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Educate, Enrich and Empower underprivileged girls in the Philippines

Monday, October 31, 2011

7 billionth baby and it's a GIRL !

Today, there are several reports circulating around the world about the 7 billionth baby.  One of those babies was  born in the Philippines 2 minutes to 12 midnight on Oct 31.   It was also predicted he or she will be  born within the poorest of the poor.  The prediction was right.  Danielle Ray Camacho was born in the Philippines, mother stay-at-home-mom and father a driver who probably earns close to nothing compare to us here. 

She has been added to the 600 million girls who will not have access to proper education.  Like any parent, they have  hopes and dreams for her. Would love to meet her one day and I can be wrong, her parents will probably be able to work very hard to give her the life she deserves. Who knows maybe 5 years from now, we had solve the global poverty problem? Again, one can hope.





Our girls at F.L.A.G will not be part of that statistic and we will make sure of that. With your support we can continue to bring more in and stop global poverty... one girl at a time.



Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team


Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil

Visit us www.flagphil.com

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Educating children in Dominican Republic

After a week of much needed rest with my husband in Dominican Republic, we are fortunate to have visited a school funded by the tourism industry in Dominican Republic.  Similar to F.L.A.G, the children in this school came from underprivileged family and  education is not accessible to everyone.  Ages varies from 6 to 12 and they are schooled for 9 months.  After they complete, they are able to attend a government funded school on which they will continue elementary to secondary education.

One of the school buildings funded by private tourism company in Dominican Republic

It is a good feeling to know  that education is a universal right for all walks of life - it doesn`t discriminate race, color, background. Once education is given, it is the most POWERFUL thing one could ever have. It opens to limitless opportunities and doors of possibilities. 

I am so happy that someone out there has the same vision as my husband and I.  If only we had more to offer so that we can extend our support to all the girls around the world.  One can wish and dream.
We are blessed to have the means to give back and still have a restful vacation however it is also heartbreaking to see children who are not getting the same opportunity our kids have today.


There are 600 million girls around the girls who do not have access to education, 600 million! F.L.A.G has 23 of those girls. What if one in every household in North America supports one girl.. wow! I think we can make a difference .. One girl at a time.

She will go places! I know that for sure!




Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team


Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil

Visit us www.flagphil.com

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The award goes to..

.. She could be a sister from another mother.. she loves to eat ( like me!) She also awarded me with the ..( drum roll please !)




Thank you coolbeanmommas ( www.coolbeanmommas.com) Never heard of it but hey, I got an award way too cool !



The Liebster Award is to spotlight up-and-coming bloggers with less than 200 followers.

 
Here are the rules.  Upon receiving the Liebster Award, you must do the following:

1.  Copy and paste the award on your blog.

2.  Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.

3. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.

4.  Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.

5. And most of all - Have fun!


Sorry guys, I was not succesful adding the linky thing, so I wrote the blog site below. Please stop by and visit them. Everyone deserves an award, don't you think?




www.coolbeanmommas.com


My Photo
http://www.momfrommanila.com



Spanish Pinay
 
 
 
 
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Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team
Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil
Visit us www.flagphil.com
 
 

Thursday, October 13, 2011

She is out of the closet!

.. WORK  closet that is and straight to Ava Grace's closet ( click at her button to visit her blog).Over the years I have met a lot of women at work, some stayed as colleagues, acquaintances and only a few has become my closest BFF's.  I will miss her a lot as she has decided to be a SAHM.  Like any other mom, she juggled family, career and LIFE.  Somehow besides all that  glamour ( let's call it that) something is missing.. she is missing her baby girl.  Who wouldn't? She is soo adorable. I wouldn't call it tough decision, it was the right decision ( in my opinion ) to be with her baby girl every step of the way.  Unselfish, unconditional. Most importantly, she has become a huge advocate of F.L.A.G donated toys, clothes, and by spreading the word throughout RHOW. 


For the second year, she has donated to our shoe box program ( she loves this idea!) plus 2 boxes from her friend whom she had shared our charity with.  Very few friends and family has believed in us.  But not her.  She believes in the cause and will support in any way she can.







Thank You S ! ( http://www.avagracescloset.blogspot.com) this one is for YOU!




Thank you for stopping by!

Hugs,

F.L.A.G team






Tuesday, October 11, 2011

What are you thankful for???

We just celebrated our Thanksgiving this past weekend.  One jam packed celebration with turkey, ham and overdose of dessert.  I am very much thankful for another addition to our family, my sister is having another baby this month , a GIRL!  I can't wait to meet her and I know I will spoil her to death. 


I am very thankful on how F.L.A.G has changed our lives.  This mission has been a blessing for our family eversince. Here's a quote ..  "Be thankful for what you have and you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough." - Oprah .

When is too much ..TOO MUCH ? When do we stop? You can only answer that.  I can only share with you how this experience has changed our lives. 

