Nuffnang is celebrating its 5th birthday on February 27! Congrats for the five (5) years of being the first blog advertising community in Asia-Pacific region. Nuffnang truly claims that title! More power and years in in pimpin' the blogosphere!
Since you are 5 years old now, I present to you the Chipmunks for your birthday song!
Thanks for the sponsors of Naffnung for its Birthday party!
I’m planning to study my masters in U.K. this coming September 2012. I hope I’ll get lucky and will pass the scholarship I applied for recently. It will be my second this in U.K. if ever granted the opportunity to study there for a year or more. It was last year when the last time I was in London, I visited my friend who is working there as a nurse and also fond of playing online bingo and winning big.
Interestingly, in the U.K. Bingo is played mainly in large halls with cash prizes, the larger commercial concerns are linked up with other halls during one particular game in the evening and large cash sums can be won on these.
It is also played in nearly every seaside town in the U.K. on screens in front of the player who pulls a slide across to cover the number called, but, presumably because of our gambling laws, there are no cash prizes, just various items like cuddly toys.
So sometimes, it’s better to play online games rather than going to those halls to play BINGO. The other times Bingo is played, again for prizes, not cash, is in a myriad of local halls or schools around the country, usually as a fund raiser for various concerns. Thus, it’s not all about gambling and easy money.
But of course, I’ll not go to U.K. like my friend just to play Bingo. But it would be fun to spend free weekends trying my luck to win some. I hope and wish my friend to win more out from playing the game so that he can treat me when I arrive there soon. Funny but he is generous every time he wins the prize and he is good and very luck with that game. I’m looking forward to spending some good time with him soon.
Paraiso Verde Resort and Water Park: Mindanao’s Largest Wave Pool Is In Koronadal City
2 comments Posted by Aethen at 13:16
I am a very beach or outdoorsy person, but there’s one thing that excites me, a world-class tourist destination in my beloved hometown in Mindanao. Paraiso Verde Resort and Water Park has been teasing the public with the promise of a world-class resort and water park that will be the biggest in Mindanao and one of the best in the world.
Paraiso Verde boasts of four exciting water attractions:
- Moby Wave Pool, the largest wave pool in Mindanao that features a giant water bucket;
- Adventura River Rapids which will take you on an adrenaline filled watery ride;
- Wiggles Kiddie Pool for your little ones; and
- Freestyle Swim Pool for no-frills swimming for fitness and recreation purposes.
Sounds absolutely fun, right? Paraiso Verde spells pure fun for everyone.
Paraiso Verde is now open to the public and is having regular events every week. This is one of the best barkada / family get-away for a big fun in Mindanao!
My personal favorite among the water attractions is the wave pool that boasts of a typhoon-like experience called the diamond spin. Though the deepest depth is only 4 feet — the swell goes as high as 10 feet. And with crystal clear fresh water — you’ll definitely have the time of your life!
Paraiso Verde Resort and Water Park is located at Zone 1, General Paulino Santos Drive, Koronadal City, South Cotabato. For more information, contact them at + 6383-520-1338. You may also visit their website at http://www.paraisoverresortandwaterpark.com, email them at paraisoverderesort@yahoo.com, connect with them on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ParaisoVerde, or follow them on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/PVerdeResort.
Batang Bayani would like to think and celebrate that the project is really all about inspiring people; to start their own cause no matter how small it is
Before we get started -thanks to everyone who has supported Batang Bayani Birthday Project, your donations have made real, tangible differences (see bayani projects).
The success of the Birthday Project has inspired many people to help the poor but deserving kids in Mindanao. Many requested to organize another project or make an opportunity to help and share blessings to others. So to continue the Bayani Project series, Batang Bayani invites you to be part of The Christmas Box Project!
The Christmas Box Project
As early as September, Christmas is already in the air here in the Philippines. Christmas is the longest season that we Filipinos are celebrating. And in the spirit of this season, the heart of giving is always overwhelming.
This coming Christmas, there may be a lot of presents with your name on them under the Christmas tree, but there are many kids around who have never received gifts because they are victims of poverty, disease, and natural disasters. Why don’t you send some Christmas cheer to some of these kids in need this holiday season by sending them a box full of gifts? Find out what the Christmas Box Project is all about!
The Christmas Box Project packs some Christmas spirit into boxes for kids in Mindanao. Boxes are filled with goodies like toys, games, books, stationery and clothes, and then sent to poor but deserving children in places such as South Cotabato and Lake Sebu.
