Samu't Sari: Conversations With Mimi

This guest is unstoppable -- when I asked her for a quote this is what she said

""Life is too short to regret those things that are left undone. So do everything while you still can and while we still have time. Value those things that have once been precious to our ancestors, for if you will not, who else will?!"

Hanna de Guzman explains how as a single working mother of 2 she is able to fulfill her various roles in life -- as guardian and parent to her kids, as a support person to her elderly mother, as a manager of their home affairs having recently renovated their ancestral home, how she tries to keep family traditions alive, including working from home in a very busy BPO as a quality analyst. Hanna is indefatigable! She is a super mom. Get to know Hanna as we explore how she copes with a very busy lifestyle.

Watch this very inspiring episode!

How a loving mom, studied and learned to be a reading specialist, in order to support a child with dyslexia. This is also a story about how homeschooling became the most practical and optimum option for his education. Meet our guest for this Samu't Sari Podcast.

Judith Sibonga has been an Educator for 18 years now. She has taught people of all ages, from Nursery (classroom teaching) to adults (parenting and marriage enhancement). Her longest stint however was with the Family Farm Schools where she worked in different capacities – from Tutor to Module Development Specialist to Pedagogy Head to Executive Director of the Federation.

In 2016, she began homeschooling her son, Javi. In 2017, when Javi was confirmed dyslexic, she trained with the Dyslexia Training Institute based in San Diego, CA. This has now become her passion that in 2019, she began one-on-one teaching to other students who are not only dyslexic but who have other learning disabilities as well. Last year, when Javi was also diagnosed with ADHD and Dysgraphia, she took a course and earned a Certificate in Executive Function Coaching from the Connections in Mind Foundation in the UK.

What is it like teaching online at the university or college level? How are mature students coping with online learning at this level? We invited Prof Tina Parina of DLSU-Manila to share her thoughts and experiences of how their tertiary institution adapted to learning and teaching online.

Holy Family School of Indang is a different kind of primary school, operating in a rural area or barangay in Indang, Cavite, Philippines. It is a non-stock, not for profit organisation that aims to uplift the standards of education for students from pre-kinder up to grade 6. It is a gem in a sea of jewels that deserve more recognition for the quality education it provides, giving opportunities for those living in the rural areas to have a better chance in education, through scholarship opportunities.

Recently the school also had to make some changes in its operations, and its curriculum brought about by COVID-19. The proved that they can still continue to provide the education through their brand of online learning.

Get to know how they did it through my interview with the School's Chairman of the Board of Directors, and School Administrator, Mr Nito Gatus.

Most young people are still confused about where they want to go in life and how they can achieve their goals and dreams. However, talking to Jessarene we found out how determined she is, how driven, how very hopeful for her future and thinking about how to help her family with her online business. Now doing team leader roles, training and assisting other online business owners and partners, Jessarene believes that anyone can do this, anyone can be an entrepreneur and can lead teams even at a young age. How inspirational is she! Hopeful that other young people find the courage to pursue their dreams as well and they can start small, just start somewhere and start now.

Who would have thought that LinkedIn would pave the way for me to meet this amazing lady Chloe Bright. She started as a VA (Virtual Assistant), and how she transformed her career into making it a business now with a small team. She has the best of both worlds, she says. She has come a long way and hopes to inspire other women that they too could dream, achieve and make it a reality.

Almost 2 years of online learning during COVID-19 changed the way schools and even early childhood education centres all over the world conducted their programs to fit into the “new normal.” Even little kids are not excempt from the effects of COVID-19 and how they behaved in the school, interacted with their classmates and even the activities had to change. The teaching style and programs had to change as well.

We invited Ms Raquel Chan, an early childhood educator back in the show to discuss the current situation in kindergarten, especially in her learning centre to update us on how things have changed or what is happening given that intermittent lockdowns are still happening to date.

Did you know that in New Zealand, the dairy farming industry brings in about $19 billion a year to the national economy? Dairying is spread across 1.74 million hectares of land and plays an important role in every regional economy. It is also a fact that being a dairy farmer is one of the pathways for Filipinos to get work permits in NZ. In this episode we speak to one kababayan we can be proud of, for his achievements in the dairy industry. Meet Mr Christopher Vila, who used to be a Vet in the Philippines who traded his career to explore work opportunities as a dairy farmer in NZ. After more than 10 years in NZ, he now holds the most prestigious award given by the NZ Dairy Industry.

Chris is the --

• National Winner of 2021 New Zealand Dairy Manager of the Year

• First Filipino who won a National Award in the New Zealand Dairy Industry Award

• First Pinoy and Asian who won in Waikato Dairy Manager of Year Category

• Recipient of 2021 Kiwi-Pinoy Heroes Award

Let’s hear it from Chris himself who talks about his life and how he can use his position now to help uplift the Filipino dairy farmers in NZ.

We invited Fr Dennis Nacorda of Wellington New Zealand to another episode to update us on what the situation is like being a priest for a local community whose work is also affected by the pandemic. He will share with us his experience of "pivoting" worship services to go online and how he helps his parishioners during the pandemic.

Inah Charina's rags to riches story has already been featured in some TV and radio shows in the Philippines but she still let me interview her for the podcast. She is very driven, business savvy and is now enjoying the benefits or her hard work. Her ethos includes helping other starting online sellers to get a chance in order to succeed like her. Let's get to know Inah and how she did it.