Restoring Smiles, Restoring Hope
In April 2025, the heat of summer hung heavy over General Santos City. Yet despite the sweltering days, a spirit of compassion and service filled the halls of the R.O. Diagan Community Cooperative Hospital.
Volunteers—some flying in after long journeys from the United States, others traveling from across the Philippines—gathered with one purpose: to bring healing to those who could not otherwise afford it.
What is Service?
We have been given the opportunity of a lifetime, to undertake a task of the noblest cause, that characterizes the very framework of humanity, which is of service to others. To understand its essence, one has to be ushered in and meshed into an experience of what we call volunteerism. It is a call oftentimes used to invite people to join for activities of charitable or worthwhile endeavors. But let us take a closer look into another dimension of the word volunteerism in the context of service without remuneration or compulsory injunction.
Christmas Lights
I have always been fascinated by lights, especially Christmas lights. I could sit in a chair for hours transfixed as each colored light twinkled right before my eyes, mesmerized to the point of oblivion.
Finding Balance: Juggling Work, Life, And Self-Care
The more technology we have, the easier life is supposed to be – but somehow, the world just gets faster-paced and everything feels much more frantic than it did before. You're trying to kill it in your career while looking after friendships, romance, and maybe even children, but what about self-care? It feels like you're constantly juggling and if you take your eye off any of the balls for even a second, one drops to the ground.
Your career demands your attention.
Your family and friends need you just as much as you need them.
And what about self-care?
Believe it or not, you can have them all if you simply find the right balance…
Of Bleeding, Pleading
Kalbay Barangay Kagawad Marilo Castro’s heart raced as she stepped forward, her palms slightly sweaty, to volunteer her story. Anxious yet determined, she began to share her experiences. "Actually, Mam, dili ni akuang anak. Ako na lang ni iyang gi-adopt kay namatay man ang iyang inahan sa panganganak niya." (Actually, she is not my child. I just adopted her because her mother died while giving birth to her.)