iMakeHistory, an installation of various Philippines tourist sites built entirely out of Lego pieces, which can be found in intramuros. Mylene a staunch supporter of women in STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, encouraged the participants to make use of their skills and technology to further tourism in the country.
I served as moderator for the afternoon open forum, tackling issues like work-life balance for women, sponsors who gave them a leg up in their career, overcoming odds and succeeding, and finding their passion in life.Mylene and Diane gamely answered the questions of the participants, and shared their thoughts on how we can all be tourism drivers.
The forum ended with closing remarks by DOT Undersecretary Bong Benzon, who reiterated DOT’s thrust to further improve opportunities for women in Philippine tourism.Truly, this was a forum that mattered, not just in highlighting women empowerment in tourism, but in connecting like minded women in their quest to succeed.
October 31, 2018, Alabang. Yesterday afternoon’s TAkot 2018 was a riot!
Every last Wednesday of the month, TeamAsia celebrates Pop Up, a beloved employee engagement activity where everyone stops work to get together for a few hours of fun, fellowship and camaraderie. It is also a time when birthday celebrants are greeted, and friends break bread (though it was barbecue, noodles and doughnuts yesterday). New employees are welcomed, but first, they have to either perform a talent or butt-spell their name, a hilarious exercise that has everyone cheering them on.
The most awaited of these monthly Pop Ups is Halloween. This time around, we moved Pop Up to Tuesday as many of our employees will be traveling to the provinces today to celebrate Undas, the Filipinos’ way of honoring their dead by visiting the cemeteries and coming together as families to pray and remember loved ones that have gone ahead.
Happily Never After was this year’s theme for TAkot. A twist on musicals that end happily and make everyone believe life is dandy, the theme had everyone thinking creatively of a different and unexpected ending for Halloween. One where you witness something terrifying and unnerving, and you are lucky enough to escape and tell the tale.
Five departments competed in the quest: Creatives with The Lion King, Digital/IT and Web with Moana, Marketing and Accounts with The Wizard of Oz, Experience with Trolls, and Content with The Little Mermaid. With imaginative minds and creative juices working overdrive, the TeamAsians delighted us with their productions, and made my job as judge difficult. Luckily there were other judges to spread the work around.
The Creative folks danced with abandon, representing the animal kingdom rejoicing the birth of the Lion King, when suddenly they removed their animal costumes and turned into zombies dancing to Michael Jackson’s Bad.
Starting with a video clip from Moana where she saves the island from devastation, the Digital/IT and Web boys danced to their own ditty of “mag walis, mag-bunot, mag-laba, mag-sampay” as their fitting welcome to the triumphant Moana, ably played by Chiara, who they then kill as “women are not allowed on their island.” Undertones of gender bias, but happily, we have our first female team member in what for the longest time was an exclusive male domain.
Pam’s baby Coco adorably dressed as a princess troll stole the scene from the Experience Department’s performance. Coco didn’t even cry when she was taken from her “dying” Mama Troll Queen’s arms and given to the Troll King as sacrifice. Abi Bibat ably led the group in singing.
Lynda surprised everyone with her singing for the Wizard of Oz, as the unlikely group of friends, Enzo as the Scarecrow, Joyce as the Tin Man, Erika as the Cowardly Lion, and Patrick as Dorothy hop-skipped their way through the Land of Oz. Aire as the Wicked Witch of the North and Denise as the Wizard herself completed the cast of characters. And when Erika the Lion received her badge of courage and stopped being cowardly, she pounced on Dorothy and killed her, then gave away Dorothy’s heart to the Tin Man and her brains to the Scarecrow. It was indeed a surprise ending, and a hilarious performance.
Content’s Little Mermaid’s story addressed the environmental crisis, weaving in undertones of the ocean’s desecration by the massive garbage and plastic being thrown into the sea. As Johanna, alias Ariel, sang longingly of exchanging her fishtail for feet so she could explore the earth, the other content staff swam, or rather bobbed, around. There was Luigi as a seahorse, Tony as a starfish, BeaF as an octopus, Ana as Nemo. Vince told the story, while the other team members served as extras or production staff; throwing the garbage and blowing bubbles in the air. Intent on achieving her dream, Ariel goes to Ursula, devilishly played and sang by Axl, complete with sidekicks Flotsam and Jetsam. Ariel gets her wish, while Ursula is caught by a fisherman. And once on dry land, hungry Ariel decides to stop by a kiosk to buy takoyaki, a popular Japanese street food made of octopus balls. Goodbye Ursula! A deadly twist indeed, reminding us that the garbage we throw out into the sea, end up in the seafood that we consume. Hats off to Elton, the master storyteller and scriptwriter!
After the performances, we headed off to the pantry to get food, while the young ones went around to collect goodies. It was heartwarming to see the little sons and daughters of our staff having fun and playing in TeamAsia.
