Global Woman Club Manila Turns Three!

“My dear, in the midst of hate, I found, there was, within me, an invincible love.  In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile.  In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that… In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger, something better, pushing right back.”  

Albert Camus, Invincible Summer

This was Albert Camus’ poem that Global Woman Club Manila director Rayla Melchor-Allertsen read to remind GWCM members that we are all strong women, and that no matter what challenges are thrown at us, we can find something good within us—an invincible love, an invincible smile, an invincible calm, and an invincible summer.  

Members came in full force to celebrate Global Woman Club Manila’s 3^rd anniversary, held at Happy Garden Café on Jupiter Street.  I still can’t believe that it’s just been three years since GWCM launched on March 4, 2020, ten days before COVID lockdown happened in the Philippines.

Excited women, all dressed in dazzling white, happily greeted each other as they arrived.  Following a tradition set last year, the theme was all white.  Rosemarie “Baby” Lim brought her creatively designed fascinators to the event, and the ladies eagerly selected what to wear from Baby’s extensive collection.

And just to show you what a fun group this is, the ladies did a catwalk, sashaying from the entrance to the dining area.  After Bing Carrion led the group in a prayer of thanksgiving, GWCM’s beloved director Rayla formally opened the event, welcoming the members who she described as kickass women, with substance and worth, and rich in kindness.  

Rayla recognized the women present who had received awards from Global Woman Club, bringing prestige to the Philippines: Rosalina Tan, honorary woman leader 2020; Kathryn Bellosillo, corporate leader 2021; Monette Iturralde-Hamlin, woman leader award 2022; Anne Magkawas who was part of the circle of excellence for entrepreneurship in 2022; and of course, Rayla herself who was the very first Inspirational Woman in 2019.  Absent were Myrna Yao, honorary woman 2020 overseas in Korea, and Tosin Arowoloju, woman leader 2021, who is based in Bahrain.

Rayla reminded everyone that they are Special, Unique, and Precious, and asked them to affirm this every single day, but more than that, they are empowered, educated, enlightened, excited to be resilient, responsible, respect-filled, and respectful.  And to be empowered, it is important for each person to answer the questions “Who am I?” as early in life for self-awareness and mastery. Self-awareness and mastery help to clearly determine and define our goals? “Who do I want to be”?  And what we do in between our Date of Birth and our Date of Death, the dash, through massive execution, mastery of emotions, management of ego, and mileage will determine our achievement of those goals and legacy we leave behind.

The members sang for the first quarter birthday celebrants, Rosalina Tan, Jenny Lind-Elmaco, She Bolisay, Denise “Eauaua” Roco-de Leon who is expecting her baby in a month, and myself. As usual, our fun-loving Rayla placed white crowns on our heads as we were feted by the group.  Many thanks to Beth Palma for the uber-delicious birthday carrot cake!  

Talking about food, Bizu prepared a delicious spread, starting with yummy zucchini and pistou soup, a fresh mandarin and orange almond salad mesclun with crisp bacon and creamy citrus dressing, rosemary herbed chicken, cobbler fish provencal, conchiglie pesto cream, rice, and Bizu’s specialty desserts opera and carrot and walnut bar. Many thanks to Ningning de Ocampo who brought her to-die-for tibok-tibok made of carabao milk from Pampanga and creamy macapuno from Quezon!

We were honored to have Global Woman Club founder Mirela Sula from the UK join the festivities virtually, as did three directors: Elisabeth Villiger-Toufexis from Cyprus, Elise Card from Paris, and Pat Labez from New York.

Two honored guests straddled the beginning and ending of the event. First, we had Dr. Maria Rosaria Brizi-Clemente, the wife of the Italian ambassador, H.E. Marco Clemente.  An accomplished lady, she is not only a lawyer, but holds two PhDs in International Relations and Sociology as well!  She shared how wonderful it was to connect with us, and immediately felt at home in such a friendly, welcoming ambiance.  She loved that Filipinos open each event with a prayer, that we celebrate birthdays, that we have stayed friends for 50 years since we were in kindergarten.  She observed the high energy happening in intergenerational dialogue in the group, with young women, younger women, and vintage women (I guess I fall in that category).

Maria Rosaria noted that she herself has experienced discrimination.  As an ambassador’s wife, people dismiss her as being just the spouse, who should just focus on cutlery and flowers.  After several times trying to be patient, she decided to add PhD to her business card, so she does not feel diminished.  She noted that women may be CEOs, scientists, presidents, but they are still homemakers, across generations and culture, and that at the end of the day, women are all about caring and will still make a meal for loved ones.  Having lived as a diplomat’s wife in different countries like the Philippines, Armenia, Estonia, and South Africa, she has come to realize that women are the backbone of society.  When the Soviet Union collapsed, the Armenian women who were magistrates, medical doctors, scientists, rolled up their sleeves and started baking bread and sweeping the floor, with dignity.  And that’s because they care.  

