Showing posts with label ICanServe Foundation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ICanServe Foundation. Show all posts

September 14, 2012

When blood is thicker than water

Roland and his sister Christina, a breast cancer survivor. Photo courtesy icanserverfoundation.org

ONE of my favorite TV series has always been Brothers & Sisters. It’s been discontinued after five seasons but at the height of its popularity, it was always such a joy to watch episodes roll out week after week showing how the members of the large Walker family worked out their individual insecurities or celebrated their important life events with their siblings and their irrepressible mother Nora (Sally Field).

Of course, it was not a peaceful co-existence all the time—there were many huge disagreements among them, just like in ordinary families you and I belong to. But these were never too enormous to prevent an eventual reconciliation of hearts. (See “Brothers, sisters, children”, Dec. 29, 2007.)

Over the years, we’ve come across news items about how some siblings—usually scions of rich folk—battle it out in court in a bid to wrestle control over their late parents’ estate. Even some high-profile businessmen disinherit their own siblings over disputes stemming from very minor issues. Like there are two brothers I know, both successful businessmen, who have stopped speaking to each other because they quarreled over one’s sibling purchase of a car!!!

It’s a chilling reminder of how it is easy to forget the familial ties that bind when money becomes the focus of one’s existence. Also, there is too much ego and pride. The old folk always say that no matter how enormous the discord may be in one’s family, one must always strive to make peace. Blood is always thicker than water, and in the end, it is your relatives who will step up when you need help the most.

Yoga instructor Roland de la Cruz is one such fellow who had gone all out in supporting his sister Christina de la Cruz-Sablan when she really needed someone to count on at a most trying time in her life.

“My only sister Christina was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. She was only 30 years old at the time. I distinctly remember sitting across from her when she was told of her exam results on the phone. We were in an office setting, so I wasn’t sure if I should stay strong or cry with her. In any case, she gathered all her belongings that day knowing that she had to act quickly especially in the interest of her then-six-year-old daughter Veronica,” says Roland.

Not too long after receiving the news, Christina flew to Los Angeles where she had a lumpectomy. The doctor advised her that she still needed chemotherapy and radiation. With Los Angeles being so far away from home in Guam, the family chose to complete her treatment protocol in Manila. Being closer to the island, where her other siblings and parents are based, Manila made traveling for the family easier.

“I was with Christina during her first round of chemotherapy. I saw the toll it took on her body and the pain she had to endure. I recall calling my mom in Guam that day, crying and telling her that I wasn’t sure I could do it. Watching someone you love so much slowly deteriorate in order to heal was heart-wrenching, and the constant fear of losing her to this dreaded disease was a dark cloud that hovered in the horizon. It was as painful for the loved ones as it was for the one enduring and trying to survive the ordeal,” he recalls.

Today, Christina is in remission and continues to work in the airline industry. Her daughter is now 11 years old.

“Roland and I grew up very close, and you could say he is a protective brother who always made sure I was okay,” Christina writes in an e-mail. “After being diagnosed with cancer, this was proven all the more as he ensured that I got the best medical care along with all the family support needed. Opting to do my treatments in the Philippines, my brother went far and beyond by allowing me to stay in his Makati condo. I distinctly remember the day I left home—I was so depressed and scared. But when I arrived at the condo, Roland had furnished the place with family photos so that it felt like home, and to remind me to stay strong. To this day, whenever I return to Manila for follow-up appointments, Roland always welcomes me at his place, and assists me with whatever I need.”

There is a mantra often recited in the practice of yoga, “Lokah Samastha Sukinoh Bhavantu,” which means, “May all beings be happy and free, may they be free of pain and suffering.” That is what Roland wishes for all breast-cancer survivors like his sister.

“Going through that life trial, Christina was instrumental in me further discovering that raw and vulnerable side which I believe has made me a more effective yoga teacher to my students. I was able to draw the strength to do those poses not just from my muscles but from the inner well of truth inside me, a place where our spirit and mortal body are so intertwined that it is beyond understanding, just acceptance.”

A full-time yoga instructor, Roland put up Bliss Yoga (www.blissyogamanila.com) in Makati with partner Glenn Biscoe in 2009. He was introduced to Hatha Yoga in 2001 at a time when he says “I found myself at a real crossroads in my life.”