And we all had fun dressing up! Bea was the evil queen holding a box with a heart, while I dressed up as Esmeralda of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. The night before, Bea asked me to make her a crown for her outfit, and I remembered all those halloweens past when my children were young and we dressed up in outrageous costumes.
Soon it was time for butt-spell. We had a record number of butt-spells this time, with BVernie of Content doing it so fluidly it must have been cursive! Bea then announced the winners of the competition: Content bagged the first prize, followed by MAD and Creatives.
Takot 2018 was definitely a blast, an occasion for TeamAsians to unleash their creativity while having fun. I look forward to what our Pop Up team can come up with for the next one.
If there is one thing that is totally satisfying, it is sharing one’s gift of time, talent and treasure to those who need it most. I daresay that the volunteers and sponsors get more out of giving than the beneficiaries themselves. We’ve been so blessed to have this opportunity yearly. Little did we know that what we started in 2008 would snowball into a yearly tradition.
For the eighth consecutive year, the Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) and TeamAsia organized “My Dream in a Shoebox,” a beloved tradition of collecting and distributing shoeboxes filled with school supplies to less fortunate Filipino children. With the increasing support of our compassionate industry friends, we’ve grown from 200 shoebox donations in 2009 to more than 50,000 in 2015. These shoeboxes were donated to public schools and foundations covering Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Digital campaign #ShoeboxChallengePH
This year, we set ourselves a goal of 75,000 shoeboxes, which we are still on the way to achieving. So far, we’ve received over 60,000 shoeboxes, and pledges are still coming in. Early December, we launched a digital campaign called #ShoeboxChallengePH, where volunteers take a short video of themselves pledging to donate shoeboxes, then nominate three friends to do the same. Several people joined in the campaign, and this started the ball rolling.
A friend of mine, Bea Tan, vice president at Citibank, gathered her children and godchildren at her home one afternoon to stuff 50 shoeboxes and wrap them in festive paper. They all had so much fun wrapping the gifts, and I am sure the children will remember this for a very long time. I am so proud of her effort to instill the values of generosity of heart in the young!
Another friend, Joel Pascual of PEP Group, did a video on Facebook, and he says there were so many people interested to help, even some from overseas who contacted him through Facebook. Friends of mine from San Francisco have also donated willingly to the cause, as have personal friends who learn about this project. At TeamAsia, we rang the bell one day to signal the stop of work and the start of an afternoon of wrapping shoeboxes.
Last December, I’ve helped out at three gift-giving days, and would like to share what happened then.
December 10, 2016
Shoeboxes ready for distribution
Early that morning, we trooped to Barangay Payatas, Quezon City for our annual gift giving day of My Dream in a Shoebox at the Payatas Orione Foundation, Inc. (PAOFI). Run by the missions of the Sons of Divine Providence Congregation, PAOFI provides social welfare development programs and services to the poor, vulnerable and disadvantaged persons/families relative to their health/medical, nutritional and educational needs.
Fr. Julio welcomes us to Payatas.
That day, however, Fr. Martin was in Lucena tending to their communities in Barangay Dalahican and Talao-Talao in Lucena City. Instead, it was PAOFI’s executive director, the genial Fr. Julio who welcomed us at Payatas, together with Michelle and Shyla.
We expected 500 scholars at PAOFI, but sadly only 300 of the kids could attend the actual gift giving because of the National Achievement Test that was being administered that day. However, 133 volunteers had signed up for that session, and we were a bit worried that we had too many volunteers. This turned out to be a boon as the volunteers had more opportunity to interact with the children.
First, we grouped the children into tens and assigned each group three volunteers to serve as their big sisters/brothers, then had them come up with a group cheer. This was a tremendous success as each group tried to outdo the other in their cheering prowess. Thanks to Bea Lim and Armo Armovit for serving as judges for the cheering competition. The groupings also allowed the volunteers and the children to bond.
We had two games, the Newspaper Dance and The Boat is Sinking, with United Health Group (UHG) volunteers serving as game masters with the help of FIS Global. Emerson and UHG comprised the food distribution committee. The big brothers and sisters took charge of distributing the shoeboxes to the kids in their care, as well as, getting them hotdog sandwiches, orange juice and Picnic shoestring potatoes.
We also had a storytelling session in Filipino, which I led based on a story of a young boy who was at a loss as to what to give to his teacher on Christmas. He was sad because he could not afford to buy a gift because of his poor circumstances but was inspired when his mother told him a story about another young boy in a similar situation who drew on his creativity to come up with the best gift in the world. I told them that the gift of love is the most important thing in the world.