Batang Bayani wants to start this revolution of giving by sending 300 boxes of gifts or more to be filled and delivered to the kids in Mindanao this Christmas! But this is only possible with your kind heart to share and be part of this fun cause. How to help and be part of this Christmas Box Project? Find it here at Christmas Box Project – A Little Box Goes a Long Way.
For more information about the Christmas Box Project visit www.batangbayani.com!
Can you imagine life without farmers? A team of scholars from the Young Minds Academy (YMA) Season 5 leadership program can’t. They harnessed the power of marketing strategies mostly through the new media to promote a farmer empowerment project in Consolacion, Cebu. Because of the on-going training that the farmers are undergoing, they will soon yield better and abundant harvests in their respective farms all over Cebu.
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| The online community has been abuzz with the iluvfarmers farmers campaign that champions hero farmers in Cebu. |
About KabalikatsaKabuhayan
Team CPMPC of the YMA program of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. created a campaign for the “KabalikatsaKabuhayan.” The project aims to educate farmers in vegetable and fruit production and innovations as part of the poverty alleviation goals of the Municipality of Consolacion.
Around 120 farmers go to the 5,000 square meter demo farm site in Brgy. Danglag to learn from the trainers from Harbest Agribusiness Corporation and the Department of Agriculture Regional Offices.The program’s aim is to empower our farmers with knowledge to improve farm practice and increase yield, thereby providing better income opportunities.
The project started last September 11 and is set to end on November 18, 2011. This has been done in 18 other project sites all over the country as well, and as of writing, graduated more than two thousand farmers.
About iluvfarmers
The Team CPMPC scholars of YMA drafted and implemented a massive campaign to help these farmers gain social awareness and support from the public with the parameters set by RAFI which is 1,000 likes on the Facebook page and 10,000 peso donation or signature of commitment within a one month period.
But instead of focusing on achieving the goals, they turned to the notion that the quality of interaction and support they get is more important especially within the deadline.
As part of the marketing strategy, they branded their campaign as “iluvfarmers” to imply the need for people to appreciate our farmers who are considered as unsung heroes. Meticulous planning and execution was done from designing the logo, content creation and development, setting of specific goals, art direction of campaign materials such as online posters, advertisements, teasers, blog posts, endorsements from different personalities and regular updates in the social networking sites. They also went to the farm demo site and worked with the farmers themselves under extreme weather conditions and poor classroom setting.
The scholars themselves underwent input sessions with social marketing experts in the region today.
They created a Facebook page with a custom designed landing page which can be accessed at http://fb.me/iluvfarmers where details of the program and how you can support the campaign and the farmers are placed. They also created a Twitter account http://twitter.com/iluvfarmers where conversations and interactions are done not only with netizens but as well as Agriculture and Farming organizations all over the world. To curate the beautiful life stories of the farmers and to regularly update the supporters with the latest developments of the project, Team CPMPC scholars also had created a blog site http://iluvfarmers.blogspot.com for better content and brand establishment.
The iluvfarmers Campaign is being spearheaded by Jaysee John R. Pingkian, LorbeCatadman, Babykit Marie Nunez, Irish Nunez and John RhecelSolon members of the Team CPMPC of the YMA Season 5.
Why you should help?
Farming is not as fun as you would experience through games like Farmville. It actually takes a lot of effort and life as we know it and some people have not only considered it as livelihood but life in itself.
The project needs to sustain because they have learned to pursue a reliable source of income with very little capital through the technologies and knowledge imparted to them.
They need not only awareness from people but as well as donations in money or in kind such as farming tools and fertilizers, vegetable and fruit seeds and seedlings because after the training they are expected to apply their knowledge unto their respective farm lands.
Keep in mind that they are also the providers of their families.
They also need social awareness because little attention and support is given to these people whose efforts are barely recognized and compensated for the amount of work they are doing.
How can you help?
4 Steps to Help Them!
- LIKE and SHARE this page! COMMENT on photos and posts as well!
- DONATE your Facebook or Twitter Status:
- They work hard to provide us food. We can help them do better. FOLLOW @iluvfarmers and LIKE http://fb.me/iluvfarmers
- Somewhere in the mountains are heroes who work tirelessly to provide us and their families. FOLLOW @iluvfarmers and LIKE http://fb.me/iluvfarmers
- Facebook is not just for emo stuff. It could also be used to support our hero farmers! FOLLOW @iluvfarmers and LIKE http://fb.me/iluvfarmers
- Or you could CREATE YOUR CREATIVE STATUS and post it on the Facebook page so they could feature you!
