Inspiring

Foreigner Goes On a Mission to Build Toilets, Install Solar Lights, Fix Houses in Cebu

A foreigner living in Cebu has been building proper toilets and helping families in a barangay in Toledo City, Cebu.

According to the statistics of United Nations, there are over 26 million Filipinos who do not have access to proper comfort rooms or toilets.

This is hard truth that Dustin Borglin came face with when he got stuck in Toledo City due to the pandemic. Dustin was indeed grateful to experience the Filipino hospitality. Howevee, he was also surprised to know the lack of proper basic facilities for some families.

Toilets / CR project

“Just being there and being invited to people’s home to eat, and then I had to go use a toilet, and then it’s like, where are your comfort rooms? They didn’t have one,” he shared on GMA’s The Atom Araullo Specials.

Dustin realized that some of the families in the barangay, didn’t have comfort rooms. Thus, he began his CR project to build toilets for families.

His good will has benefit many families in the barangay as Dustin has built over 23 toilets.

In one of his vlogs via Dustin Backpacks channel on YouTube, he shared one of his CR project. He build a comfort room for the family of a young girl named Angie. According to him, he spent P40, 261 for the comfort room to be completed.

In the video, Dustin showed the comfort room they build at the back of the family’s house. The four walls are made of cement and has a wooden door. It spacious enough with a toilet bowl. Dustin also showed the pipes and drainage that they properly installed.

He captioned the video with, “Today we finish Angie’s CR project and get food and drinks to celebrate. This video we show the process of building a cr ( toilet ) in a rocky area.”

More charity works

While this building toilets for free is already impressive, Dustin actually has given more to the impoverished families in Toledo. On his YouTube channel, you can see all the charity works he has been doing to those in need.

The kind vlogger has bought a family their first refrigerator. He even gave them supplies to start their BBQ business. Dustin also made the lives of two women comfortable by fixing their house. He repaired their house by giving it new roofs, plywood walls and paint.

Dustin even installed solar power for those with no electricity in the barangay. He spent over $600 or around P30,000 for a solar power of a family. The money spent was from the earnings he got on his YouTube channel.

Inspiring

“Mango Flute” Girl Who was Cyber-Bullied at 14, Now a Licensed Engineer

Do you remember the “mango flute” girl who was cyber-bullied back when she was just 14 years old? She’s a licensed engineer now – and looks back to the experience with an advice for others who are experiencing a similar situation…

Cyber-Bullied “Mango Flute” Girl Becomes a Licensed Engineer

People make mistakes. Whether big or small, it’s often how we handle the situation and our attitude that can help us overcome the challenges that this mistake brought to our lives.

Pauline Claire Arucan was only 14 years old when she was subjected to intense cyber-bullying, not just by her classmates but she feels like it was the “entire Philippines” that trolled her at the time.

It all started with an innocent post about a delicious dessert, which she called as “mango flute.”

The young girl soon posted a follow-up, telling off someone for correcting her that the spelling should have been “mango float.” Instead of accepting her fault or realizing her mistake, she laughed off the correction for being a mistake – after all, is the mango really floating in a mango float?

She added “magic???” to her post, before ending it with “aral poh kasi muna” (that’s why you really should study first).

Of course, she’s the one who made the mistake – and the “mango float” correction was, indeed, correct.

Due to her attitude at the time, and the fact that many people are actually unsure about the dessert’s correct spelling, the post went viral.

Arucan now recalls that she experienced so much cyber-bullying at the time. Still, even if she regrets the tweet now, she was able to rise up and overcome the challenges that followed.

Proving that the spelling mistake was a one-off, she went on to get 1st place in a spelling bee contest at her alma mater, Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

She didn’t let that one situation get her down – and she recently shared about becoming a registered mechanical engineer.

What’s a Spelling Bee?

This is a competition wherein contestants are asked to spell a selection of words, ranging in difficulty. The contestants should provide the spellings of the words as written in dictionaries.

