I don't exactly know how I survived this first Christmas after losing my husband.  Maybe the anticipation of holiday grief is more dreadful than living through the actual day. It's also possible that the people surrounding me just did a good job in making me feel that there is life even when grieving.

Based on observation of other people, I seem to be coping with grief fairly well. If coping means I still have the energy to wake up and go about my daily work; if it means being able to still laugh, sing, and dance; if it means taking care of myself, if it means I still fight fiercely for what I believe in, then yes, I am coping. 

What many don't know is that for me to be able to cope on the outside, I need to accept and go through the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with losing a loved one. It is not an understatement to say that every corner of where I go is a constant reminder that future memories will no longer include him. Knowing this, is responsible for much of the pain.

Calm Days and Moments of Melancholy

Calm days are something I am most thankful for. It gives me a sense of normalcy in this particular life disruption. Moments of melancholy or having feelings that go beyond sadness come in waves, usually unexpectedly.

The struggle not to have these moments noticed by others is real. I don't like spoiling the mood of festive activities. Most of the time I am able to fake it, but sometimes it is just too much. Family and friends are incredible sources of support and love, accept them.

Moving Forward

Going into the 10th month without my husband, I can say that things and situations associated with him have become more bearable. I have no illusions that all pain will go away in time but I truly understand now that we learn to live with it and still live a fruitful life. I totally believe that I can honor my husband's life best when I am able to carry on. For now, our children remains the priority. Self-development is a close second.

Our memories will remain with me whatever I decide to do in the future. 

My Say

Deep in my heart, I wish he is still with us. That said, I pray that he can still guide our family from above as I try my very best to complete our parental duties.

We will never forget you Ramon. I am so sorry I was not able to put up the Christmas Tree for this past holiday. It has always been your "job" to do it yearly. 

Borrowing money for business is not a simple decision to do. No one can really tell whether expected returns for taking on the financial responsibility will be realized. There are essential aspects to consider to determine whether it is a wise move.

Whether borrowing is something regular or seasonal for business, it has its purpose. Debts are not necessarily a liability specifically in business. Not in the right business hands, they aren't. 

Photo by Mike Petrucci on Unsplash

Business owners who learn to maximize the advantages of business loan use end up enjoying the results of calculated risks. Cash flow management is more efficient. Credit worthiness reputation is built with responsible repayment. Possibilities for expansion can be unlimited.

So when is it wise to consider borrowing money for business? 

Sufficient Planning

Prudent business owners do not simply decide to  borrow money. Such decision is best arrived at after careful planning. This means giving time to research financing options and determining suitability based on actual  business needs and circumstances. The loan process may also take some time to be completed so it makes sense to file the application way before the time of actual need.

There are standard business loan requirements that borrowers need to comply with. While there may be some challenges in completing them especially for new business owners, there is nothing to prevent them from complying. It is important to have a strategic plan in place so that borrowed funds will definitely go to intended reasons. It is always wise to borrow when plans are in place.

Expanding Operation

It is not rocket science that business expansion requires more capital. Unless business owners have their own unlimited funding source, borrowing is a sensible option. It also bears knowing that the cost of equity is higher than the cost of debt. 

There are different types of business loans. Term loans where borrowers get a lump sum of cash to be repaid with interest over a predetermined period, are suitable for business expansion.  A business cash advance is extended to the borrower based on a business' future revenue. Another is the business line of credit provides access to funds based on credit limit. It is wise to borrow for business expansion as it creates financial leverage to a profitable business.

Machinery and Equipment Purchase

For a business to make increase in production possible, upgrading machinery and equipment is necessary.  Of course this requires money. So does investing in new technology that will help boost production.

Increased production means more clients served. More clients mean more income. More income means more profit. It is wise to borrow to purchase machinery and equipment that strengthens business infrastructure.

My Say

A business loan is a useful tool for growth. When utilized the right way, it can be a business owner's best ally. When availed of irresponsibly, it can be the heaviest burden to carry.

Risks will always be part of doing business. Taking out a business loan is one such risk. That said, risks are worth taking as long as they are calculated to increase business profitability.

Never has there been a time when small business mommy entrepreneurs (or "mompreneurs") needed a boost than now.

Times have been especially challenging because of the pandemic. Many mothers try to help in family finances through income generating activities that will not take them away from their families. Home food business is one of the preferred options since it generally does not need a large capital to start.

