Filipino UN peacekeeper on front page of UNFoundation.org

Philippines take limelight in this image showing a Filipino peacekeeper with an African child.  This is from the front page of UN Foundation’s website (September 3, 2010).

Visit UNFoundation.org and BetterWorldCampaign.org to know more about the 10,000 Voices for Peace campaign which honors peacekeepers around the world.

Reese Fernandez - Social Entrepreneur; President and Founding Partner of Rags2Riches, Inc.

There are two types of faith: mountain-climbing (endurance/tenacity) and mountain-moving (courage/strength).  Looking at her past and present, one can surmise that social entrepreneur Reese Fernandez holds both.  

Reese’s life experience is a text book example of facing trials, rising up to challenges, effectuating change and affecting lives.  Growing up in three churches and having been raised by several people, it seems that her unconventional childhood has only made room for a make or break.  Reese chose the former.

“One day you will look back and realize why things worked out the way they did,” she responded in an email interview with Greater Good Philippines.  And probably, all those instances in her life played just the right parts to mold her to the person that she is.

Read on to know more about Reese, one of five Rolex Young Laureates for 2010.  You can check out Entrepbuff.com’s interesting feature on Reese Fernandez entitled “WBW: ‘Follow your heart, not your wallet’ and the money will follow” (circa Feb 2009). 

Visit their website to learn more about Rags2Riches and how they change lives.

Photo from Reese’s Rolex Young Laureate feature.
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Do you want to be a volunteer for good governance in our country?

Re-posting from harveykeh.wordpress.com.

Volunteer for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership! Be a Kaya Natin Volunteer!

Do you want to be part of the change that you want to see in our country?
Do you want to help promote good governance and ethical leadership in our government?

Do you want to find out more about how you can help our government leaders become more effective, ethical and empowering in your own small ways?

If YES is your answer to these questions, then we invite you to join us on our Get to know Kaya Natin! day-Be a Kaya Natin! Volunteer! which aims to invite ordinary Filipinos to become proactive citizens in promoting good governance and ethical leadership in our country. During this event, we will also introduce the Kaya Natin Movement, its champions of good governance and its current activities. Our founders include notable leaders such as DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo, Among Ed Panlilio and former Gov. Grace Padaca. Aside from this, we will also present various volunteer opportunities and ways that one can do to help the Kaya Natin! Movement for Good Governance and Ethical Leadership.

This will be held on August 26, Thursday, 6pm to 730pm at the Kaya Natin! Office at Unit 300 Torres Building, 321 Katipunan Ave., Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Should you wish to attend this event, please confirm your attendance by calling Inday at (02) 4341458 or by sending a text message with your complete name and contact information to 0919-9575444.

Since we have very limited space, we will accommodate confirmations on a first come, first serve basis.

Filipino Komiks 2.0

Sundays at my lola’s house was something my siblings, cousins and I looked forward to growing up.  The get-together would turn to a solemn ritual with each individuals finding their own corner in the small library in this Paranaque home reading Liwayway and Aliwan comics. 

The smell of dried ink on my fingers is something that I am very familiar to because of this experience.  Sadly these moments are long gone.  We have all grown to take interest in other things, consume other forms of entertainment.

As part the transition generation, we have witnessed the fall of Filipino “komiks”.  But all is not lost. 

In the U.S., comics have not completely expired although the industry as a whole has diversified.  The mainstream producers ventured in to licensing and merchandising for Hollywood reproduction.  Independent or alternative comics, on the other hand, enjoyed good company with niche consumers.

The same goes in the Philippines.  Comic stories and characters have been licensed to big TV networks, ostensibly resurrecting this form of entertainment (at least only in element). 

Then there are the innovators riding the waves of new media, one of which is webkomiks.com, a website that has established the filipino komiks industry in cyberspace–aptly dubbed e-komiks. 

The onslaught of electronic materials like e-books, e-catalogues, e-mails, even e-menu, made us felt that it is time for the e-komiks to claim its position as well. E-komiks thru its website www.webkomiks.com will bring forth the new Superstars in illustrative storytelling. We have a pool of seasoned illustrators and writers who wish to entertain you in this medium. It is of our best hope that you will continue visiting our website and add us to your Favorites and of course, purchase some if not all of the e-komiks on our e-stand in the future.

This website is dedicated to all filipinos around the world who wishes to rally behind its homegrown talents and to those avid komiks readers from local newsstands during the heyday of the pop culture. Tagalog or Pilipino is the language used herein which sometimes is thinged with the common spoken taglish (tagalog + english) nowadays.

Filipina Honored for Accomplishments in Nursing

Myrna Elma Ricarte, Registered Nurse at Orange County Healthcare Agency, has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in nursing. 

Ms. Ricarte has 50 years of overall professional experience, and has been with Orange County Healthcare Agency for 16 years. As a registered nurse, she is responsible for educating patients on sexually transmitted diseases and drug interactions, administering vaccines and inoculations, and charting patient’s irregularities and progress. Additionally, she and her husband founded the General Artemio Scholastic Foundation of the Philippines. They help the underprivileged in the Philippines achieve an education through grants and scholarships if they prove themselves in school. She became involved in her profession because of the inspiration she received from her aunt, who was a nurse.