Archive for September, 2009

The Philippines Needs Your Help


How was your weekend? The chances are that you fared a thousand times better than the Filipinos who were caught unawares by tropical storm Ondoy (international name Ketsana). The Philippines experiences typhoons on a regular basis, and Filipinos are used to constant rain. As such, Friday night even saw a lot of people out partying and welcoming the weekend.

Saturday morning was a whole different story. People in the Metro Manila area experience rainfall like never before, and the floodwaters rose at an unprecedented rate. Rich or poor, it did not matter – everyone was left at the mercy of strong currents. Even huge houses were not spared, with floodwaters covering most of the edifices.

The weekend was definitely a horrific period of time for countless people in the metro. The news of the disaster has spread all over the world, with most of the attention focused on the metro. What many might not know is that thousands more of people are also in similar situations outside of the capital. In outlying provinces such as Laguna and Bulacan, people remain stranded on their roofs and in areas yet unreached by rescue efforts. Everywhere, people are clamoring for food and water, as well as clothes and practically anything that can help them start over.

There are countless volunteers offering their assistance. The problem is the goods are not nearly enough. If you go to the big supermarkets in Manila, you will see bare shelves. Many say they went shopping to donate the goods.

The bottom line is that these people need help, FAST. Splashpress Media has launched our campaign to help in whatever way we can. If you feel that you want to pitch in, please visit our donation page and read more. The Filipino people will surely appreciate every little bit.

Washington Resident New King In Ghana

PH2009091503551The average person has dreams of one day waking up and finding himself a rich heiress or a long lost member of a royal family. For most people, this remains but a dream, but for an embassy worker in Washington, it actually has come true. Peggielene Bartels has been working at Ghana’s embassy since the 1970s.

A little more than a year ago, Bartels got a call at 4 a.m. She learned that the king of Otuam, a town in Ghana about an hour from the capital. As things turn out, the former king was the uncle of Bartel, and after a traditional ritual of determining the next in line, Peggielene became the new “Nana.”

“Nana” is actually the honorific that the people of Ghana bestow upon people of stature. They use it to refer to people like kings as well as grandparents. Now, Bartel is royalty. The decision to take on the responsibility was not that easy for her. In fact, she struggled with it for three months, before she realized that she could not run away from her destiny.

So what is the life of the new king like? After traveling to Ghana for her coronation, Peggielene went back to Washington and resumed her post as a secretary. She does her own laundry, drivers herself around in a 1992 Honda, and answers to her boss. She serves as a “commuting king,” dividing her time between her being a king and being a secretary. She says that when she retires in five or six years, she plans on moving to Ghana and serving as their full time king.

Fairy tales do happen in real life, don’t they?

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