Still, small-time mompreneurs can benefit from corporate initiatives that will empower them to keep their businesses booming. It is very common for many budding entrepreneurs to give up at first, whether it is due to finances, a lack of family support, or physical exhaustion brought about by many responsibilities. 

Preparing for a portrait photoshoot can turn out to be overwhelming. You need to do many things to ensure that you get a quality portrait and have the best experience. Therefore, preparing for your portrait early is critical. These tips are what you should have on your mind while preparing for a portrait photoshoot.

Photo by Harrison Haines from Pexels

Choose a Reliable Photographer

Before you do anything, look for a portrait photographer with extensive experience specializing in portraits. You can visit their websites to read previous customers' reviews. Also, go through their professional portraits gallery to see whether they have a picture with a style that you would want. You can talk to them about your portrait session and choose a day, time, and location. They offer the best portrait services for personal and business use.

Go For Manicure

A good portrait photographer captures every single detail. Therefore, plan for a manicure and pedicure a day or two before the portrait photoshoot. This way, your nails will look better on camera. Consider putting a dark nail color to make your nails look intriguing and prettier. You can also go for a beautiful French manicure. Avoid using bright nail colors since they will attract too much attention. However, if you choose to do your nails at home, ensure you trim the cuticles and file them well.

Get a Good Night's Sleep

It is critical to get a good night's sleep the day before your portrait photoshoot session. A good rest will make you look great. Furthermore, you will be able to wake up early and get enough time to prepare, style yourself, perfect your wardrobe, and travel. You will reach your destination without rushing, giving you enough time to relax before the photo session starts.

Keep Skin Hydrated

One week before the portrait photoshoot, ensure you take care of your skin. Avoid drinking too much alcohol but take loads of water. Eat healthy foods and avoid salty foods. Also, each day moisturizes your skin. This way, you will have an elegant look during your portrait-taking session.

Select Your Wardrobe

As you prepare for a portrait photoshoot, take with you several outfits. Pick clothing that fits well. This way, you will be more comfortable while moving, which will boost your confidence. While choosing a wardrobe for portrait shooting, avoid stripes and patterns, especially if your location is new, as they can conflict with other things. Furthermore, avoid clothes with logos since they are visually distracting. Consider wearing neutral colors like beige, white, gray, tan, or black since they are perfect for portraits. These neutral colors will avoid conflicting with the background and complement your skin better.

Hair

If you have dyed your hair, retouching the growth three or four days before the portrait photoshoot is ideal. Avoid any drastic changes at this time. If you prefer cutting your hair, trim it to look neat and vibrant. Also, visit your hairstylist to condition your hair or do it yourself. A little preparation can change your portrait photoshoot from good to the best.

My Say

Therefore, doing these things can help you prepare and get the best portrait photoshoot.

Living safe during this difficult time of the pandemic is very challenging. Not everyone has the luxury to stay home. Most of us have to venture outside the safety of our homes to earn a living, get family essentials, and just to continue living.

It is very easy to be defeated by fear and give up, but should we? For parents like me, this is not even an option, there are children who depend on me. Beyond that, there are my responsibilities as a servant leader of our community and this continues more so because there is a pandemic. With such responsibilities, I need to be safe for me to be able to do what I need to do.

Staying Safe and Healthy During the Pandemic

Basic precautionary measures have to be practiced. This includes wearing of face masks, observing proper distancing, and avoiding unnecessary activities that require face-to-face interaction. Another important safety measure is to have disinfecting products at hand such as Defensil.

Defensil Isopropyl Alcohol enables Filipinos to continue their lifestyles during the pandemic, allowing them  to still do the activities they love while staying safe and healthy. 

As the rubbing alcohol brand recommended by the Philippine Society for Microbiology, Filipinos can  live safe wherever they are with Defensil Isopropyl Alcohol – whether commuting to work, doing essential  errands such as buying groceries at the supermarket or palengke, or even working out outdoors or  shopping online – since it starts to kill germs on contact and kills 99.9% of common germs and  bacteria, while providing up to 12 hours of protection upon constant use. 

Defensil Isopropyl Alcohol is also hypoallergenic and has moisturizing properties so you can sanitize  as much as you need without having to worry about your hands drying. 

About Defensil 70% Solution Isopropyl Alcohol 

One way to prevent the spread of germs is regular disinfection of hands and high touch surfaces using a  rubbing alcohol.  