The girls just outside of our church

F.L.A.G students in prayer






Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team


Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil







Thursday, October 6, 2011

Because I am a girl ...

Because I am an advocate for all girls' causes , I have joined several movements that focuses on girl's rights.  One of them is Because I am Girl- Canada., http://blog.becauseiamagirl.ca.  This is how I started writing my blog. Asking questions such as - what am I passionate about? What is my purpose in life? how can I change the world in my own little way?

Don't get me wrong, I do read your fashion, tips, family and all the fun stuff. So keep em coming! Because I am speaking to moms out there who has daughters, who are sisters, grandmothers, I know this is the right audience and platform for me.


Making this change is not easy.  It was a huge lifestyle shift to the right direction. I have never been sure in my whole life.  I grew up in the ugly streets of Manila, we had nothing but the basics. I was once part of the statistics below:

1. Over 500 million adolescent girls and young women live in the developing world.

2. 21% of girls age 15 to 19 around the world are already married.

3. Almost 50% of girls between 15 and 19 years old believe that a husband is justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain circumstances.

4. 100,000 girls are child soldiers.

5. Each extra year of education increases a girl’s income by 10 to 20% and means she is more likely to have a smaller, healthier family and to start to break the cycle of poverty in which so many communities are trapped.

6. Girls’ literacy rates are 13% less than boys worldwide.

7. 15% of girls worldwide can’t read and write.

8. In Sub-saharan Africa, 33% of girls between 15 and 24 years old can’t read and write!

9. Only 88% of school aged girls are enrolled in primary school – and only 77% actually attend on a regular basis.

10. Only 60% of all secondary school aged girls are enrolled at school.

11. A sixth of the world’s young people live on less than $2 a day, including 12 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa who live on less than $1 a day.

12. 27% of girls living in the least developed countries are involved in child labour.

13. Young women who are economically empowered in decent, secure work or successful small businesses, and who enjoy equal rights to property and land ownership, are better equipped to create a solid future for themselves, their families and communities.

14. An economically independent young woman has more power in the home to make decisions that affect the health and education of family members.

15. If girls could start successful business or get good jobs with decent pay, both countries and households would experience economic growth.

16. A girl is much more likely to go to school if she lives in a city – in developing countries school attendance for girls from 10 to 14 is 18% higher in urban than in rural areas, and 37% higher for young women between 15 and 19.

17. Girls who live in cities are less likely to be married at an early age – for example, in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, 50% of young women in rural areas are married by the time they are 18, which is about twice the rate of young women in cities.

18. There are at least 100 million street children globally – approximately 30% of those are girls.

19. Half of all new HIV infections occur in people aged 15 to 24 – girls represent the majority of new infections in this group

20. 20% of women who are now 20-24 gave birth before age 18.

21. Girls have a longer life expectancy than boys – we live almost 10% longer as a group.

22. Girls are the mothers of the next generation. Give a girl the skills and opportunities she needs in life and as a woman she will pass them on to her children.



Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,
Hugs,
The F.L.A.G team
Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil
Visit us www.flagphil.com




Monday, October 3, 2011

Butterflies from New York - cocoons2butterflies

When you sometimes feel that the world is so cruel with all the stuff that has been going on. I don't need to name them as I'm sure you are aware.  One 'butterfly' from the Blog heaven has been so thoughtful and generous to our small charity.  http://www.cocoons2butterflies.com has donated 2 shoeboxes for our Shoebox Holiday Program.

Laura and I don't know each other, like most of you, we are bloggy friends and have stumbled upon each other's blog.  She wrote on our facebook page about her interest in donating and we exchanged contact info.   Lo and behold, the package came in to my office today, and tears just started coming down.  I couldn't believe it!  I was so touched with the message and toys for the girls.  I started imagining their faces when one of them opens this box.  For all of them, it is not uncommon not to receive any presents for Christmas. They will be lucky if they are able to eat that day.

To Laura, Gabrielle and Elsie , thank you once again.  We are planning to a Christmas party at the school on Dec 22, all the girls will receive their gifts on that day.  We will also take photos of this event for all our sponsors.


Heartfelt message from Laura and her daughters


For one lucky princess






Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team


Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil

Visit us www.flagphil.com









































Saturday, October 1, 2011

Girls helping girls

We received an overwhelming response to our Christmas Holiday program.  One happy story I would love the share is these 2 young girls who unselfishly donated most of their stuff to our charity.
Personal holiday message to the girls

Raquel (left)  and Victoria organizing extra school supplies for the girls at F.L.A.G
I have known Raquel since she was about 3 years old, her mom by good friend Valerie has been my bff every since. After 15 years  of friendship, both of them have been very supportive to our cause.  By  planting the seed, our children will grow with compassion to the needy, love for others and true unselfishness.  I'm so lucky to have known both of them and that they are part of our lives.



Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again,

Hugs,

The F.L.A.G team


Follow us on twitter.com/flagphil

Visit us www.flagphil.com