Giving joy and laughter to the kasambahays of DVA was such a high for me. Also in the photo are DVA Board of Governors Dr. Benny Herbosa, Dexter Ang, Dr. Rouel Azores, Atty. Sig Fortun (president), Herber Consunji; and Windy Imperial. 

I didn’t realize how many residents of the Dasmariñas Village in Makati City read the Manila Bulletin online and the actual hard copy flipping the newsprint page by page. 

One resident even told me that during the pandemic, he would dry the newspaper for two days and then read the stale news two days after. Their love for Manila Bulletin is not the only thing that fascinated me; it was their passion to help others. 

For two consecutive weeks, I worked with the president of the Dasmariñas Village Association (DVA), Atty. Sig Fortun and their board members created a sustainable project in collaboration with the Daughters of St. Anne Convent (DSA), where we teach homeless families how to make rosaries and sell them. 

Giselle Sanchez (in green) together with the members of the Dasmarinas Village Association in collaboration with the Daughters of St. Anne Convent give joy to the children of the homeless families whose parents are being taught new work skills for self- sustenance.

The stories of the homeless members moved the board members to the point that one board governor of DVA, Herbert M. Consunji, pledged that he, together with the other members of DVA, will finish the housing project called the "Mento Home" that  I started inside the convent for the homeless families DSA have been mentoring. 

The Mentor Home aims to house them temporarily so that they can teach these families skills to get jobs and become self-sufficient. When they have reached self-sufficiency, they can find a new home, and a new homeless family will live in the Mentor Home. Aside from teaching them job skills, the nuns will also incorporate the homeless family members to have a personal relationship with God and teach their children how to read and write. 

The Mentor Home can house four families. I started this project when I joined and won an international beauty competition during the pandemic because I wanted to build this Mentor Home for the homeless. Together with the Noble Queens of the Universe (NQUI) Title Holders Megan Camaisa (USA 2020), Patricia Javier (Philippines 2019), and founder of NQUI Eren Noche, we were able to start the Mentor Home, but due to lack of funds was not able to finish it. With the help of Herbert Consunji and the DVA, my dream of finishing Mentor Home has become a reality.

Though I am not a resident of Dasmariñas Village, I am happy that Atty. Sig Fortun (first row, leftmost) tapped the Giselle Sanchez Foundation, Inc. to collaborate with DVA to create projects to help others. Our collaboration with the Daughters of St. Anne was a success. 

Just last Sunday, DVA made another gracious gesture by giving back love and blessings to the “kasambahays” or household help of the members of the DVA. Around a hundred household helpers and drivers celebrated at the DVA Pavillion, and I was invited to host and make the program more fun and entertaining. 

There were singing contests and games, but what got the kasambahays in a joyous mood was the “Bato Bato Pick” game that Windy Imperial and his son Atty Dino Imperial sponsored. They gave each kasambahay P50.00 to find a partner and play Stone-Paper-Scissors or, in Filipino Bato-Bato-Pick”. 

If you lose, you need to give your P50.00 to the winner, and the winner shall have to find another player holding money. It’s a winner-take-all game. Singing and making the kasambahays laugh was such a great feeling for me. Thank you, DVA, for your noble heart in making people from all walks of life happy. Indeed there is joy in giving.