To provide a higher level of defense against germs in the new normal, the Philippine Society for  Microbiology is recommending Defensil 70% Solution Isopropyl Alcohol. 

Defensil 70% Solution Isopropyl Alcohol  

• Kills 99.9% of germs to give people the peace of mind that they are well-defended

• Starts to kill germs on contact 

• Will provide up to 12 hours of protection with constant use 

Defensil 70% Solution Isopropyl Alcohol is also a pharmaceutical grade alcohol, which means that it has  passed the strictest quality standards of the Philippine Food & Drug Administration (FDA). 

Defensil is available in Robinsons, Puregold, and other leading supermarkets. 

My Say

Having Defensil in my bag or within my reach is protection that is real. It is impossible to know for sure where we can pick up the virus. Our hands are the usual point of contact so it is always best to kill them before it reaches parts of our body where we are most at risk.

These are trying times indeed. With the continuous evolution and mutation of the Covid-19 virus, the threat remains and increases. That said, we need to LIVE SAFE NOW.

Several days before All Souls' Day, my father would pack us all in our family van to visit our departed loved ones at the cemetery. This was an annual obligation to fulfill. I remember as a child seeing my father talk to an old woman, giving her instructions for the flowers and candles we brought to be placed on our relatives' grave site on the actual date for All Souls' Day.

Our family's early visit to the cemetery was intentional to avoid the expected crowd drawn by this yearly tradition. Being the grave caretaker for our family, this woman was expected to keep the area clean and provide protection from possible vandals or thieves. This was possible because grave caretakers usually live around the area.

As time passed, this woman was replaced by a younger relative. Soon after, I took over my father's corresponding responsibility when he became terminally ill. The arrangement between us continued in this manner. From then up to now, I have learned to appreciate the sense of hiring a reliable grave caretaker.

Year-Round Care for the Grave Site

It is impossible for many of us to visit the final resting place of our dearly departed as often as we would like to. Having a grave caretaker provides regularity in cleaning the site and not only during All Souls' Day. Of course, it would be best to hire someone you can trust to do his/her duty without you discovering for yourself about actual negligence when you decide to make a surprise visit.

Special Care Under Extraordinary Times

This pandemic gives us a glimpse on what could happen if physical conditions prevent us from traveling. Grave sites are often neglected all year round. More so, if the annual visit still cannot be made. Hiring a grave caretaker can address the need to put the area in order while prayers for the dead can still be done wherever we are.

Updated Information for Unexpected Change in Cemetery Policies 

It is a no-brainer that cemetery management should contact lot owners of any major change in policies. Making contact however, is an all-together different reality especially in the Philippine setting where turnover to the next generation is almost always informal and cemetery management is rarely informed. The grave caretaker can help provide needed information.

My Say

There was a time my own family and I braved the sea of humanity trekking to cemeteries on All Souls' Day. I wanted them to understand that our ancestors deserve to get at least this annual visit from us. That said, I'm sure they'll understand the limitations we have now and know that they will always be in our hearts.

The Dengue season is again upon us. Has anyone else noticed how more persistent the mosquitoes have become in clinging to human skin? They're literally everywhere but it's a good thing I've discovered how to drive mosquitoes away in style. 

How, you ask? With the good ol' mosquito coil or katol. Katol is essentially a mosquito-repelling incense that comes in spiral form. While it works to drive away annoying mosquitoes, it should be used in areas where there is sufficient ventilation to avoid health issues. It should not also be left unattended to avoid accidental fires.

Granted that basic safety precautions are observed, the use of mosquito coil to repel mosquitoes is economical and safer to use than most insecticides. One concern in its use is the rather unattractive appearance while being used. It is not something that you would like your guests to see while visiting your home.

Reinventing Katol 

Katol nowadays can be bought in scented form aside from their original formulation. Thanks to more recent stylish innovations, you can actually keep it lighted even in the presence of visitors. The usual metal stand can now be replaced with beautiful holders that look like decorative pieces.

Photo Credit

I bought four pieces of retro-iron mosquito coil holder in gold and the design just perfectly fit our home. My online search led me to other options for katol as well as holders. Smokeless katols seem to be a good choice and so are the beautiful holders shown above. 

My Say

For the longest time, I have been hiding katol while in use. That said, with the recent innovations in formulation and holder style, I don't see any reason to do that anymore. Let's drive away mosquitoes in style. 

