Jay Gotera

http://mb-sac.livejournal.com/2429.html Feb. 17th, 2009 at 10:15 AM From Australia with love Three Aus-Fil teeners come home and see why Filipinos manage to smile despite life’s hardships… By JAY GOTERA FROM Australia, three teenagers came to the Philippines for the first time, went back to their family’s roots, and conquered the hearts of Filipinos who benefited from their humanitarian work and drew inspiration from them. Christopher Marsh, 16; Clover Elorna Braithwaite, 15; and Nadine Siva Payne, 16 – represented the Filipino-Australian Foundation of Queensland Inc. (FAFQ), an organization based in Brisbane, Australia that seeks to promote Filipino culture among Filipino migrants and their families in the Land Down Under. The three were the winners of the Mr. and Miss Teen Philippines-Australia 2008 who arrived in the country as part of their mission to spread cheer and hope to destitute Filipino families, using part of their prize money plus a little help from their respective families. BALIKBAYANS WITH A HEART Christopher is a student in New South Wales, Australia who loves basketball. The 5’11” teener has received individual awards in basketball as well as in the 100-meter, 200-meter and 300meter sprint run. He also loves skateboarding and dancing. Clover, or Clovy as she is called by friends, excels in netball, athletics, short distance running and high jump. She is in high school and lives with her parents in the garden city of Toowooomba. A very outgoing person, Clover loves making new friends, drawing, painting, reading, story writing, dancing, playing the guitar and cooking. She is crazy over Hello Kitty! Nadine, or Nadz, is a Year 11 student at the Brisbane Girls Grammar School. She is into singing, dancing (hip hop), horseback riding and playing tennis. The three winners were initially billeted at The Mabuhay Manor, the country’s first balikbayan hotel located in Pasay City, where they were treated to a grand welcome and given the first taste of life in the Philippines. Thea Victorino, the hotel’s international sales manager, made sure they would imbibe the best of what the Philippines has to offer during their stay at the hotel, serving them Philippine delicacies like sinigang, adobo and the challenging delight called the “balut.” VISIT TO THE PROVINCES As part of her prize for being acclaimed Miss Teen Philippines-Australia Charity 2008, Nadine visited her mother’s hometown in San Joaquin, Iloilo where she gave Php25,000 worth of medical supplies to a local church. She also visited the Central Philippines University in Iloilo City where she personally handed over of R6,000 each to six needy and deserving students. Nadine said she wanted to inspire these young people to help themselves. “They should not feel hopeless. With a little help, they can still rise from their poverty if they persevere,” she said. Christopher and Clover visited General Santos City, the hometown of both of their mothers and each gave Php15,000 to poor families in the city. Christopher also donated a desktop computer to an elementary school in Koronadal, South Cotabato. Clover said she almost cried at the sight of impoverished people on the streets. “I wish I could do something to help them,” she said. Despite witnessing the grinding poverty in the country’s blighted communities, the three teeners could not help but be amazed at the resiliency and good-natured spirit of the people they saw wherever they went. “Everywhere we go, people are smiling, even the poor ones, young and old,” Christopher said. “Yeah, so many happy faces everywhere. Their smiles are infectious,” Clover agreed. “I really wonder why they can afford to smile despite their poverty when some spoiled rich kids in Australia can’t seem to get contented with what they have,” observed Nadine. “These smiling poor Filipino kids show that happiness is definitely more than just possessing fabulous amount of money.” KNOWING RIZAL, BONIFACIO The three youngsters immersed themselves in Philippine culture during their stay in the country, visiting historical sites such as Fort Santiago and the Luneta, shopping in Mall of Asia, and attending cultural events like the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo City where they were warmly welcomed by Iloilo Governor Niel Tupas and Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas. Treñas lauded the organizers of the Mr. and Miss Teen Philippines-Australia 2008 for adopting the theme “The Philippine National Heroes: Our Inspiration and Strength,” saying it was both timely and significant. Jun Licera, head of the FAFQ delegation, said the contestants indeed learned more about Philippine history as they were asked to study the biographies of the country’s heroes. “In so doing, they found out that towering Philippine heroes like Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio were basically simple people like them who rose above others by virtue of their dedication to their country and their compassion to their fellowmen,” Licera said. In turn, their compassionate acts appeared to have rubbed off on the people they met in their travels across the Philippines. Big businessmen, local government officials and community leaders witnessed Nadine, Clover and Christopher giving cash and other gifts -- no matter how humble the amount – to needy Filipinos, sometimes digging deep into their own pockets. Licera said their acts of compassion appeared to have challenged other people into doing the same as they likewise expressed their willingness to share their blessings with their less fortunate countrymen. “Some Filipino community leaders approached me and said ‘If these young people can do that, why can’t we?’” Licera said. FAFQ is a non-political, non-profit charitable and community organization established in 1997 to promote Philippine culture among the families of Filipino immigrants in Australia and to serve as a platform for providing assistance to needy but deserving recipients in the Philippines. So far, the FAFQ has granted more than 100 scholarships the Philippines. It also provides a venue for conducting social, cultural, educational, sports and other activities by FilipinoAustralian community organizations in Brisbane. The organization has a library of Filipiniana literatures for Filipino and Australian students, researchers and other people interested in learning Philippine culture, history, customs and traditions.