Filipina Women of Substance to the fore
The seven women who were selected from the Gulf region enthralled the huge audience with their stories
Dubai: When Mary Jane Tupaz was asked to narrate a tale that explained her passion for serving the needy, the audience were spell-bound to hear her absorbing story that showed her belief in helping the needy in the hour of crisis.
Tupaz, a nurse by profession, was flying home to the Philippines when she helped a pregnant woman who went into labour on board. When the pilot announced the need for a medical professional, Tupaz volunteered without any hesitation.
Finding the woman bleeding profusely, Tupaz urged the pilot to make an emergency landing when the plane was flying over India. She nursed the mother and the baby by staying overnight in that country.
Tupaz who is working as the head of the Nursing Department of Mohammad Dossary Hospital in Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia, is one of the seven Filipinas from the Gulf who were honoured in Dubai recently for displaying qualities of leadership, portraying the spirit of women.
Women of Substance 2012, organised by Illustrado magazine, was aimed at inspiring more women to become trend-setters in life. Philippine Ambassador Grace Relucio-Princesa, stressed the importance of women stepping forward and achieving glory through service to humanity.
Charity work
Lou Parroco was recognised for her charity work.
Since 2009, she and her husband, Cesar have been spearheading charities that are helping Filipinos in the UAE and in the Philippines. Lou is working as a global HR manager for LMKR, a technology provider of software and service for the oil and gas industry.
The couple created innovative ideas to raise charity. One of the themes were — ‘Colour for Her’ — a concept aimed at the Filipinas to help them afford the smallest pleasure of vanity like lipstick.
The couple collected over 1,000 tubes of lipstick during their vacation in the Philippines and distributed the tubes to cleaners, street vendors and maids.
They also staged a ‘Heart Party’ — series of tour hour dance parties — in cooperation with the Filipino Dance Club of Dubai and donated the entrance fee to Anawim Foundation in the Philippines.
Leadership values
Nina Quintos was picked for her leadership traits and who is at the present one of the top architects in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Her drive to become the best is inspirational and as project manager of Cadiz International, she managed projects such as the Al Hamra Mall in Ras Al Khaimah that won the Design Merit award from the International Council for Shopping Centres, Middle East and North Africa Region in 2011. Her motto is: “Don’t let anyone set the limits for you. If you know what you want, go for it”.
Emelyn Martinez is the embodiment of ambition and achievement through her hard work. She wanted to prove that engineering is not a profession only for men. She accumulated degrees with ease and at 34, is still studying for Master in Law at Robert Gordon University in Scotland.
She works as Managing Consultant at Hill Internationals Dubai and even went on to become the former President of the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineers International, UAE, which she grew into the largest chapter in the world outside their headquarters in the US. Emelyn is also a marathon runner since 2008.
Marietta Morada used her academic excellence to serve her country’s government and Filipino community in the UAE.
Hide Capanang was chosen for her devotion as a nanny. She could not become a nurse due financial limitations but took up social work as an ideal substitute. She even served in the Vietnamese Refugee Centre in Palawan.
Rowena Gungon Niduaza is the pride of Filipino Community through achievements like wining the Toastmaster competition in the UAE in 2005.
This victory took her to Jordan where she competed with the winners from all over the Middle East to bag the top prize and thus became the first Middle East representative in the 2005 Toastmasters International Convention for World Championship in Public Speaking.
She rose to heights after overcoming a huge personal setback when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1995.
Rowena after claiming the top award in Jordan said: “It gave me a tremendous satisfaction to hold my head high and see that everybody in the convention room was applauding a Filipina.”