The connection between culture and food has long been established. In fact, talking about a country's culture without mentioning the food is impossible. Food has helped shaped many cultural identities around the world.

It is inevitable to conclude then that in the efforts of preserving culture, we will find ourselves preserving traditional food as well. I found this out for myself during a very simple interaction I had with my young daughter. It was just supposed to be a simple demonstration of how to cook champorado but it turned out to be a travel through time to my childhood memories.

The stories on how the simple champorado evoked memories that remain in my heart flowed effortlessly. It helped that my daughter was asking questions like who cooked the champorado when I was young, did my parents prepare it the same way I was presenting it to her, was the same ingredients used, and so on. I distinctly remember the smell of cooking cocoa tablea, the manner of announcement that the champorado was ready, and how my siblings and I would rush to the table and had our fill of it. It was almost like a ritual made more special if my grandmother was in the mood for telling stories.

Ways of Preserving Traditional Food

To make the analogy simpler, I will attempt to answer this in the context of a very simple traditional Filipino food - the champorado.

Make it relatable to the younger generation

Champorado traces its history in Philippine cuisine during the country's Spanish colonization. The cocoa tablea may be alien to many young people but they can certainly relate to chocolate. While champorado is traditionally enjoyed warm with dried fish, it can be served chilled with choco shavings and choco bits.

Provide variations of the original

Doing the laundry during the rainy season can be the bane of many homemakers. It is not uncommon to end up rewashing many clothes after being in the clothesline for several days due to non-stop rain. This of course wastes so much precious time as such time can be used for other household tasks that are equally important.

Photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash

Here are my 5 Top Laundry Tips During the Rainy Season:

1. Prioritize Laundry Items to Wash

Since it would take a longer time for newly laundered clothes to dry during the rainy season, this means limited hanging space for the next laundry batches. Prioritize which clothes to wash first according to the need for them. It would be helpful for family members to consider using particular clothes such as denim pants more than once before throwing into the laundry basket so as not to create an unnecessarily big pile.

2. Invest in a reliable dryer

During the rainy season when outdoor drying of clothes is a guaranteed game of hit and miss, owning a reliable dryer is a definite time saver. Having to dry clothes indoor is extremely difficult if they are dripping wet. Make sure to adjust the heat level on the fabric.

3. Use a fabric conditioner

Drying clothes indoors may result to musty smelling clothes. Using the right fabric conditioner can resolve this concern. Downy Kontra Kulob is my preferred product for this purpose. 

4. Set up a Portable Clothes Dryer

Newly laundered clothes should have a place for hanging even if already passed through through the dryer. They still benefit from some time hanging on a clothes dryer with sufficient space in between. This is best done in an airconditioned room or at least a room with a fan or slightly opened windows, if possible.

My grown-up son was going through his childhood toys one day when he was cleaning his room. He wanted to have more space for his school things now that it appears his dorm days will not be back just yet because of the pandemic. I detected a sense of melancholy as I watched him. Not sure though if it is coming from me or him. So do we keep his toys or not?

Keep the Toys that...

1. Have specific sentimental value

Be selective as it will be very difficult to choose. Let's face it, every piece has its sentimental value. You have to choose or else you will end up keeping everything.

2. You like to pass on the next generation

There are toys that can be passed on like family heirlooms. Make sure that its condition and make can last through time. Otherwise, it might be a good idea to have another child play with it today unless of course you have abilities to preserve it and good reason to keep it.

3. Younger kids in the family can play with now

Consider if you have younger kids who can play with the toys. In this case, it will just be a question of transferring the toys to another room. 

My Say

You may have other reasons to keep your kids' toys and that's fine. The memories they represent are yours. That said, if you feel you can give them to other children who can still enjoy them, do so. Memories will remain with you and you will be happy knowing other kids are enjoying them like your kids used to. 

Joy Philippines gave mothers all over the country the Panalong Lasting Challenge to see if a single Joy Kinsenas Pack can last for 15 days for regular home dishwashing needs. I was one of those who joined. Let me share with you the results.

First Day

I bought the Joy Kinsenas Pack for P10.50 per sachet. Frankly, I was in doubt whether the contents would actually last for 15 days. Nevertheless, I proceeded as I don't back out from challenges that would be helpful to our household. At times like these, I believe all households have become more careful with their expenses. Thus, any opportunity for savings is greatly appreciated.

