Vacationing With Purpose (Part 1)
- to the Philippines
Island hopping in the Siargo, Philippines (Daku Island)
There’s no specific strategy in choosing the next country for the Pennies4Girls Project. I rely on timing and the signs of the universe.
Last year, I recall talking to my friend Ben (an inspirational soul I met in 2016 through Global Citizen Youth Fellowship Program), sharing with him that I was interested in exploring other countries to bring my work to. He suggested the Philippines and it wasn’t a bad choice, furthermore, this country was already on my radar because of Hugh Evans’ story (see TEDTALK to make connection with Hugh and myself).
Despite the signs, bringing Pennies4Girls to the Philippines was still just a thought but all of that was all about to change. Through Ben I learnt about the nonprofit Young Focus. They are situated in Tondo Manila, Philippines and work endlessly in helping the youths of this impoverished city. Research revealed the depths of their work and my admiration for it all was undeniable. I will admit I have a high regard for souls of those who go above and beyond to help others.
To get feedback about Young Focus’ work, I asked the opinion of a trusted soul, Hugh. I wanted to hear from someone who knew of them and their work. With all the positive things that were shared, I started to think the Philippines could be the next country but I wasn’t 100% sure until I came across a photo.
Hugh had shared an updated photo of a long lost friend and his family, naming each family member. JAMAICA! That’s the name that stood out. She was the name of the family’s daughter. There it was! The sign of confirmation from the universe, that seems to come to me at “the right time.”
Out of all the names, her name was Jamaica, my home country.
The decision was made. The Philippines would be my 11th county for Pennies4Girls and it would be effective working with Young Focus.
Why!!!
The Philippines is roughly 14 hours from the US and as I began to envision what this trip would entail, I had to think about what would be the most economical. Thank goodness I was travelling with like-minded friends. So this trip included both business and pleasure.
As I spoke among friends about our passion for changing the world/making an impact, there’s a lot of it that comes with unpaid hours, efforts, commitments, blood, sweat, disappointments and tears. Despite that, we wouldn’t trade it for the world because the lives we impact make our efforts more rewarding.
Many will say we are crazy and what we do doesn’t pay much. Yes, we might be crazy! Yes, we aren’t paid much but we make sacrifices in order to live a life where we can harmonize through our journey of life. Currently, it works for us and we are grateful we are able to make it functional.
Rolling With The Punches
Ben being a Filipino and familiar with his country/culture, created our itinerary for two weeks. How lucky were we! We can never repay him for all he did for us! WE LOVE & APPRECIATE YOU IMMENSLEY BEN! In addition, he and Sahar (my big Capricorn energy inspirational soul) made sure to scope out inexpensive flights to match our pockets.
Around a week before we left our travel plans changed. There was a virus sweeping China (known today as COVID-19) and our flight through Hong Kong was cancelled. Country borders’ surrounding China was being closed in order to contain the spread of this virus. Hence, our new travel plans had us leaving from New York, transiting via South Korea to Manila and the best part of it all was that all four of us would be travelling together (my husband Nick, Ben, Sahar and I).
To stay in the know of what was occurring in China, we relied on the World Health Organization about the necessary travelling protocols. We made sure we had our Clorox wipes, hand sanitizers and face masks because despite it wasn’t then a pandemic, we refused to take any changes. We cleaned everything and washed our hands religiously on our trip.
First Stop
Fortunately for us there were no flight delays and we arrived in Manila Philippines without any issues. We were welcomed by Ben’s aunt and uncle and stayed at an Airbnb in their complex. This made the next 2 weeks practical and quite convenient. Within minutes of arriving at the Airbnb we had to pack our needed essentials and head right back to the airport; leaving what we didn’t need with Ben’s family (what a blessing this was. Thanks Aunt & Uncle). All of us except Ben had an early flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This was the first part of our vacation portion. We stayed at a beautiful Airbnb with a breathtaking city skyline.
While staying in Kuala Lumpur, we managed to meet up with our friend Shomy who we also met through Global Citizen and her friend Rijve. Both are two inspirational souls doing amazing work in helping to make the world a better place for others (check them out at Awareness360 on Instagram & Facebook). Shomy and Rijve gave up an entire day out of their schedule and became our tour guide taking us to Genting Highlands. We are forever indebted to them. We also celebrated Nick’s birthday and visited the Batu Caves where we climbed a gazillion steps, visited the temple enclosed in the cave and hid from monkeys that flocked the area HAHAHAHA.
Next Up With An Oops
Our next stop was Siargao, an island in the Philippines. We stayed in a beautifully made eco-friendly house that had a great yard addition, two dogs: Francis and Mellow. It was here Nick had a minor injury and went to a local clinic but we didn’t allow that to stop us from having fun. We island hopped via boat, rented motorbikes and rode around the island, ate delicious food and indulged in excursion such as surfing, jumping off a high diving board into the Sugba Lagoon and land tours. Most of all we fulljoyed each other’s company!
Back To The Point of Entry
When we got back to Manila, Philippines we have plans to go to Buscalan which is a small secluded community up in the mountains but because of a travel advisory due to COVID-19 on the day of our travel, plans changed. Instead we went to La Union and it didn’t disappoint. We got to see and experience parts of the Philippines through the eyes of our local tour guide. There was more surfing, long nighttime walks on the beach, visiting a winery, yummy food and beautiful sunsets. This experience put into perspective the importance of embracing indifferences but also realizing how similar things are and can be when visiting another country.
“The naseberry experience”
Upon leaving the winery I saw a fruit I thought I recognized and instantly became excited. My curiosity pushed me in trying the fruit. It was known to Filipinos as “chico.” The smell and taste awoke my taste buds. To my surprise, the taste was just as I remembered and more. It was the fruit known to Jamaicans as naseberry. Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!
This was my highlight of my day and the experience reminded me that people might be from different parts of the world but we have so much in common. Hence, be open in learning and experiencing.
It Wasn’t All Play
On February 28, we headed to Young Focus but before we got there, I had a TV interview on PTV-4’s Bagong Philippines. Can you even believe that!!! It’s so magical how the world works and I practice being in a constant “state of gratitude” of it all.
Stay tuned for the conclusion!