He trained under Baron Baptiste of the Baron Baptiste Power Yoga Institute in Tulum, Mexico, before opening his own yoga studio in his home island of Guam. He subsequently trained under Power Yoga founder Bryan Kest and Bhakti Urban Flow founder Rusty Wells.

Because of his experience with his sister, Roland has decided to take a 50-day break from teaching yoga to raise funds for breast cancer charities.

Roland is funding the trip out of his own pocket and hopes people will support his beneficiaries, ICanServe Foundation in the Philippines and the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) in the US. Supporters can donate directly to the said organizations.

ICanServe Foundation teaches barangay health workers how to do proper clinical breast examinations to aid in the early detection of the disease.

Women 30 years and older are advised to undergo an annual clinical breast exam conducted by a physician or other trained health worker. In the Philippines where diagnostic equipment such as mammography machines are available only in urban centers, clinical breast exams are an important way for underserved communities to check for breast cancer.

Texas-based NBCF, meanwhile, provides mammograms to those who cannot afford it in the US.

On September 17, Roland will begin his journey in the Philippines, going to Japan, the US, Central America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Mediterranean, India, and Asia, before making his way back to Manila. He intends to visit historical landmarks, traveling with no more than the bag on his back, a yoga mat and a camera.

The historical landmarks he will be visiting are Intramuros in Manila; Kiyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan; Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico; Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C.; Ground Zero in New York; Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England; Eiffel Tower, Paris; Jungfrau, Switzerland; Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy; The Colosseum/Vatican City, Rome, Italy; Piazza San Marco, Venice, Italy; Ann Frank’s House, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; The Berlin Wall, Berlin, Germany; Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum, Krakow, Poland; Acropolis, Athens, Greece; Dead Sea, Israel; Petra, Jordan; Taj Mahal, Agra, India; Forbidden City/Great Wall of China, Beijing, China; Ngong Ping 360, Hong Kong; Wat Pho, Bangkok, Thailand; Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia; and Tanah Lot Temple, Bali, Indonesia.

“Through this journey, which I dedicate to my sister and to all women stricken with this disease, I pray they find the courage and strength to overcome this obstacle in their lives, and ultimately be free of all the pain and suffering. Fifty days seems like a short time to cover so much but this journey is meant to be my seva [selfless service],” says Roland.

(Serious yoga practitioners will often do seva, or “service for others” with no thought of recognition or reward. For instance, you can volunteer your services or donate your funds to benefit a cause, with no expectation of a specific result. Seva removes the ego’s attachment for results. Whatever service is rendered will be to help uplift the community.)

Let’s follow Roland’s journey through www.myglobalmandala.com. Better yet, if we believe in his cause, let’s donate to his chosen charities.

As they say at the close of each yoga practice, namaste. The divine in me recognizes the divine in you. Touch me, touch others, and let peace and love flow.

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. This piece was originally published on Sept. 7, 2012. Photo courtesy icanserve foundation.)

October 16, 2011

Seeing pink (updated)

Dreaming the Breasts
By Anne Sexton

Mother,
strange goddess face
above my milk home,
that delicate asylum,
I ate you up.
All my need took
you down like a meal.

What you gave
I remember in a dream:
the freckled arms binding me,
the laugh somewhere over my woolly hat,
the blood fingers tying my shoe,
the breasts hanging like two bats
and then darting at me,
bending me down.

The breasts I knew at midnight
beat like the sea in me now.
Mother, I put bees in my mouth
to keep from eating
yet it did no good.

In the end they cut off your breasts
and milk poured from them
into the surgeon’s hand
and he embraced them.
I took them from him
and planted them.

I have put a padlock
on you, Mother, dear dead human,
so that your great bells,
those dear white ponies,
can go galloping, galloping,
wherever you are.

THE female breast is one of God’s most fervent expressions of His artistic vision when He created human beings.

Its shape is its own—not round, not oblong—it doesn’t fit any known geometric shape, so its clearly unique among all of His artwork. (They are bells, according to Anne Sexton.)

(Self-breast exam. This is also what OB-GYNs do on a woman's breasts when the latter is under 30.)

And its uses are so encompassing. Aside from adding allure to the female figure to help attract her mate, it nurses babies. From its nipple drops the first and most important nutrients for these tiny helpless infants, which hopefully affords them a healthy constitution when they are all grown-up.