- FOLLOW us on Twitter http://twitter.com/iluvfarmers
- DONATE or ask people to donate money, farm tools, farm supplies, seedlings or seeds.
- Contact iluvfarmers Campaign Ambassador LorbeCatadman: 09299613737
Love of own native land
On August 16, 2011, Apl.de.Ap went back to the Philippines to inaugurate his Apl.de.Ap Music Library and Studio in his alma mater—Holy Angel University, in Angeles City. It contains a state-of-the-art music studio, said to be first in the Philippines, and various music CDs all over the world shipped directly from US. He also extends help in his own baranggay in the same city called Sapang Bato, by opening his first “computer laboratory program.” This is in Sapang Bato National High School. All of these are manifestations of his gratitude to the land where he once belonged. By improving the lives and contributing something for his kabalens, he can also show his own “taya para sa bayan” which reflects his love for the Philippines. He is also looking forward to replicate this program in other provinces in the Philippines soon.
This is a great example of contributing for the development of one’s own native land. Looking back from where you came from, knowing the colorful culture and heartwarming history of your province, speaking your own mother-tongue (I’m referring to 170 languages and dialects in the Philippines), and boosting the morale of your fellow kabalens, kabagis, or kabanwa, that’s the essence of building our nation together.
To quote what the National Artist for Visual Arts Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera said during his acceptance speech at the Juan D. Nepomuceno Cultural Awards of our institution Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies in Holy Angel University last Match 8, 2011:
“We give people wings and they fly away, never to return. Roots bind us so that no matter where and how far you fly, roots will always bring us back to the land of our birth, our true homeland…”
This was an expression of a Kapampangan who feels incomplete as a Filipino if he doesn’t look back from where he was born, raised, hailed, and made who he is.
The problem of our country is not only concentrated in Manila but in our own native lands. Heroism should start all over the country by campaigning it for a better Philippines. This is how I’ll start my commendation to a unique demonstration of heroism manifested not by an Apl.de.Ap but by an Aethen “Nonito” Agana (hereon refer as Kuya Aethen hahahaha! Historiographical research ba ito hahaha!) of Mindanao – his Batang Bayani Birthday Project.
A nagging virus
One day (maybe that was early part of July 2011), while I was checking of my Facebook account, I’ve seen a link posted by my friend, Kuya Aethen, about this strange “Batang Bayani” site and Facebook Fan Page. I didn’t pay much attention on it because I thought it was just like the other sites fostering nation-building (and there are lots of them now on the net). (Note: This doesn’t mean I hate this kind of sites hehehehe.)
Days passed, Batang Bayani’s link continuously appeared in Facebook. Kuya Aethen was, of course, the mastermind of this link as he posted it in various Facebook Fan Pages; including the “Rizal 150” and “Rizal 150 to 150”, which I am administering. Again, I didn’t bother to click on the link.
Suddenly, some of my Facebook friends (mostly from The Outstanding Students of the Philippines Alumni Community or TOSPAC which I and Kuya Aethen are both alumni) were already receiving links to this Batang Bayani and of course I received status updates, tpp. This was followed by several photos of some celebrities having placards with them which read “I support Batang Bayani.”
Curiosity dragged me on June 11th to click on this nagging link appearing on my friends’ updates posted virally by the “virus carrier”, Kuya Aethen. “What is this link for?”,“What is Batang Bayani?”,“How is this?”.
These were some of the questions played on my mind.
Speechless. This is how I described my feeling when I followed the link. Although it’s not a new kind of fostering volunteerism and care giving to a community, it’s still a clever “birthday” party! He chooses to look back where he came from and is trying to contribute change and to boost morale to his young kababayans in Mindanao. This project quite stirred me because among the institutions in our society, he chooses to bring smile to school children in various government schools. (I preferred to use “government schools” than “public schools” because I’m a little bit sensitive on the latter term. But still I am a proud product of public education from pre-elementary, elementary, secondary, and undergraduate and now continuing my masters at the University of the Philippines Diliman [yabbaaaannnggg!]. In addition to this, I am an educator and working in an academic research.)
Sali ako!
The said project indeed moved me and enticed me to support him. So, I immediately post a comment on the Batang Bayani Facebok Fan Page commending Kuya Aethen, a. k. a. “Batang Bayani,” for his “taya para sa bayan.” Then afterwards, I messaged him that I will contribute on his birthday party on August 8.