Maria Rosaria said that while there is a lot of talk about SDG #5 which is all about gender equality and empowerment for all women and children, what we really need to do is to act on it, instead of just talking.  And this includes making education accessible to all, especially those in the low-income strata of society where women are seriously discriminated against and where in some countries, they need their husband’s signature to sell a house that they inherited from their father. Women need to have equality so they can make decisions on their own, but also have the men share domestic work of taking care of children and aged parents. Women’s health needs to be addressed in its entirety (social, emotional, and mental well-being) so that there is a balance between the challenges we face and the pools of resources that we can rely on, such as the friendships that we enjoy at GWCM.

Second, we had Madame Gila Fluss, an engineer in food science and biotechnology, with a master’s degree in education and teaching.  Wife to Israeli Ambassador H.E. Ilan Fluss, Madame Gila shared with us some of the Jewish traditions, like Shabbat which starts at sundown on a Friday, and ends just after sundown on a Saturday. She shared their tradition of lighting Shabbat candles, singing Shalom Aleichem, making blessings over wine and bread, and then enjoying a leisurely meal together as a family.  She could not come earlier as she had to finish the prayers for Shabbat at home.

Madame Gila also shared with us that it was the second time her husband has been posted as ambassador to the Philippines, and that the first time she came here, she had a one-year-old and was pregnant with her second child who was born in the Philippines.  She is very happy to be posted to the Philippines once again, which she considers the home of the happiest people in the world.  She is also very grateful that the Philippines has always supported the Jews, as far back as WW2, when President Manuel Quezon welcomed Jews escaping from Nazi Europe, and the fact the Philippines was one of 33 countries and the only Asian country that voted in favor of UN Resolution 181 recommending the partition of Palestine and the establishment of a Jewish State in 1947. 

Thanks to our dear members who contributed gifts for our guests of honor: Baby Lim for the fascinators, Rosalina Tan for Pili Ani gift boxes, Kathryn Bellosillo for Kyani health and beauty products, Anna Magkawas for her healthy Luxe coffee products & cosmetics, Bing Carrion for her book on Cardinal Sin, Sylvia Pimentel Yuzon for the beautiful roses, and Rayla for the pretty bayong-ciaga (a play between our native woven bayong and Balenciaga) bags.

Thanks too to Rosalina Tan, Leah Miranda, Anne Directo & Monette for their praiseworthy effort to bring more women into the fold. 

And because Global Woman Club Manila is about giving back, we had a silent auction to raise funds for our advocacy to help women and children, under the I AM S.A.M. Foundation.  The advocacy is underpinned on three most important UN documents, starting with the UDHR, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1947) wherein the vulnerability of women and children is simply stated in Article 25: Motherhood and childhood need special care and assistance. As a consequence, UN CEDAW & UN CRC were ratified by member states in 1979 & 1989, respectively. Our North Star: When you protect, empower & respect the woman/mom, you protect, empower & respect the child (R. Allertsen) and Child Abuse lives a shadow the length of a lifetime (H. Ward).

Heartfelt thanks to the members who contributed items for the silent auction: Priyalashmi Murugesan for the four hand-painted pillowcases; Ningning de Ocampo for the art plate collectibles of National Artist Vicente Manansala, Ang Kiukok, and Lydia Velasco; Angeli Gurnamal for the pretty shawl; Monette for the colorful hand-embroidered kantha shawl and the 20-piece 24-carat gold plated Stanley Roberts service for four; and Anna Magkawas for the pre-loved sunshine yellow Lanvin handbag/body bag with a graceful cat handle!   

It was so heartwarming to see everyone there, especially those who traveled far just to be there, like Lesley Geronimo who drove eight hours to be with us; Teacher Rax who took the bus from Batangas when she learned about the event; and Wandalyn Tan Calupig, #1 on the Most Influential Filipina Women on LinkedIn, who was visiting from the UAE.  And just because women love to shop, everyone had a grand time buying the original designs of Baby Lim and the new lipstick line of Anna Magkawas. 

But it wouldn’t be a party without dancing, and so we ended the get together with everyone dancing with gusto to the lead of regular Dance Instructor Jimboy.  As she was leaving, Gely Hidalgo-Roco, Eauaua’s youthful-looking mom, said she enjoyed the evening and the camaraderie tremendously, and that she was looking forward to attending the next GWCM event.

Congratulations, Rayla, for a hugely successful 3^rd anniversary, and to our core group Melissa Lim, Rosalina Tan, Marilex Barza Mendoza, Kate Bellosillo, and Bing Carrion.  Oh, and Buster Allertsen for embracing us all. Together, we make things happen.  As I always say, when women support other women, great things happen.  

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