Hello readers, far and wide! In lieu of my “regular” Foodie Friday post, I will be doing a bit of a Feature Friday post for FundLife International a nonprofit organization harnessing the power of play to educate, inspire and empower in my home country of the Philippines and its sister organization, Girls Got This.
You see, tomorrow, 10 a.m. PH time, I will be hosting a live talk in Instagram with two ladies with interesting stories to share and to show us how we can help vulnerable girls in the Philippines in this time of pandemic. Join us for a chat about football, beauty pageants, teaching and learning, and many more of our personal advocacies.
See y’all!
Patrina
We are on IG @mspatsperous @_girlsgotthis @gabbi_carballo @evamadarang
(This graduation season, let me share the speech I made which I delivered for FundLife International’s Football for Life Academy during the Graduation and Recognition Rites last April where I was chosen as keynote speaker.)
Today marks a very special day in the minds and hearts of our dear student-athletes and to everyone around, especially the parents, who are able to share this momentous event. Mr. Michael Parado, Palo National High School, Mrs. Genalyn A. Go, San Jose National High School, FundLife administration and staff, Football for Life Academy Coaches, players, parents, friends, and guests, good morning! Magandang Umaga! Maupay nga aga! Buenos dias!
I am Ms. Patrina Kaye N. Caceres, a licensed professional teacher, presently an English and humanities instructor at the Eastern Visayas State University, teaching internship grantee in Spain from 2016 to 2018 by the Spanish Ministry of Education; 2016-2017 ambassador of the Philippines for Girl Rising, a US based organization that promotes girl empowerment through education; a football and futsal coach, more importantly as Coaches Across Continents (CAC) Community Impact Coach (CIC) for the Philippines since 2015 up to present. CAC is a global NGO partnering with organizations like FundLife to promote sport for social impact and education outside the classroom. Arts and crafts hobbyist, blogger and writer, and reading and Spanish language learning advocate.
I had my humble beginnings as a B.A. Communication Arts, major in Literature student and football athlete of the University of the Philippines juggling my academics and extracurricular activities especially, as the president of the UP Football Club in my senior year. Kagaya ninyo, mga manlalaro, isa rin po akong atleta. However, the best name and designation I ever had and will forever be grateful of is Coach Patty, Football for Life Academy, formerly Football for Life (F4L): Tacloban coach. I was one of the pioneer F4L coaches in 2014 and I will always be proud to have been a part of it, no matter where opportunities bring me because FundLife and F4L/FFLA made me believe in myself to chase after my dreams, and trained me to be a better leader, educator, and person.
Dear student athletes, what do you want to be when you grow up? By now, you might have no idea, or maybe you do. But here’s my say on that, no matter what you want to be, or what you want to study in college, you already have an edge because you are athletes. Kahit ano man ang gusto mong maging, makakaya mo dahil isa kang atleta. As what Ronaldo de Asis Morreira commonly known as Ronaldinho, a Brazilian former professional football player, and ambassador of FC Barcelona or Barcelona Football Club, had said “I learned all about life with a ball at my feet”. Football teaches you that in this field called life, you have to have discipline, perseverance, patience, wise decision-making, camaraderie and respect for others and respect of oneself to achieve your goals. Itinuturo ng futbol ang mga ugaling mabubuti upang maabot ang inyong mga pangarap. You’re already halfway at achieving your goals as long as you are grounded in these values. My congratulations to you for this milestone success in your life as students.
Moreover, to the parents and guardians of our student athletes, thank you for supporting your children to become better versions of themselves. My challenge for you is to become their role models at home, because what they learn at home, they apply outside, in school, in football training and in the community. Muli, maraming salamat sa ating mga magulang para sa inyong suporta.
In addition, to the teachers, school administrators, and Department of Education officials, my colleagues in the academe, thank you for your hardwork in teaching our students all that they need to learn and for realizing the importance of sport as a tool for nation building. I salute each one of you.
Finally, to the people behind FundLife and the Football for Life Academy, give yourselves a pat on the back for one, organizing this event and realizing the importance of giving recognition to the efforts of the reason for your very existence, the players, and secondly, for all that you have accomplished as an NGO for the past four, almost five years. To the hardworking coaches, keep on educating, inspiring, and empowering.
