Two Pinays join in breaking the Guinness World Record for Multilingual Reading – and they received recognition for helping the international team achieve this feat.

Isn’t that wonderful?

Pinays Help in Breaking the Guinness World Record

We are all in awe of people who are able to break world records, particularly when the feat is recognized by the experts in the field – the Guinness World Records.

Filipinas Maria Corazon Cabrera and Janine Cabrera Mendoza (Maria’s daughter), participated in the multilingual reading aloud relay broke the Guinness World Record for Multilingual Reading last February 26, 2023 at the Bib Sophia library in Schaerbeek, Brussels.

The new world record was achieved by the international team by doing the relay with 65 languages, with the team comprised of children and parents from different schools in the community.

They broke the previous record held by the Museum of Islamic Culture in Qatar for reading in 55 languages.

To ensure that the new world record for “most languages used in a reading relay” is authentic and official, the event was judged by a jury of experts, including professional translators from the European institutions as well as professors and staff from the universities of Ghent, Brussels, Louvain-la-Neuve, and Antwerp.

For this event, participants were tasked to read one sentence from “Mister René,” a book written by Leo Timmers about the Belgian painter Rene Magritte.

In the reading relay, the participants had to read in these different languages, with just a maximum of 10 seconds of waiting time in between.

Aside from Filipino, languages used to read the line from the book include Welsh, Hebrew, Swahili, Akkadian, and Urdu.

It was another Filipina, Ms. Maria Alicia Reyes Amarga, who attested to the correctness of the Filipino translation that the Cabreras read during the event.

“We share this achievement with all Filipinos. We should be proud of our language and culture,” the elder Cabrera said.

How Many Languages are There in the Philippines

The Philippines is a very diverse country, with as many as 120 spoken languages.

A Russian stuck in PH had resorted to selling bottled water after losing valuables, including his passport, to a Pinay he met before his flight.

Russian Stuck in PH Sells Bottled Water

Millions of tourists visit the Philippines each year. Sadly, many of them lose valuables, including important documents like passports and ATMs, to locals who have bad intentions.

One of them is Igorevich Vladislav Saulev, a 43-year-old Russian national from St. Petersburg.

His situation went viral after a concerned citizen, John Carlo Villaruel, shared about on Facebook via Cebu Daily News Online last March 7, 2023.

According to Villaruel, he met Saulev in downtown Cebu. He was surprised to see the foreigner selling watered bottles in the streets with a placard around his neck, asking for help because he lost his passport.

It turned out that the Russian had met a woman before his flight. He had taken up residence in a town in southern Cebu and had arrived at the city at 2AM on February 25.

He met a woman on one of the city’s streets. They ended up spending a few hours together before returning to the spot at around 10PM.

While riding a taxi together, the woman asked the driver to stop – but she quickly grabbed Saulev’s backpack as she got out of the cab. It contained all his valuables.

With no money, phone, or anything, he ended up living on the streets. The vendors in the area took pity on him after noticing him wandering around.

Although though gave him money for food at first, they also have limited funds. That’s why they invited him to sell water for commission – and that’s how he met Villaruel.

Thanks to the kindhearted vendors, he was able to survive in the streets. And thanks to Villaruel, his plight went viral and he’s now receiving help from netizens and the authorities so he can go back home.

How to Avoid Losing All Valuables & Documents While Traveling

Everywhere you go, there’s a chance of losing your stuff because some people have made a living out of taking valuables from other people.

Here are some tips to avoid losing all your valuables:

• Buy anti-theft bags or packs that prevent people from slashing your bag to get your valuables
• Separate your documents and valuables so you can have a backup when you lose something
• Don’t bring a lot of cash; online banking and other digital options are now readily available as your backup

An elderly man sells crocheted bags for his son’s dialysis treatment and to support his family. What a loving and hardworking dad!

His story went viral after a student spotted him selling at high noon and asked netizens for help so he could have more sales.

Elderly Man Selling Crocheted Bags Goes Viral

As we age, our bodies become frail and we become tired more easily than when we were younger. That’s why there are usually age limits to many jobs – that can help keep the elderly safe while also protecting the companies from liabilities because older folks are more prone to getting sick or meeting an accident, especially in fast-paced work environments.

Sadly, there are many elderly people who still need to work. That’s because they don’t have family members who can support them or they have loved ones who still need to be supported.

That seems to be the situation of Tatay Emerberto Bongabong, also known as “Tatay Emer.”

Although he’s already 73 years old, Tatay Emer is still out in the streets to sell crocheted goods to raise funds for his son’s medical treatment.

His story went viral when he was spotted by Marvie Joy Vicente Oliamot, a fourth-year college student from the University of the Immaculate Conception in Davao City.

According to Oliamot, Tatay Emer hails from San Vicente Ferrer Exodus Fr. Selga St. in Davao City, but often sells his goods at Bankerohan and Davao Doctors College, Inc.

The cute crocheted items, including coin purses, cell phone holders, and water bottle carriers range from Php50 to Php250 each, depending on the style.

Oliamot praised the elderly man’s handiwork, saying that the crocheted goods look great and the buyers won’t be dismayed by what they’ll get.

She also shared that netizens can also reach Tatay Emer’s son Bert Bong to buy the goods.

What’s Crochet?

Crochet is a kind of handicraft that uses a hooked needle with looped, patterned yarn to create various stuff – as with Tatay Emer’s case, these include coin purses, cell phone holders, and water bottle carriers.

You can also make crocheted clothes and baby socks.