But as Sexton’s poetry intimates, beautiful and nourishing as breasts can be, they can be touched by something sinister—in this case, breast cancer. (Sexton’s own mother Mary Gray Harvey died from it. When she was diagnosed with the condition, Harvey blamed it on Sexton who had just suffered a nervous breakdown. This was of course the 1950s where there was very little knowledge about the cause and effect of deadly diseases such as this. Finally undergoing a radical mastectomy, Harvey was disgusted by what she viewed was her mutilation. Sexton poignantly expresses her mother’s difficulties—and her uneasy relationship with Harvey—through this poem.)

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and I finally had my very first mammogram.

We have no known case of breast cancer in the family, which is why I never actually went to get such an exam. But upon visiting an OB-GYN last week (and thanks to a generous health-card coverage), she pressed that I should get one. After all, I was, ahem, above 40. And whether there are cases of breast cancer in one’s family, all women are potentially at risk of the disease. Yes, just because we are women.

So in the mammogram room I stood, in my hospital gown partially open at the front. I was told to grip the handle of the machine, as the technician “arranged” my right boob first on one plate.

I will not lie...the examination hurt. The breast is squeezed by a plastic cover above and a metal plate underneath until that dreaded machine beeps, signalling that it can read your breast clearly. Then the radiologist hits a button to take its picture.

(The mammogram machine.)

But faster than one can say, “breast is best!”, it’s over. Well for one breast anyway. Then the radiologist does the other one. Ooof!

I winced the two times the mammogram machine read my breasts. But I guess it’s a good thing that we are women, because we are allowed to do just that. We are allowed to express our pain quietly or loudly, unlike the men who are forever doomed to keep it all in lest they be tagged as a wuss.

I must stress that the pain is tolerable though. Yes, it will make you yelp, but hardly will it make you scream. On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the pain of giving birth, a mammogram will probably just rate a 2 or 3. For those who’ve never had children such as myself, I just think that the benefits of getting a mammogram far outweigh the slight inconvenience of getting one’s boob squeezed tightly.

Another exam my OB-GYN recommended was the breast ultrasound. While a mammogram is usually just the only exam required for breast cancer screening, an ultrasound does supplement the former in that it helps detect smaller breast cancers.

At least the ultrasound was relaxing. A woman just needs to lie on the bed, while the technician uses a hand-held device as small as a computer mouse which is connected to a machine with a screen. She then runs this device—cool to touch because of the gel used—over each breast to check for any tiny abnormalities.

Both these exams will take less than an hour of one’s time. I suggest though that it’s better to get all exams for our female parts done, in one sitting. So get your Pap Smear done as well. The latter helps detects any issues with our vagina and thereabouts. (As soon as a woman is sexually active, she needs to visit an OB-GYN annually. You need not be pregnant to visit one, but it does help if you’d be able to tell the physician or her assistant, the first day of your last menses just for their records. So check your calendar before going to your OB-GYN.)

(To take a reading of your breast, it is gently squeezed between a film plate underneath and a plastic cover above.)

According to the ICanServe Foundation, a local group that has devoted itself to increasing breast cancer awareness, and functions as a support group to those afflicted with the disease, “the Philippines has the highest incidence of breast cancer in Southeast Asia. Breast cancer is also one of the leading causes of death among Filipino women. Most women with breast cancer have no known risk factors except that they are women.” So the group stresses that we women have to be vigilant in protecting ourselves against it.

Early detection is the key in helping us battle or survive the disease.

For women to be able to take care of others, we need to take care of ourselves first.

****

ICanServeFoundation is currently selling gift items at The Power Plant Mall on all weekends of October. Proceeds from the sale support its advocacy projects.

To know more about breast cancer, go to the foundation’s portal at www.icanservefoundation.org/?page_id=299 or visit the National Cancer Institute.

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday, in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. This piece was originally published on Oct. 14, 2011. Illustration and images from the web.)

October 23, 2008

Feelin' the flavas at Pink Kitchen

(By 6 pm Sunday, most tables were full of patrons eagerly eating the various food offered by concessionaires.)

I AM still semi-consciousness from the panic-eating Miggy and I did last weekend at the Pink Kitchen. Damn, the Rockwell Tent really rocked with all the yummies prepared by popular chefs and fancy restaurants. (Too bad we missed Le Souffle which prepared goodies for Sunday lunch. Miggy tried to wake me up by messaging me every which way, but I was still snoring away 'til Sunday noon. I only woke up to attend a 1 pm yoga class so I could sweat away the previous day's calories.)