And love it was that we experienced that day. Hearty thanks to our selfless volunteers from Emerson, FIS Global, P&G, United Health Global, TeamAsia and IBPAP. Thanks too to Emerson for sponsoring the food and drinks for the activity, to P&G for providing the prizes for the games, to Megaworld for the Picnic shoestring potatoes, to Asia Brewery for the yoghurt, and to all those who donated shoeboxes filled with school supplies! And congratulations to TeamAsia’s Clah Salindato and Beverly Aguilar and to IBPAP’s Cholo Antonio for organizing this gift-giving day! I daresay that the volunteers left PAOFI with hearts full of happiness and contentment for sharing themselves and their morning with the children. And the smiles on the faces of the children were priceless!
December 22, 2016
One thousand thirty-six children from sixteen damayan centers. That’s how many children awaited us at the covered courts of Parokya Pedro Calungsod in Southville 3, Muntinlupa. This quasi-parish under the stewardship of Fr. Benjamin Molina, Jr., was established on October 14, 2012 to service the spiritual needs of the informal settlers that have located in the housing resettlement in a 50-hectare portion of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) reservation.
Our family with Fr. Didoy.
Not one to be fazed by such a daunting task, Fr. Didoy organized two gift-giving days for the children of the community, each one with 1,000 children. We were assigned to the second outreach. Come to think about it, Fr. Didoy has always set big, hairy goals when it came to helping people lead better lives. He was our parish priest at the Ascension of Our Lord Parish for three years, and he was (and still is) very much loved by the community. Which is why there were volunteers from Southbay and Goodwill who came to help that day.
Fr. Didoy telling the story of the first christmas tree during his homily.
But before the actual gift-giving, Fr. Didoy celebrated Holy Mass to remind everyone that we must first give thanks to the Lord for his many blessings. During his sermon, Fr. Didoy recounted the story of the very first Christmas tree that wanted to give homage to the King. The children were enthralled listening to his story, as they were, to my Filipino version of the “punong-kahoy na Pamasko.”
The volunteers distributing shoeboxes to the children.
What is amazing is that despite the large number of children, they were all extremely well-behaved, following the instructions of the youthful volunteers. Soon, the volunteers from the different companies began arriving: Henkel, Alorica, Infosys, Intelenet, Northern Trust, Asurion, DSM Manila, Serenitea and IBPAP and TeamAsia. And just like the multiplication of bread, the blessings overflowed that day. Earlier, we had sent over 1,000 shoeboxes filled with school supplies for the children. On the day of the outreach, however, Henkel delivered an additional 1,500 shoeboxes, followed by Asurion with 150 boxes and Serenitea with 155 boxes. The children were so happy, as they each brought home not one, but two shoeboxes, ensuring that that their siblings too would have supplies for school.
The children sang, danced, and played games with the volunteers eagerly helping out, especially when it came to distributing food and beverages as well as the shoeboxes. I noticed too that some of the volunteers brought along their own children, which is a great way to teach them the importance of sharing with those less fortunate.
After the outreach was over, the volunteers gathered for a souvenir photo. There were so many that we could hardly fit them in the photo, and had to take it from the second floor of the gym.
December 30
Once again, the gifts multiplied, this time at the Ascension of Our Lord Parish outreach. Five hundred children from the developing communities of Estrada 1 and 2, Mangga, Aratiles, Silangan, Villonco, and Waterfun were gathered early in the morning at the parish church. Outside the church, another hundred or so children waited in the hope of being allowed to join the festivities. Earlier, we had delivered 600 shoeboxes to Ascension. To our surprise, Alorica arrived with another 500 boxes. This meant we could give more than one box to each child inside the church, as well as, to the children waiting outside. Wonder of wonders!
While the children were singing in the church, the parish commission and youth volunteers, the corporate volunteers from VXI, Alorica, TeamAsia and IBPAP, as well as, individual volunteers like Michelle Cruz, Olette Gonzalez, Lou Mercado, Juliet and Rene Cinco, Jun and Tess Latorre, the Liwanag family, and many more were busy preparing the games, food and drinks and shoeboxes that would be distributed that day. Everyone had a task to fulfill, some as game masters, others as marshals, gift coordinators, food coordinators, and so on. There was even a clean up committee to pick up debris left by the event.
That Jolly Bee surprised and delighted the children.
A surprise visit by the Jollibee mascot got all the children excited, as did the various games organized for the children, like the straw relay, balloon relay and Japanese walk. Even my storytelling was listened to attentively by the children.
After the children had their snacks provided by VXI, they lined up to get their shoeboxes and other gifts from the volunteers. After this, they had their photo taken at the belen together with Fr. Joseph Landero, parish priest of Ascension of Our Lord.
Tired but happy volunteers at Ascension of Our Lord parish.
When the happy children had left, the volunteers broke bread and had souvenir photos taken at the parish. From the smiles on their faces, one could see that they were very pleased with themselves. And that’s the real blessing one gets from sharing.
TeamAsia founder and president, trainer, event organizer, food and art lover. President, Philippine Association of Convention/Exhibition Organizers and Supplier Philippines · teamasia.com