I choose to donate some notebooks and pencils because these were what I could afford. Well, as a Kapampangan who always exaggerate and shows flamboyance (which leads to braggartism hahaha), I felt diffident for I can only contribute 30 notebooks and three boxes of Mongol pencils. And to make it more special (again, kayabangan na naman ‘to hahahah), I bought what is now rare edition of Filipino-inspired pop culture signature notebooks (i. e. an Igorot from Ifugao riding a big bike, a colorful “konyo” jeepney, the logo of Yahoo! as Tahoo!) exclusively distributed by Pandayan Bookshop. My agenda here is to inculcate sense of nationhood to Mindanao students by showing them ideas about simple symbols of being a citizen of one proud nation—like, introducing to them how Igorots are and the symbols of our national characters such as taho, balot, Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, jeepney, and halu-halo; my contribution will be just a small part to the towering contribution sent to him, though.
Maiinggit sa isang Bayani
Even though I first questioned the credibility of Kuya Aethen on using “Batang Bayani” to refer for himself, uso naman ang self declaration ngayon hahahaha! Well, Kuya Aethen is doing a lot of things for his community – whether he is in Manila or in his home town in Mindanao. And that makes him a simple “bayani” in his capacity and resources. He has already established networks and linkages from various individuals and institutions that he can deal with or ask support for his humble and great aspirations. And I am pretty much sure that he can sustain this remarkable project he initiated.
Maybe I feel a little bit envious of him because he can do such clever nationalistic project for Mindanao. But how can I spearhead such program here in Pampanga or in Bulacan or Camarines Sur (where my roots are) if I don’t have that fervor and dedication like Kuya Aethen. So I asked Kuya Aethen that through him, I can channel my long desired dream to help Mindanao, too, and to share what I have to share for my kababayan. I am confident that Kuya Aethen will do this project every year during his birthday. (Sana naman walang natira at wala kang hinord [hoarded] hahahah! Ang sama kong tao hihihihi.)
A bayani in each and every one of us
Rizal himself envisioned a better future for our country by having a well educated people who will constitute and run the nation. When that time comes, we are worthy for independence. This thought was actually based on Epictetus’ philosophy that “only the educated are free…” And to those who want to help our country with their own ways, let this be your guide: “Filipinos could serve the country more if they were in the Philippines. To serve our country, there is nothing like staying in it.” (An excerpt in his letter to Jose Ma. Basa, January 1889.)
To those who are still confuse on what and how to be patriotic (makabayan) and nationalistic (makabansa), let’s ask our history by using the teachings of Katipunan: he who loves his countrymen and God above all is the same thing as loving ones native land (bayan). Bayan and bansa became synonymous because of our struggle toward nationhood. And those who are ready to sacrifice part of their life are called bayani – a concept which originally meant “the defenders of bayan,” an honorific title only given to those who bravely defended and ready to defend for the cause of their bayan. We are already done in the phase when Inang Bayan was in danger and called her “anak ng bayan” to become “bayani.” We are on the phase when Inang Bayan calling all her “anak ng bayan” to unleash the “bayani” in them – to act as one nation, “to love our nation and our conscience dictates that we do everything that our duty calls for,” quoting again Rizal.
Using the words of Ate Pamela Asis-Layugan, the founding and current chair of TOSPAC “there’s always a hero in each and every one of us…” To quote the great educator and historian Dr. Onofre D. Corpuz “Heroes are those who contribute to the quality of life and destiny of a nation…” And most of all, from Batang Bayani himself I quote “Not every one of us is given the chance to die as a hero, but everyday, we are given the opportunity to live as a hero…”
Well, enough for these obsequious, flattering words. Nevertheless, I am proud of being a friend of such Aethen Agana. Sana mayaman lang tayo para magawa natin ang lahat ng gusto nating ibahagi sa bayan… but if we can already do something right now, let’s make it possible.
I am ending this composition by quoting Rizal’s words in his letter to Marcelo H. del Pilar in 1889: I shall not stop working for my country.
by:
IAN CHRISTOPHER BERMUDO ALFONSO
Resident Researcher, History and Culture
The Juan D. Nepomuceno Center for Kapampangan Studies
Batang Bayani would like to think and celebrate that the project is really all about inspiring people; to start their own cause no matter how small it is.
Come celebrate and inspire with Batang Bayani!
For inquiries on the birthday project, please contact Batang Bayani. Or if you want to know about how to help, click here.
The Philippine rugby modeling for Bench.
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