(A butterfly waits to be released from captivity. Part of the table setting.)

My favorites from the Pink Kitchen (and sorry, I hardly took photos bec. I was relishing every morsel I put into my mouth) were Chefs Rob and Sunshine Pengson's foie gras and apple tartin (wonderful weird combination of earthiness and sweetness, totally to die for I had to order 2 more to bring home...ouch my heart!), the chicken and almonds dish of Maj Lazatin (super moist and tender!), the huuuge! salmon sandwich of Chelsea (with ripe mangoes and capers...yum!), the lemon meringue pie of Chocolat (just the right sweetness of the meringue to balance out the tartness of the lemon filling), and the great standards like Swiss Inn's fresh corned beef (although it was served mejo cold, but really, there was really no place to heat the food), and the quezo de bola sprinkled ensaimadas of the Cunanans.

(Cured meats and deli cheeses from Galileo Enoteca)

I wanted to try the Burmese station whose food had disappeared by the time we arrived past noon on Saturday so we patiently waited for it for Sunday dinner. I had mistakenly thought there were other foods to be served other than the noodle soup. There were a lot of diners who lined up for bowls of the spicy thing on Sunday, but I wasn't in the mood for noodle soup so I let it go. (It was masarap daw according to the two ladies who were also seated at our table. Much like the Malaysian or Indonesian Laksa.) Anyhoo, I went to the Indian food station instead but was not too happy w/ my lamb curry (too much turmeric! so overpowering), so I was glad I had Miggy shared her corned beef. Iba talaga pag comfort food. Pero wait, where was Chef Buddy Trinidad's stall? I didn't see it all. Either we arrived too late to catch his desserts or left too early before he set up. Sayang.

(Dimpy's frozen brazos is a favorite of Sis and Pangs. Much too sweet for me though.)

The Rockwell Tent was absolutely packed on both days and I saw a lot of old friends from media and from De La Salle, politicians and businessmen (some former sources for my scoops), as well as the usual beautiful people from the alta de sociedad (and those fallen from their roster, like the woman we like to call Black Widow.)

(Sis and her yummy salmon sandwich from Chelsea.)

From the media were Lali Alegria of BusinessWorld (w/ sister Teli), Dana Batnag of Jiji Press, Marianne Go of Phil. Star, Francine Medina Marquez of ABS-CBN Publishing, Ellen Tordesillas of Malaya, Tita Ethel Timbol (formerly of Mla Bulletin) and her daughter Bebeth; businessman Buboy Virata and his family, former Makati Business Club executive director Bill Luz, banker Mike de Jesus with the still lovely Ms. Universe Gloria Diaz; as well as politicians like Sen. Serge Osmeña with his wife Bettina, also a cancer survivor, and Sen. Chiz Escudero and his wife Christine and their 10-years-in-the-making twins. Also there was my fave Boracay cook Binggoy Remedios of Dos Mestizos with our pangs Teddy Montelibano hilong-talilong from all the food as usual.

(Comfort food...Cunanan ensaimadas)

I was only too glad to help out in this worthwhile fund-raising event for the ICanServe Foundation's breast health awareness projects...even if this meant busting my waistline. The food was generally good and the choices varied, but I just wish more chefs and restaurants had joined the effort. Miggy said the limited space and the unavailable spots for cooking and reheating food may have put off the more popular chefs and restaurants from joining the event. After all, most chefs are generally perfectionists and want their dishes served a certain way in a less chaotic setting. Sabagay.

(Our friend and breast cancer survivor Carla Paras Sison of Benpres, left, working hard at the ICanServe booth.)

I enjoyed myself last weekend and am surely looking forward to the next Pink Kitchen. Maybe the event can be held at a bigger and much cooler venue? Congratulations to the organizers, sponsors, chefs, cooks, restaurants, caterers, and dining patrons for supporting this event. See you next year.

October 18, 2008

Your P200 will go a long way

JUST wanted to remind everyone of Pink Kitchen 2008 this weekend at the Rockwell Tent, Power Plant Mall in Rockwell, Makati. Your P200 will go directly to ICanServe projects that raise breast care health awareness and subsidize medical treatment for breast cancer patients.