Of course, I have to say this again, to our student athletes, congratulations for finishing your elementary, junior high school or senior high school education, I am excited for the many more goals that the strikers will score, passes that the midfielders will successfully make, tackles that the defenders will execute, and shots that the goalkeepers like me will save in the game of football. Please uphold respect and fair play, on and off the field always. I am looking forward to the many more goals outside the field that you’ll achieve in your young life, and the places you’ll go as you find your passion and pursue your purpose in life. Keep on playing, believing, and achieving. Maglaro para matuto, mangarap ng magandang buhay, maniwalang kaya mo, at abutin niyong isa-isa ang bawat pangarap na may disiplina, pagpupursigi, pasensya, pagninilay-nilay, pakikipagkapwa, at respeto.
Let me leave you with lines from “Oh the Places You’ll Go” by Theodore Seuss Geisel popularly known as Dr. Seuss, a cartoonist, and writer and poet of many children’s classics.
Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!
You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
…
Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the most winning (winning-est) winner of all.
…
Again, congratulations to our student athletes, steer yourself in the direction of your dreams. Be full of knowledge, be wise in your decisions, and be grounded on good values. Life may be tough at times, but remember that you are winners who can achieve anything you set your mind and heart to. Your parents and relatives, teachers, school officials and the Department of Education, your FundLife and Football for Life Academy family, and your friends, will always be here for you. Thank you, salamat, muchas gracias, and again, I am Coach Patty, wishing you a very pleasant morning!
A week ago, on the 5th of September, I celebrated my 30th birthday. Yes, the big 3-0 in this roller coaster of a life. Being a lover of lists, I wanted to share a list of the things that I find important. Some of the items in the list are my challenges for my self.
Smile.
Cook (intentionally) healthy food.
Eat healthy.
Walk.
Breathe deeply.
Pause (meditate) everyday.
Say “thank you”.
Read.
Dance.
Sing.
Choose to speak kindly.
Frisbee.
Football.
Swim, surf.
Travel wisely.
Go back to your roots, catch up with important people in your life.
Believing that ““Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does”, as Nelson Mandela did. We, at Fundlife International, through the Football for Life Academy (FFLA), have for four years now, used football as an engaging and empowering tool for children and youth in the communities affected by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
This year, FFLA is continuing to PLAY, BELIEVE and ACHIEVE. We had a dream, of one day watching the World Cup, and we’re well on the way to that dream. Thanks to our friends from VibeWorld for capturing our story and to all who believe that a group of people with shared values and vision can make things possible, our gratitude is extended to you too.
We are excited to share about the FFLA delegation that will be participating at the FIFA Foundation Festival, an official event of the FIFA World Cup Russia. Four amazing players and one inspiring coach traveled to Moscow this week to participate in a series of sports and development, and cultural activities, capping it off with a World Cup Match viewing.
The word “sangkay” means friend in Winaray, our local language in the region of Eastern Visayas, Philippines. This is a story of how my “mga sangkay” (friends) back home in Tacloban City, who are also football players and enthusiasts, formed a new team in 2016. In the two years since its inception, Sangkay FC has shown their football talent, discipline, camaraderie and goodwill on the field in local tournaments.
This year, they have the chance to finally show the rest of the country how a group of individuals with shared passion and values can work hard towards a goal. That goal is to be able to participate in the “15th THIRSTY FOOTBALL CUP” one of the Philippines’ largest seven-a-side football tournaments, from 23rd to 25th February, 2018, in Cebu City, a few hours in a boat ride away from Tacloban City and they need as much help for travel, food and accommodation costs.
As their “sangkay”, I realized, I can do more than just donate money on my own. I know there are people out there who will be reached by my blog who also believe in the power of sport to teach values that will make us achieve our dreams. Your help, no matter how small, will go a long way. Your $10 or even $5 will make a Sangkay FC DREAM come true! Thanks for any support you can give to my “mga sangkay”!
Viktor Frankl, in his book of triumph over adversity, once said, “those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear almost any ‘how’.” And since reading his book, I’ve been trying to figure out what my ‘why’ is. And often, you get the answer through a life threatening adversity, that adversity for me, was Typhoon Haiyan, locally known in the Philippines as Yolanda. On November 8, 2013, my family, together with many other families, in my hometown of Tacloban City experienced what would be known as the strongest typhoon in recent history with winds of up to 285 km/h and storm surges (that caused thousands of deaths) of up to 15 feet.
