On April 4th, the Spouses of Heads of Mission (SHOM) together with its charity partner for 50 years, International Bazaar Foundation (IBF), distributed profits of International Bazaar 2024 to four local beneficiaries.
The SHOM representatives led by SHOM Chairperson for International Bazaar, Mme. Michelle Hejcova of Czechia (Czech Republic), Monsieur Arkadiusz Tracz of Hungary, and Mme Indri P. Akyol of Türkiye, together with IBF Chairperson, Mme Pamela Louise Manalo, handed over the checks to representatives of the beneficiaries.
The checks handover ceremony that was held at IBF’s office at Double Dragon Tower awarded around ₱850,000. The funds will be used to support the four selected beneficiaries with their proposed programs, as follows:
- 1. GreenEarth Heritage Foundation - iGreenEarth's continuing educational initiatives for its
rural poor children by providing funds to repair the eaves of their Learning Center Roof and
support the stipends of 2 teachers of their Literacy Program. - 2. Guanella Center Inc. - the center offers Guanella Home, a residential program housing 20
children and adult men with physical and mental disability deprived of family support. This
grant will support a full year of medication and psychological assessment for the residents. - 3. Marillac Hills - led and proposed by Zonta Club of Makati and Environs Psychological
Center, Marillac Hills, home of sexually abused & exploited girls, will use the grants to
sustain tutors’ fee for 2 years of weekly tutoring in Math and English, in order for the girls to
acquire a high school diploma. - 4. Voice of the Free - The Buklod Laya Kitchen Livelihood Program aims to empower survivors
of trafficking, abuse, and exploitation by equipping them with essential culinary skills and
entrepreneurship training.
At SHOM and IBF joint press conference back in October 2024, SHOM & IBF stated the importance of cooperation by local and international communities to demonstrate the powerful impact of community driven efforts in addressing global challenges.
The International Bazaar, the last of which was held on November 3rd, 2024 with the participation of 39 embassies and local vendors that occupied 189 booths, had a foot traffic of around 4,000 people. With similar numbers every year, it is always considered as the largest international bazaar featuring diplomatic missions in the Philippines.
Veronica Jimenez and Mme. Indri P. Akyol