Here are the chefs, professional cooks, and restaurants who/that are whipping up their specialties so we can eat for a good cause:

COMPANY/BOOTH - cuisine / specialty

Bambina Herbosa - Tapa / Bibingka Galapong
Bettina Legarda - Mediterranean
Boyd's Coffee (Robert Francisco) - coffee & tea
Buddy Trinidad - desserts
Café Juanita (Boy Vasquez) - Asian, Filipino
Chariya Thaikupt - Thai
Chelsea - Deli sandwiches
Chocolat Bakeshop - Mini cream puffs
Cristina Santiago Rivera - desserts / Strawberry Charlotte
Dely Fernandez - Tuscan Provencale
Dimpy Camara - Frozen Brazo de Mercedes
Enderun - Salad & Smoothies Station
Estrel's - Caramel Cake
Everybody's Café (Poch Jorolan) - Kapangpangan
Galileo Enoteca (Vanessa Vitrano) - cold cuts and cheeses
Ipe Cruz & Mariko Jacinto - Italian & Japanese
Jaemark's - Tuna Panga, Belly & Buntot
Jasmin Magallanes - Healthy Cuisine
Judah Liu - Spanish
Kai (Chef Gilbert Pangilinan) - Neo Japanese
Kanin Club (Tony Cancio) - Crispy Dinuguan
Karen Young - Red Velvet Cake
La Tasca & Pazzo Gelato (Marilou Senn) - Spanish & Gelato
Maj Lazatin - Italian
Malu del Rosario - pastries
Mara de la Rama - desserts
Maricel Cunanan - Cunanan Ensaymada
Michele D'Orival - French
Minnie Puno - Wraps
Mona Valdes - Indonesian
Myrna Segismundo
Nana Meng (Margaux Salcedo) - Tsokolate
Offie Benavides - Filipino
Old Swiss Inn (Katrina Limcaoco) - Fresh Corned Beef
Pauline Gorriceta - Banusing Iloilo Specialties
Picole Healthy Pops (Candy Mejia) - Healthy Pops
Quito Jose - Thai
Rob & Sunshine Pengson - French
Roselyn Tiango - Desserts
Sigalit Djemal - Caviar Pie, Salmon Cream Pie
Suman Gogna - Indian
Susie Quiros - Lasagna
The Farm at San Benito - Macrobiotic Cuisine
Tippi Tambunting - Continental
Vargas Kitchen - Comfort Food
Wendy Ozamis - Singapore Hawker Style
WynnWynn Ong - Burmese
Happy Living Wines - wines
Premium Wine Exchange - wines

Clap for them, guys!

To help you navigate the maze of concessionaires, here's a map c/o the I Can Serve Foundation (click to enlarge). Btw there are shows every every evening starting at 8 pm so diners can hum along while having their dinner.



Here's a shout-out to my colleagues in media, shuck your free entrance and fork over the P200. It's for a good cause naman, noh?

* * * *

AT the same time, it's also Power Plant's pre-Christmas sale, so a visit to Rockwell this weekend is surely worth it.



Kain and shopping na!

September 19, 2008

Mailbag: Pink Kitchen II

THIS event is for a good cause. May I call on all my chef friends, cooks (amateurs and professionals), restaurateurs, and fellow foodies to please support this.
PINK KITCHEN II – GOOD FOOD FOR A GOOD CAUSE

Over the weekend of October 18 and 19th, 2008, one of Manila’s most anticipated food festivals–Pink Kitchen II—will again open its doors.

As Beth Romualdez, chairman of Pink Kitchen and an eminent chef in her own right, says, “The yummiest event of the year is back! Pink Kitchen II is a celebration that brings together cuisine from many parts of the world for people from all walks of life.”

Now in its second year running, Pink Kitchen will bring together over 50 chefs who are celebrated for their culinary expertise but most of whom do not have commercial establishments open to the general public. Pink Kitchen II will provide a once-in-a-year opportunity to indulge in these chefs’ elusive delicacies in a relaxed and festive atmosphere, brought together under one roof in the Rockwell Tent.