Inspiring

Top 1 in Physician Licensure Exam Battled a Heart Problem since 4 Years Old

A patient who had battled a heart problem since she was 4 years old wowed everyone after she ranked as #1 in the March 2023 Physician Licensure Exam – and netizens are happily celebrating her success.

Patient Who Battled a Heart Problem, #1 in Doctors’ Licensure Exam

Being sick is something that’s challenging, especially when you need to study, work, or accomplish your goals.

Yet there are people who still manage to excel despite their difficult situation – and they’re the truly amazing ones!

One of them is Aira Cassandra Castro, a graduate of Mariano Marcos State University – Batac who topped the March 2023 PLE (Physician Licensure Exam) with a rating of 89%.

Photo credit: Aira Castro / The Summit Express

What’s impressive about Castro’s success is that this came after she spent most of her life as a patient, battling rheumatic heart disease.

According to The Summit Express, Castro was only 4 years old when she was diagnosed with the condition.

Castro’s doctor since she was 4 years old, Dr. Patria Calupig-Demetillo, proudly shared her achievement.

According to Calupig-Demetillo’s Facebook post, she gave Castro’s monthly injection for her rheumatic fever starting when the young girl was still 9 years old until she was cleared at 19 by Dr. Pia Malanyaon, Castro’s Pediatric Cardiologist and Calupig-Demetillo’s consultant at East Avenue Medical Center.

She added that she honestly didn’t think that Castro would go this far, being a shy and modest girl. Still, she wasn’t also surprised that the brave girl was able to achieve this feat.

A consistent academic achiever her entire life, Castro became a government scholar. She graduated summa cum laude but hadn’t expected to rank as #1.

“If you want to be a doctor, you can do so, as long as you have the passion for it. Nothing is impossible if you always believe in yourself,” she shared.

What’s Rheumatic Heart Disease?

This heart disease is due to damage to the heart valves caused by rheumatic fever, an autoimmune inflammatory reaction to a throat infection from group A streptococci, such as streptococcal pharyngitis or strep throat.

The condition usually happens during childhood and can be life-threatening or lead to life-long disability.

Inspiring

Teen Ridiculed for Charles & Keith “Luxury Bag,” Now a Model of Several Brands

A teen ridiculed for Charles & Keith “luxury bag” gets the last laugh after the brand signed her up as their model.

But that’s not all. She has also become the face of other brands, including an airline! Wow.

Let’s just say that those who mocked her aren’t laughing now, huh?

Teen Ridiculed for Charles & Keith Bag Becomes a Model

When 17-year-old Singapore-based Pinay teen Zoe Gabriel happily posted about her “first luxury bag” after getting a Charles & Keith tote as a present from her dad, several netizens mocked her.

Some were even mean enough to comment on her post, pointing out that Charles & Keith isn’t a luxury brand.

Other netizens jumped to her rescue, assuring the young girl that “luxury” is relevant and she was right in considering the bag a luxury, especially because her dad bought it with his hard-earned money as an OFW (overseas Filipino worker).

Soon, Zoe and her dad were invited to the brand’s headquarters where they had a tour of the facility. The brand also gave her more bags.

Later, it was announced that Zoe is the newest model for Charles & Keith.

But her turn of luck didn’t stop there. After visiting Charles & Keith, she was also invited by other brands for a visit and got freebies from restaurants and other companies in the area.

Recently, it was also revealed that the teen isn’t just modeling for Charles & Keith but has also been signed up as the face for several other brands.

For example, she can be seen wearing an AirAsia cabin attendant’s uniform while dancing to a TikTok video posted by the airline.

@flyairasia
Dare to dream with @zoe 🦋
♬ original sound – smokinaftereat – smokinaftereat

In another video, she can be seen dancing with the cabin crew.

@flyairasia
*Domestic: all-in from RM23. Asean: all-in from RM60. Includes airport taxes, MAVCOM fee, fuel surcharges and other applicable fees. T&C apply.
♬ i think he knows sped up – r & m <33

The future seems bright for this young lady – and it all started when people laughed at her over an innocent, happy post.

Good luck, Zoe Gabriel!