We will never forget at how that typhoon destroyed not only houses but claimed lives and dreams. It is our collective prayer that those who perished in the storm would find peace in the Great Beyond and it is our collective hope that we, who lived and survived through it would make our lives more meaningful by being a blessing to the lives of the people we encounter in our daily existence. What I have learned by surviving this dark moment in our history is that you have to live your life as if today is your last day. To be kind to others, because we all have our own battles. And although I do have times when I stray from this path (I make mistakes), I see to it that I will be able to make up to the negative things that I have done and ask forgiveness for the hurt I have caused.
What am I here for? Why did I survive that supertyphoon? To live my why. And my why is to “educate, inspire and empower”. I’ve always wanted to be a teacher, when I was a kid (among many other things – prima ballerina, astronaut, lawyer, restaurant owner), and the typhoon made me rethink my priorities, I did not want to be caught in the rat race of just working day in and day out and not find happiness, I want my existence to matter. After the typhoon, all I wanted, was to be happy while being able to change the lives of the people I encounter. And when you know what you want, the Universe gives you just what you need.
A year after the typhoon, an opportunity to help young survivors of the typhoon overcome the tragedy and to bring back hope in their dreams came. For two years, I worked for Football for Life: Tacloban (F4L), a program by Fundlife International, where we teach life skills through football and bring back normalcy to the lives of children and youth affected by the typhoon through play. Most of the children I’ve worked with come from underprivileged families and I know that in the time I have been their “Coach Patty”, I have inspired them to not let anything hold them back from their goals. As long as they believe in themselves, anything is possible.
F4L coaches and players with Arsenal in the Community coaches, Matt and Jamie
For two years, I have been working with people who believed in my potential and who listened to my dreams, no matter how big or crazy they were. The very reason why I got chosen as a Community Impact Coach for Coaches Across Continents (CAC) and traveled with them to Indonesia, April this year, and applied and got into a teaching internship program here in Spain which started in October this year. Working for Football for Life made me overcome the trauma of the typhoon and the children have made realize the important thing in life – to be happy. Material possessions and everything can be taken from us but one thing that cannot be taken is our attitude towards circumstances. We are still alive, we could have died during the typhoon, but we are still here, so let’s make the most of our existence by helping others, in every little way we can.
Coaches Across Continents seminar with Uni Papua, a football organization in Indonesia
As I remember that fateful day, I am in tears. But I am not ashamed of these tears, because these tears are a reminder at how fleeting life can be and that material possessions are not what’s important in this existence, life is the most important possession that we have. Today is day 1,096 and I am feeling happy that no one in my family was taken by the storm but at the same time sad for the lives that have been taken away. Today is day 1,096 and I am fulfilling my life’s mission of educating and helping others.
Get to know more about Football for Life:Tacloban at http://www.facebook.com/f4lcf and visit fundlife.org to learn more about our awesome organization. Head on over to http://www.coachesacrosscontinents.org too, our partner orgnization that teaches sports for social impact around the world and of course, visit http://www.unipapua.net to learn more about what good they’re doing in Indonesia.
We have taken part in a great adventure. And though it’s been more than a month after that trip, the memories are still fresh as if it were only yesterday. Travel with us to the land of pharaohs and pyramids, Egypt! You read it right, I co-coached and supervised the Philipiine Team delegation to the 2015 SATUC World Cup, an indoor football tournament that aims at bringing together youth of different nations in the spirit of friendship, cultural exchange and sportsmanship.
Together with Coach (John) Jason Vergara, we brought eight promising footballers from different parts of the country, namely, Ronan Ibuna, Gerald Abao, Dave Uygongco, Jet Baña, Nicollo Benito, Adrian Lim, Jim Mendoza and Jan Reu Mendoza. It has been a pleasure coaching these kids because they are passionate about football, relate to each other and the other delegates very well and they have a fun-loving demeanor. These have been the highlights of our attempt to bring home the SATUC World Cup. Though we went home without it, we brought with us a rekindled passion to do better at our game, memories that will remain vivid and most importantly, friendships that would last a lifetime and that would not have happened had it not been for the generosity of the organizers, Shiekha Al Thani for Uniting Children (SATUC) and the mother-daughter tandem behind it, Madame Meshkah Tawfik (SATUC CEO) and Shiekha, the 16-year-old founder (may you blessed with more!)
The SATUC cup, Jan Reu, Gerald and Ronan
August 26
(Manila)
We travel to Bangkok today. After having my sunblock in a 200 ml container (not full) and tweezers confiscated from my hand-carry at the airport, the trip didn’t have any other glitch. We left the country all excited!