Seventh Day

My family loves eating so you can just imagine the amount of pots, pans, plates, and utensils we have to wash daily. From day 1, I followed the instruction to mix a 25 centavo coin-sized drop of Joy Dishwashing to Liquid to 1 cup of water. Although I saw how bubbly it was, I still wasn't sure the Joy Kinsenas pack would last as promised.

Fifteenth Day

The day for the final verdict came. It was truly a surprise that it did last enough to manage our dishwashing needs for 15 days. I'm happy that my doubts were put to rest and gained a lot of savings in the process.

My Say 

It is really true that we should not judge before even trying. If I just relied on my initial thoughts that a small pack cannot possibly last for several days, I would not have discovered how budget friendly the Joy Kinsenas Pack is. That said, this challenge will be a daily routine in our household.

For the average Canadian, thinking of Calgary brings to mind cowboys on horseback and modern players playing hockey.  Although this rugged energy is a tradition that the city prides itself on, sitting at the oil capital of Canada: people are never really sure what to expect when they arrive.

Photo by Deane Bayas from Pexels

To many, Calgary sounds like a large city with a small-city energy.  They're not wrong!  Sprawled out flat across many lands, living in Calgary can feel a lot like vanishing into dozens of towns molded into one piece.

What does that mean about home price, though?

Here are the top things to consider when deciding if Calgary homes for sale are going to fit your budget.  

The Expanse of Land

It can feel like there’s endless land in Calgary.  Stopped only by the surrounding mountains and developers' wallets, the city seems to lose space quickly.  This is driving up the cost of homes, increasing the expense people have to pay on fuel, and leaving many fed up with city life.

The ample open space can also work against homeowners, especially if they live on the outskirts because the traffic and distance they have to travel to work or enjoy the city can add up to a lot of missed time.  For many, it's worth buying a condo instead.

The Types of Jobs Available

Because of Calgary's past, many may assume they'll have to find a hands-on job; it's not the case!  Most of Calgary's workforce makes between $50,000 and $500,000 a year, depending on the role and the company.  Calgary's central money-making functions are those involved in oil and those in the technology sector.  Although this city isn't known yet as a technological metropolis, it's gaining a more techy reputation by investing a lot in start-ups and smaller companies.

These jobs bring in more money than the average hourly job.

The Snowbirds

Although you may not think snowbirds (people who fly South for the winter) would affect much of the price in Calgary, it does!  Although many people slip south in the winter: there are even more who come up north during the summer for cooler weather and partying.

Calgary has a severe issue with landlords renting out entire apartment buildings on listing sites like Airbnb because it limits the living situations for those who spend every day of the year in the city.  This can boost up the prices of housing that is available and stops many people from being able to buy a home.

The average cost of a house in Calgary is 1.5x the price of a home in a larger city like Houston in the United States.  Although you can get a Houstonian home for $225,000 easily, in Calgary, similar homes sell for $350,000.

My Say

If you can balance out the cost with saving money in other parts of your life, buying a home in Calgary is a great idea!  That said, you’re almost guaranteed to gain money in the long term, as long as you can handle the upfront cost.

School awards have made schoolyear endings fulfilling or disappointing to many parents and children. Whether the resulting feeling will be the former or the latter depends on whether a recognition was awarded or denied. The impact of school awards is undeniable but should it be so?

Signals of Approval

Whether or not parents voice out their expectations on their children bringing home school awards, the pressure is there. It is but natural that parents feel proud of their children's accomplishments, no matter how small. Recognition of such accomplishments by teachers and peers fulfills to a certain degree the human need for acceptance and validation.

Awards can serve as signals of approval and receiving them feels good. Does it follow then that not receiving one represents disapproval? Of course not, but it may sometimes seem so especially to young children who may relate getting an award to their "worth" as they perceive it. 

Sibling Comparison

What should parents do when one child excels in school and another is not doing as well? Should they dim the light of the academically successful child to pre-empt possible feelings of jealousy and resentment? It might be construed by the other child as creating pressure to up the ante. 

Should they "celebrate mediocrity" as others would call celebration of seemingly trivial achievements to avoid assumptions of playing favorites? Let us try to look at this based on standard measurements of success. After all, there is no such thing as small achievements for parents when it comes to their children. 

