Etiquette de Manille honors Maharlika Women

Maharlika comes from the words maha, meaning great or noble (as in Taj Mahal or mahatma), and lika, meaning creation or expression.

Chary is a pro-adoption advocate who spends most of her time being with children. She is the founder of happy2help, a disaster relief and charity group. All year round, happy2help runs a literacy class and daily feeding program for indigent children at a convent in Taguig. She also works closely with the Makati City Jail cooperative on livelihood programs. Chary serves as an advisor to high school students that would like to pursue studies at universities in the United States. She maintains a regular column in Smart Parenting magazine. Together with her cousins, she supervises her family’s serviced apartment, Somerset Olympia Makati.

On Juggling Roles & Responsibilities: As a mother to two children, my main role is to always be in tune with their needs, and help them solve the problems they encounter. If my child is having difficulty in a particular subject, it’s my job to be aware before test time comes. If it’s a subject I am not that familiar with, I look for a tutor or print worksheets from the net. If my child desires to be better at a sport or hobby, I look for a coach or enroll them in a class. If it’s an emotional problem, we talk it over and come up with strategies to addressing it. I plan some fun stuff too like movies, trips to a good restaurant or a weekend out of town when I see that my children need some R&R.

 

Don’t try to do everything yourself. If a tutor or someone else can help, get them involved because they might be able to do a better job. Also, don’t sweat the small stuff. If kids don’t eat three servings of vegetables a day, and if their grades are less than perfect, or if they aren’t interested in performing in school plays or recitals, then so be it. As long as the kids are healthy, disciplined, confident and happy, they will turn out fine. Have faith. Try to see your kids as they are today. Maintaining good communication lines is very important. Talk about things that matter to them. Be part of their world.

 

 

Chary and Luc

Chary’s Favorite Books: I love all kinds of books but lately I have been reading a lot of young adult books like “A Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. I just finished the first two books of the Divergent trilogy, which are memorable because my son and I were reading them at the same time and discussing the plot twists every step of the way. Right now I’m reading “Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything” by Fr. James Martin.

Inside-and-out Beauty Secrets : Trying to be beautiful on the outside is an ongoing struggle with diet and exercise. I admittedly buy a lot of dresses and shoes, but I don’t spend that much because I enjoy shopping for bargains. I love the jersey dresses of Alegre and Label, and the shoes of Sapato Manille.

 

Outreach, the kind that really fulfils you, is a matter of keeping an eye out for what people need or want, and taking action to help them get it. I am referring not just to charity work or disaster relief. There are always opportunities to help all around you even if nothing calamitous is happening. I cherish the chance to help someone, even if it is just to recommend a store, a restaurant or an expert who I think my friend would appreciate hearing about. Complimenting and openly supporting endeavors is a great way to give others a boost, and with all the social media networks, sending out good vibes has never been easier.

 

Chary and Lito Mercado . Photo taken by Vincent Coscolluela

As a Maharlika: I was trained to be a journalist and to write non-fiction. Two years ago, I decided to try my hand at creative writing by joining the Gig Children’s Storybook Writing Contest. The contest required us to write a story catered to the children of overseas workers. It was difficult to write a children’s story interlaced with complex and depressing topics like parental neglect! Luckily, my story was one of the 10 chosen by the judges. The organizers even hired Kuya Bodjie of Batibot to read it aloud during the awarding ceremony, and he ended up crying while reading it. I consider the whole theme of absentee parenthood a very disturbing reality today so I didn’t sugar coat the issue in my story. In my parenting columns and in my talks with the parents of the children in our literacy school, I tell people to take their parental responsibilities seriously.