A view of the Bangkok International Airport…
(Bangkok)
We arrived here at around 7 p.m. (BKK time), 6 p.m. in the Philippines and our trip to Egypt will be after seven hours of wait time, 1 a.m. We just rested in the lounge, went online on Facebook and ate snacks and dinner in between.
One of the many installments at the Bangkok airport…
August 27
We have arrived in Egypt!
The ten-hour plane travel to Egypt took its toll on us, we were all tired when we arrived. To make matters worse for me, I had a migraine attack and I felt jetlagged. We arrive at around 5 am (Egypt time). SATUC staff greeted us upon arrival and at the arrival area, there they were, Madame Meshkah and Shiekha and the rest of the organizers. First impressions for me, last, and they were all very accommodating and gracious. Shiekha even went with us in our coaster to the hotel and we talked about random stuff like dogs, the travel and how “we’ll all have much fun together”.
Chatting with the princess, while Dave rests…
Arriving at the hotel, we hung out with Shiekha and we introduced ourselves to her. Then we were assigned to our rooms (I stayed alone in a room because I was the only female in the Philippine delegation), and I immediately slept upon settling down, I was feeling rather sick. I woke up when it was almost dinnertime. When we went to the hotel lobby, we were introduced to Ibrahim, our guide, and he explained to us about the schedule for meals, trainings, and Egyptian culture, among others. Some of the other delegations have arrived and we all had dinner together. We enjoyed our food, a mix of Egyptian cuisine, pastas, and pastries. (I adore Arabic food and I will cook some and share the experience to my family and friends.)
August 28 and 29 were training days for the teams at the stadium. Two delegations take turns at a time. It was a great way for the players to adjust to the size of the playing area and their bodies to the temperature – VERY hot outside the stadium and airconditioned inside. Evening of the 29th was the event press conference. It was a glamorous event, with football-themed decorations. The groupings were drawn – we will be playing with Egypt, Syria and England in our group while Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Algeria and Morocco are in the other group.
Warming-up before the training…
Football-themed decorations…
August 30
Philippines versus Egypt
Our game against Egypt is the first game in the entire tournament and we started on a rather bad note. We were prepared for a six-a-side tournament as per invitation and communications we got and at the moment when the referee noticed that we had six players on the futsal court, he said we needed to have only five. We talked with the tournament officials but they insisted on just having a 5-a-side tournament, even England’s coaches were disappointed with this because they also prepared for 6-a-side. Despite the misunderstanding, our boys played well enough, Egypt having a hard time scoring in the first half. They made successive goals in the second half and the game ended in a 5-0 scoreline in favor of Egypt. Coach Abd El, Head Coach of Egypt, teased us that we’ll go down at 8-0… But we didn’t, at least! 😀 Our game against England ended in a 4-0 scoreline and an injured player, Gerald. He had to be sent to the hospital and good thing that he was cleared of fractures. Games continued until the afternoon and in the evening, at around 6p.m., VIP’s started arriving to grace the “Opening Event” featuring a lights and sound show and dance performances.
August 31
Team Philippines with Shiekha and a SATUC 2015 Ambassador, Rabah Madjer, a skillful Algerian striker who was feared in his heyday…
Our last elimination game was against Syria – youth displaced by the turmoil in their country represented their team. These youth have experienced so much hardship but they have resilience, something we could get inspiration from. We might have had this game if only our lineup was complete, what with Gerald still injured and was advised to rest on the bench. Our defense was having a hard time, Syria scored three goals. But the warrior in Gerald eventually came out, wanting to do something for the team, he was cleared to go before halftime and what seems a lucky circumstance, scored a goal for the Philippines. We fought hard but ended up in the losing end, still, in a 5-1 scoreline.
Huddle…
I wanted to step-up as a coach at this point, not just as a goalkeeping coach, I even had mental notes of what I wanted to tell the players in the huddle before the game, but to no avail, as I felt sidelined. Having nothing to do but focus on the goalkeeper’s training. I vowed to myself that in the game the following day, battle for seventh against Algeria, I would step-up, by hook or by crook. You know that feeling of wanting to do something, even just to reinforce the players with positive remarks, so that they’ll feel good about themselves – something that I wasn’t able to do for the past two days of the elimination games.
We all have different styles of coaching, some are bossy while I see myself as a democratic coach who believes in shared-decision making and being a guider, but I am someone who also knows when to draw the line. And I drew just that. I had a mission, of stepping up the following day. Because I believe that “when the team loses, it’s the coach’s fault, when the team wins, give all the credit to the players” and with my not stepping up, I was liable for their losses.