My Say

Wanting to get awards is not bad, actually not at all. It only becomes so when it becomes a major basis for parental approval. It becomes bad when it is the sole goal of students, regardless of how it was obtained. 

That said, awards should not be the only reason for doing our best. It is simply a bonus that we get along the way of reaching our dreams. In the family, we celebrate achievements and acknowledge failures. Like it or not, awards have a big impact in the family and it is up to its members to make sure that it will not be a source of pressure, or basis for measurement of value.

A debut or coming-of-age celebration for men is not as common as those for women. At the age of 21, men usually mark this day with less formal celebrations or none at all. This does not make it any less special though.

Why 21 and not 18?

Considering that the legal age in the Philippines is 18, one might ask why the celebration of the male debut comes at 21 years. The celebration of debut in the Philippines has much to do with Spanish influence. It is of note however that 21 is considered the age of independence in several countries. It is possible that this might be the reason for the designating male debut at 21 years.

In the United States, the age of 21 signals the freedom to purchase alcohol or firearms. A deep connection to the rituals of knighthood is said to be the basis for celebrating the 21st birthday of men in the United Kingdom. Some countries see the 21st birthday of both men and women as special

How Are Male Debuts Celebrated

If female debutantes have their cotillion balls, male debutants have their equivalent in beautillion balls. Very few male debutants though look forward to such formalities. Most would choose to celebrate in other ways.

Suggestions include:

1. Organize adventure activities with friends 

2. Make it a Road Adventure 

3. Photo Session with Friends and Family

4. Sports Activities

5. Community Service 

There are no hard and fast rules in celebrating. Celebrants can be as imaginative and practical as they can be. Making it a "Me time" is another great idea.

My Say 

My son just turned 21. Many years ago, we planned to make it a special celebration by traveling. The current pandemic condition totally removed that option.

That said, we still hope to push through with this plan when circumstances permit. None the less, today is still a happy day for my son and our family. 

Surreal...that was how it felt when I received a call from my lawyer that the registration of the trade name Ambos Mundos Restaurant is finally back under my name. The many years of disappointments left me unprepared to hear news favorable to my cause. More than twenty-two years after I filed a case to get back what has been wrongfully denied us, which is the very use of a trade/business name established and built by my family, it is back. The worse may be over but the real work of rebuilding is just beginning. 

The food business landscape is way different now from what it was twenty-two years ago. The Covid-19 pandemic has been brutal specifically to restaurants. With the steep decline in the number of dining customers, restaurants had to reinvent themselves to keep going. Take-out did not exactly fill the gap forced wide open by the behavioral shift of customers.

Food Delivery as a Way for Restaurants to Adapt 

With majority of the customers now choosing to stay or work at home, restaurants had to find a way to bring the food to them. Food Delivery is now a major factor in the restaurant survival equation. All too suddenly it seems, the question is no longer how cozy the ambiance or how popular the name is. From the unlimited food choices offered online, the customer's main question is "Do you deliver?"

Ambos Mundos Restaurant PH for Ambos Mundos Restaurant Food Delivery

As Ambos Mundos Restaurant rebuilds itself in the midst of the pandemic, a physical store may have to wait a little longer. Food Delivery via Ambos Mundos PH is here from now up to that time when the physical doors of the restaurant again open to welcome customers. For all we know, food delivery will remain necessary even after the pandemic.

My Say

We invite everyone to call us at 09683034729 for your orders. You can also order online via Ambos Mundos Restaurant PH. Rest assured that we are working hard to complete our menu list as soon as possible. This goes as well in our efforts to widen the scope of areas where we can deliver. We hope to serve you soon.

Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, these women have become the light of hope in their communities.




Manila, Philippines, April 27, 2020—In this time of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), some of us might have already felt the urge to think of ways we can lend a helping hand. When the opportunity to provide assistance have come knocking on the doors of some ordinary, everyday women like Marielle Solomon, Sarah Jane de la Rosa, Pia Alviola, Melissa Olit, and Angela Lapinosa, they embraced the chance to help and made things happen! They have been voluntarily and wholeheartedly taking on tasks of providing food, of sourcing for relief goods, of creating PPEs, and mobilizing resources for Filipinos in COVID-harm’s way. They didn’t think twice to go out of their comfort zones to share a part of themselves and be a light to others.



