All for the Love of Sea Turtles

Barely a day old! Olive Ridley hatchlings kept in a moist
container before being released to the sea :)

Around 6 P.M. on Nov. 30, 2012, I got to share with my boys for the first time a most precious experience: releasing sea turtle hatchlings to the ocean.  I've become a wide-eyed fan-girl of these marine reptiles ever since our first experience of swimming with a large adult green sea turtle in Apo Island a couple of years back, and moreso when I learned that sea turtles "imprint".

Imprinting happens as hatchlings clamber quickly to the sea. Along the way, they remember details about the sand and the beach where they were born. This memory is what guides them back to the same area 20-35 years later when it's time to create the next generation of sea turtles. Isn't that amazing?

Did you know that sea turtles are also like the "gardeners" of the sea?  They promote seagrass cultivation and keep the populations of sponges and jellyfish in check.  This way, they protect corals and other smaller sea creatures, giving them a chance to thrive.  Recently, I learned that even the way they nest contributes to the health of beaches and sandy ecosystems.

But there are so many threats to the survival of sea turtles, both natural and man-made.

Paglipon's "Thank You!"

Finally!  Here's my long-overdue update (sorry! work got in the way :P) about our Noche Buena and Media Noche fundraiser for Paglipon last year.  Once again, a MILLION THANKS to all of you who contributed so wholeheartedly and promptly to our call for help last Nov. 11, 2011.  Just within a week, we had reached our goal of PHP50,000 -- a full month ahead of the deadline :-)

Give Something Yummy for New Year's Eve, Too

UPDATE (11/18/2011, 9:30 PM): As of 9 PM tonight, we have achieved our goal. I am at a loss for words. We can't thank you enough!  May God bless you 50,000 times more!

Paglipon's ministry is not just about holiday food baskets though :-)  If you'd like, you can also give donations to support their livelihood projects.  We also encourage you to donate practical items that these families can use in their homes.

Thank you so much!!!

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 Last Nov. 11, we started an online fundraiser for the benefit of Paglipon ng Tao Mission-Ministry.  We aimed to raise PHP25,000 so that we could give 50 food baskets for 50 poor families, filled with goodies they can use to prepare for themselves a nice Noche Buena meal.  Within just 4 days, pledges for all 50 baskets had been made...and more are still coming in!  As of this writing, we have raised over PHP45,000.

When the goal was exceeded, we realized that we can now also donate food baskets for New Year's Eve.  We asked Paglipon about the food baskets that they usually prepare for Dec. 31 (they started doing this just last year, I think).  Each Media Noche food basket also costs PHP500 and that includes:

• 1 kg pancit canton
• 1 pack toyomansi
• Knorr broth cubes
• 1/2 kg chicken
• Carrots
• Pechay
• 1 kg pear ham
• 1 loaf of bread

We have carried over the "excess" from the Noche Buena fundraiser.  It is equivalent to 40 Media Noche food baskets, which means that we'll need to raise funds for only 10 more baskets or PHP5,000 :-)

[Donation details removed]

We also highly encourage you to, if you can, donate goods like household items (kitchenware, dinnerware, beddings, etc.), used/extra clothes, used/extra shoes/slippers of any size, toys, children's books, etc.

You can get more info about Paglipon at this link.  Please contact me if you'd like to know even more and/or offer other kinds of support for Paglipon's ministry

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :-)

Help me prepare Noche Buena for 50 families

UPDATE (11/18/2011, 9:30 PM): As of 9 PM tonight, we have achieved our goals for both the Noche Buena and Media Noche food baskets. I am at a loss for words. We can't thank you enough! May God bless you 50,000 times more!

Paglipon's ministry is not just about holiday food baskets though :-) If you'd like, you can also give donations to support their livelihood projects. We also encourage you to donate practical items that these families can use in their homes.

Thank you so much!!!
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For the past 6 years or so, we've been supporting a small NGO called Paglipon ng Tao Mission-Ministry.  All I knew at the start was that they were helping poor families who had sick kids being treated in the PGH.  At first, we donated baby or kids' clothes that my boys had outgrown.  One day, I had a chance to talk with Nonie, one of the founders, about their ministry.  She told me about a bright, young girl who had just lost her battle with cancer a few days before Christmas.  It was only then that I realized that Paglipon has been helping poor families that had a unique need.  Their kids weren't just sick-- they all had cancer.

We realized then that giving children's clothes would not be near enough.  These families were already poor to start with.  Caring for cancer-stricken children did not only eat up their families' meager incomes, the disease was also consuming the families' emotional and physical strength;  they would hardly be able to take care of themselves.  So, that was what we tried to do: help take care of the families so they can take care of their sick children.  Since then, we would do major spring cleanings around our house often and, with each time, we found that we would still have so much stuff to give.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38

About 3 years ago, Nonie told us that their community of poor families had grown so they decided to hold a simple Christmas party for them.  We helped them prepare food baskets with ingredients for a decent Noche Buena as giveaways for each family.  That time, Paglipon prepared food baskets for about 25 families. This year, their community has grown to 50 families.

For this Christmas season, I am inviting you to help us raise funds so we could give these families a nice Noche Buena.  You can help in two ways: 1 - donate cash, or; 2 - donate grocery items.

[Donation details removed]

Thank you and Merry Christmas! :-D

Additional note:
Nowadays, apart from ministering to poor families with cancer-stricken children, Paglipon ng Tao Mission-Ministry is also helping elders, young people, and juvenile delinquents in squatter communities in Agham, QC and lower Bicutan, Taguig by providing skills training and opportunities for alternative sources of livelihood.  They have also just begun ministering to a small community of Aetas living in the mountains of Bataan. 

Why I Refuse the Starbucks Planner Promo Card

I began declining the Starbucks Planner promo card in Holiday Season 2006.  Friends who know me very well know that I don't put up with anything that doesn't make sense to me, and buying a dozen cups of coffee at Starbucks just to get 1 measly planner that's nothing special (don't use that "It's limited edition!" line with me or I will slap you) makes absolutely no sense to me.