Pink Kitchen showcases cuisine from all parts of the globe including both traditional and innovative interpretations of favorite Filipino dishes. This year’s international selection takes us around the world and includes French, Italian, Spanish, Middle Eastern, Indian, Burmese, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian and Singaporean specialties. Diners, grazers, foodies and strollers will be spoilt for choice. There will also be a broad selection of cakes, pastries, baked goods and amazing confectionery to satisfy even the most demanding of sweet teeth. Wine enthusiasts will be able to browse through the selections of several of the country’s leading wine merchants. Via Reyes, Pink Kitchen’s head of project management, says, “Pink Kitchen is an event not to miss. Manila’s finest chefs are in the house and they will rock your taste buds!”

Last year, at its premiere outing, Pink Kitchen attracted over 6000 visitors. This year, the organizers are hoping that even more guests will attend. In addition to the central event of food and wine, Pink Kitchen II has organized talks and activities for the entertainment and education of its visitors. These include a Kids Cooking Demo by Mel Francisco; demos on Cake Decorating by Penk Ching and Healthy Cooking by Rob Pengson; a talk on Looking Good, Feeling Better by Adora and on Coffee by Robert Francisco; as well as a Wine Appreciation class conducted by Ines Cabarrus of Enderun Colleges, one of the country’s top hospitality management schools.

“Last year’s Pink Kitchen had something for each and everyone’s taste,” Elizabeth Virata, marketing and sponsorship head for Pink Kitchen says. “ It was exhilarating to see people of all ages, sizes, occupations and even political affiliations enjoying themselves. After all, who doesn’t like good food? And to have all these chefs’ food specialties under one roof to pick and choose from! So many guests came back two or three times and walked out with take-out bags of food. This year’s Pink Kitchen will be even better!”

All ticket sales for Pink Kitchen II will benefit ICanServe’s flagship project, “Ating Dibdibin,” the Philippines’ first community-based breast cancer screening program under the guidance of the American Cancer Society. ICanServe is a non-stock, non-profit foundation and advocacy group founded in 1999 to empower women with breast cancer information, treatment and hope. It also provides access to special services that will help breast cancer survivors recover and heal more effectively.

Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, founding president of ICanServe, says, “Everyone comes out a winner in Pink Kitchen. We celebrate the Filipino culinary geniuses. The rest of us, not as gifted in the culinary department, delight, devour and drink to life! As we all do what we do best, we support a very worthy cause.” ICanServe treasurer Bettina Osmena adds, “We are here to celebrate life and all its blessings. This is a perfect venue for us to share our good fortune and to pay it forward. Eat, drink and enjoy!”

Tickets for Pink Kitchen II are P200 for adults and P100 for children. They will be available at the entrance of Rockwell Tent on October 18 and 19, and can also be purchased from volunteers by calling the ICanServe hotline, 687 3942.

Pink Kitchen II’s team includes Bettina Osmena, chairman of ICanServe’s fund-raising committee; Beth Romualdez, project chairman, Elizabeth Virata, marketing and sponsorship head; Via Reyes, head of project management; Ina Vergel de Dios, logistics; Ria Romero, entertainment and marketing; Alice Orleans, ICanServe executive director; and Margie Jorillo, volunteer manager. Event styling is by Joseph Claraval.

For inquiries and comments please contact:

Via R. Reyes 0929 848 2918
Email: pinkkitchen08@yahoo.com
Or visit www.icanserve.net

* * * *

A note from my friend Carla Paras-Sison, herself a cancer survivor, on how to get your tickets:
Dear friends,

ICanServe Foundation brings back the culinary event of the year, Pink Kitchen 2. The entrance donation of P200 (or P100 for children below 12 years old) per person directly goes to ICanServe projects that raise breast care awareness and subsidize the medical treatment of breast cancer patients. Food sales (from 49 chefs/cuisines) go directly to the chefs. We are not charging them concessionaire fee or space rental for their booths. Some of them donated a portion of their sales to ICanServe last year but that is really not required.

Please see complete list of chefs/cuisines at: Pink Kitchen 2

For ticket orders, we have pick-up points in Pasig (care of Carla Sison, 0920 903 5053), Quezon City (care of Lian Chua, 0917 828 5426), Makati (care of Margie Jorillo, 0917 830 4562) and Mandaluyong (care of Lanie Eusebio, 0920 922 2827). Delivery may be arranged on a case-to-case basis.

Thanks,

Carla

Carla Paras-Sison
+632 449 2467
+63920 903 5053
http://carla1.multiply.com

See you there.