Marielle Solomon is a marketing professional who currently spends most of her time around volunteers like herself in Siargao Community Kitchen to ease the plight of families in the island whose source of income have been affected by COVID-19. At present, they have provided over 4,000 food packs, staying true to the belief that community starts with sharing. Through her efforts, Marielle is just one of the women who bring the light to the island of Siargao.



Student Sarah Jane de la Rosa’s light has truly radiated throughout the Metro. She has proven that being a differently abled person is not and will never be a hindrance if you put your heart in the service of a solid cause. A volunteer at the Barangay Holy Spirit Person with Disabilities Association, Sarah who is afflicted with cerebral palsy, ably leads her team as their President in providing relief packages in the area. As of today, the association has provided much needed help to more than 1,000 PWD’s and their families.



Project Love PPE and Masks has produced and donated over 1,500 masks and 600 PPEs in various hospitals. This initiative is the brainchild of Pia Alviola, a Fashion Designer based in Makati City, who has found a way to bring the light among our healthcare front liners the best way she knows how, through her skills, and her desire to not only provide a source of income for her team of seamstresses and tailors, but also to be an instrument of providing protection in these times. 




In Puerto Princesa, Melissa Olit, the founder of Chef Aiza’s Community has seen to it that her community in Palawan is given the proper nutrition and sustenance they need. From front liners to students, and even to hard working construction workers stranded on the island, Melissa has made sure the food she prepares, and delivers are sourced from local farmers to sustain their livelihood. Over the course of bringing light to front liners and local farmers, her group has already served more than 5,000 food packs. 




Through a drive called RICEaboveCOVID, Angela Lapinosa, one of the lead organizers of the initiative, has illuminated the city of Cebu with her generosity and service. At the Cebu Institute of Technology, Angela is known as a student leader. But for the two hundred beneficiaries of the cause she represents, Angela is one to remember only with the kindest of words. The young ones also acknowledge her as someone who has shed light into their lives and has given them hope for being the project manager of “Para Kay Baby”, a project under RICEaboveCOVID that has allocated 100 relief goods to the families of infants and children in her town. 

These five extraordinary women have truly become light bearers in their communities for serving as volunteers who through their service and heart, have greatly contributed to the common good. Like these women, SkinWhite has always believed that anyone can #BeTheLight especially in times of uncertainty. Every effort no matter how small, can have a considerable amount of good especially to those who are in need. Let us continue inspiring and encouraging these women by supporting their causes, as we too can be the light in our own ways. 

Here are ways to reach Marielle, Sarah, Pia, Melissa and Angela as we make these challenging times lighter! 

Siargao Community Kitchen - +63 939 883 4033 | visit their Siargao Community Kitchen on Instagram and Facebook page
Barangay Holy Spirit Person with Disabilities Association - Sarah de la Rosa
Project Love PPE and Masks - Pia Alviola
Chef Aiza’s Community - Melissa Olit, Community Kitchen’s page, or Chef Aiza's Community on Instagram
RICEaboveCOVID – Cebuano Youth Ambassadors, Inc. Lapinosa

Birth and death are at the opposite ends of what we call life. While one signals the start, the other signals the end. That is how I found myself reflecting on the anniversary date of my birth amidst the deaths caused by the onslaught of Covid-19.



Celebrating at this time cannot be what it used to be. The times require us to be more sensitive as people struggle through sickness, lost jobs and businesses, and even death in the family. So today I will quietly celebrate these three simple things as I start another year of my life.

1. I am alive

Not all people are given this gift every day. It is true that I sometimes feel discouraged, unappreciated, and sad but I cannot depend on others to make me feel otherwise. No matter how difficult, I know I need to continue to encourage myself, recognize my worth, and work on my happiness.

2. My dream is alive

For the longest time, I fought for the legacy of Ambos Mundos. My efforts were finally rewarded late last year with the final decision that enabled me to again register the beloved trade name under my name. While we work on our restaurant's come back, our other business venture AMBOS Breads is doing great. 

3. My passion is alive

I Thank God for the gift of writing. It has allowed me to serve. It has allowed me to fight for what is right. It has allowed me to see things in a better perspective. 

My Say

Celebrating one's birthday during a pandemic is far from ideal. However, the present situation forces us to look on what we have right now and use it. No parties, no gifts, no new dress but we still have our lives, our dreams, and our skills. That said, this might be one of my most memorable birthdays, as I will remember it as a day when I was actually thankful for what I have. For to survive Covid-19 physically, emotionally, and economically, is a feat in itself.