September 1
Today is the day that I stepped up. And after their warm-up routine, I huddled them and started talking of how far away we’ve travelled from and how we’ve lost in our other games, and how we’ll be going home as heroes despite our loss, but we’ll be remembered as losers and not as fighters if we don’t even bring home a single win. I just told them to play as if they were playing a championship game, to treat not the game as a battle for seventh but as the most-awaited match. I was the coach who was standing the entire time of the game, I motivated them and suggested our players what to do, and boy, did I feel good at how they played their hearts out.
Algeria in green and Philippines in blue…
Despite Algeria scoring the first goal in the game, I just told our players that we still have a lot of time to make goals. And of how much I wanted to see them win and we did, the game ending in a 5-1 scoreline in favor of the Philippines with goals made by Jan (2), Nicco (1), Dave (1) and Gerald (1), the best goal (for me) as it was a buzzer-beater via long-lofted shot two feet away from our arc. Nevertheless, it was great teamwork that made them achieve the win, Jim, Adrian, and Jet helping out and making great passes, even attempts to score goals, and brave and hard-working goalkeeper, Ronan, whose eyes were always on the ball and everywhere (that is possible for a great goalie, peripheral vision is your ally).
After our game, the battles for fifth and third were played next, all leading to the final match which was between Ivory Coast and Egypt and with Egypt ending up as the victor in the finals. They deserved to win the cup. It was a well-played game, with Ivory Coast battling it out until the final whistle was blown. In the evening of today, we celebrated Egypt’s victory and the success of the 2015 SATUC World Cup in a sumptuous dinner and a cake party after, where there were impromptu dancing, and showing-off of talents, and the boys, coaches, players and organizers having fun, (I even had a wedding proposal from a Syrian kid, who despite his difficulty in speaking English, asked adults around, to translate, and ask me if I would like to be engaged to him, hahaha!) And funny thing is, he told his coach that I broke his heart. “Poor kid, you’ll find the right lady for you, it’s not just meant to be you and me”, what laugh we all had!
The kid on the left is jokingly asking me to be his lady… 😛
September 2
Us at the pyramids with 2015 SATUC Ambassador, Baba Seck of Mauritania.
Today, we’ll have our tour of the city and be off to visit the Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza. It felt surreal, travelling to Giza, having a glimpse of the majestic Nile River, on our way. We had a lot of fun under the Egyptian sun, and when we were in the desert, the marvelous pyramids welcomed us, we got to climb the steps on its outside and took several pictures as souvenir. Lucky of me to be able to pick a small stone from its blocks and pebbles too. I told the stone that I’ll be bringing it with me and how it’s going to bring me good luck, instead of bad. You know, how there are several instances where bringing souvenirs bring bad luck to its bearer. So much for that. I also got to ride a camel, the players and other coaches did have a short ride on the back of a camel too, it was terrifying at first but when you get a hang of it, it’s not that bad at all. Team Philippines was set to leave later in the evening, and upon arrival back to the hotel, we packed our bags and we readied to go. And when it came for us to leave, we surprised Shiekha with our rendition of “Leaving on a Jetplane” which made all of us teary-eyed, even Madame Meshkah, the other kids and many of the organizers. Way to leave a mark, Team Philippines. We’d surely miss the new friends we’ve made and we all promised to keep in touch.
The camel-ride…
Took a picture of this cool kid from London… Thanks for being a good model, who listens to instructions…
Jim, I angled my camera wrongly… Anyway, this is still a good picture of you and the Sphinx…
Saying goodbye to new friends from Algeria…
Ready, sing… “All our bags are packed, we’re ready to go”.
Farewell, our brother, Ibrahim… Our trusted guide… ‘Til we meet you again…
September 3
We arrived in Manila, late in the evening today. Our flight was still via Bangkok. And having difficulty sleeping, I spent hours watching movies on the individual entertainment system in the plane. It dawned on me what great memories we have shared from the great adventure. Reminiscing them makes me want to go back to Egypt in the future, I just might. I will. 😉 The opportunity for all of us has been a great blessing and the great adventure that has just ended is actually the beginning of our journey to be better players, better coaches and better people. We will keep our SATUC experience the victory which we will consider as our last best and it is our goal to surpass our performance in the cup. Again, from Team Philippines, thank you and congratulations to SATUC, Shiekha Al Thani, Madame Meshkah Tawfik, coaches and players, and of course, the SATUC 2015 ambassadors, for the success of this year’s cup!
mspatsperous 