Pearl Therese

  Another quarter has passed and yet again, new knowledge has been acquired. This quarter’s topic was fun at most but sometimes also quite difficult because it requires us to research and to know more about the community that we are included in. At first, I thought I already knew everything about our community but then our third quarter lesson made me realize that my knowledge about our community was just a scratch on its surface. There is so much things that I have learnt and so much more to discover. It also made me realize that conducting Community-based Research can give a great impact to the community and its people, it helps people understand how their local environments affects its population’s health, general well-being and so much more. The activities for this quarter has been purely intellectual, with all questions being open-ended and not the usual close-ended questions just like the previous quarters. Given that, it somehow makes it harder because it requires much m...

  The Coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc on the world and all people’s lives. Although we all do our part to avoid the spread of the disease, and frontline healthcare workers risk their lives to care for the sick, the researchers and scientists are racing to develop the one thing that can protect us all in the long run: a vaccine. In the public imagination, the approval of a vaccine against the SARS-CoV 2 virus, which causes COVID-19, will bring an end to the pandemic. Researchers and scientists, alongside with the World Health Organization are racing to create and deploy safe and effective vaccines as they work together on the response of monitoring the pandemic, consulting on urgent measures, and supplying essential medical resources to those in need. Vaccines are a critical new weapon in the battle against COVID-19, and the fact that so many vaccines are proving to be effective and are being developed is extremely promising. In regards to its efficacy, the World Health Org...

  The Day of Valor, also known as Araw ng Kagitingan, honors the heroism of Filipinos and American soldiers during World War II when the Philippines was invaded by the Japanese. At dawn on April 9, 1942, Major General Edward P. King of the United States Army was forced to surrender over 76,000 Filipinos, Chinese, and American soldiers to the Japanese. The soldiers were forced to hike 90 miles (145 kilometers) to San Fernando's Camp O'Donnell. Thousands of inmates died from malnutrition, thirst, and illnesses before reaching the camp during the trek (also known as the Bataan Death March). In the Philippines, Araw ng Kagitingan is a non-working holiday that falls on a long weekend. There are usually minor parades in the Philippines, but the main highlight of the Araw ng Kagitingan is when the country's president delivers a speech at the Mt Samat shrine in Bataan province to celebrate the heroism of Filipino and American troops during World War II. Araw ng Kagitingan is of...

  Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday and ends at sundown on Holy Thursday, is a 40-day cycle that precedes Easter. It is a period of reflection and preparation leading up to the Easter. It is a season of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. As a long-standing Lent tradition, prayer goes hand in hand with fasting. Fasting is challenging. It stifles our willpower and confines our selfish, immature side. It requires self-discipline and a certain strength of character. However, the fast should not be harmful to one's health. Consider excluding one meal a day, a daily treat, coffee, or alcohol from your daily intake. The spirit of sacrifice is another facet of Lent. During Lent we should not think that the sacrifices that we are making are useless and unneeded, but instead we should look at these sacrifices as a way to become closer to God. It doesn't have to be something big or dramatic, just a small but meaningful sacrifice will do. Such sacrifices include greater voluntary dona...

  Every year, Women's Month is celebrated around the world to honor women's remarkable contributions to history, culture and society. It is a celebration wherein women recognize their decades-long fight for peace, justice, equality, and growth. Women have suffered a great deal at the hands of men over the years. They were viewed as though they didn't exist in earlier centuries. As if all rights, including the right to vote, belonged to men. As the times passed, women realized their power. There on began the revolution for women empowerment and liberation. All of the world's great people are born from a woman's womb, and that it was from a woman that those great people received their initial teachings. Women are often overlooked by society, and also labeled as just people who give birth to people, nothing more. Women are so much more than what society perceives of them. Women are strong and courageous just as men. Our society comprises men and women. Therefore, t...