Save the date and write it down. For the grandest celebration this side of town!
Give up a buck and buy yourself wine, music and fun!
April 21, 2010
BTH scholars take first step to their dreams
Our journey to change goes on, unhindered!
Today, the first batch of Buttons to Hope scholars takes the college entrance examinations at the Camarines Sur State Agricultural College - the first step to realizing their dreams!
Meet the scholars: Christian, Enrique, Christian, Christine, Babing
Let's not make our hopes and commitment falter as we support these five students who will, someday, definitely make the world a better place!
April 20, 2010
F.A.R.M. on a Writer's Blog!
We are thrilled to the highest level! Just learned that F.A.R.M. got a special spot on a professional writer's blog - Sa Dulang ni Deedee!
"I am a freelance writer, doing integrated communications work. For the past 20 years, I have written news articles, feature stories, advertising copies, annual reports, technical manuals, on varied subjects. Writing is my passion, so I will continue doing so until I come up with my first book, perhaps before I turn half a decade. Allow me to share with you life’s stories, whether mine or those of others. I hope the stories you read here inspire you, because sharing them with you gives me pleasure no end." Check out Sa Dulang ni Deedee
Here's what she wrote about F.A.R.M.:A good friend gave me a bracelet in one of the Christmas parties I went to recently. The only thing I am requested to do, he told me, is to email a photo of it on me. And so, I did, and decided to write a short note about it.
F.A.R.M. is an acronym for Fabulously and Absolutely Rural-Made.
At the back of its product label is written:
“My F.A.R.M. bracelet carries with it a love story…a story of a mother who suffers in silence becasue she cannot send her child to school…a wife who quits her job to provide health care for a sick husband…a daughter who has to earn so she wouldn’s ask for allowance from her mom.
My F.A.R.M. bracelet is about love…my love for my art and my environment. It is about recycling, re-purposing, refining and re-finding things. It is about glorifying the old and the vintage. Each bracelet is one of a kind and is made from used or discarded buttons.”
Check them out: http://farmbaao.blogspot.com
Seeing F.A.R.M. on women of real substance is certainly a pat on the back for us! Thank you Ms. Deedee from the button of our hearts!
April 18, 2010
Kids F.A.R.M. it Better!
Seeing F.A.R.M. donned by little children really fascinates us...
Chic
So when we stumbled upon these photos, we had to instantly share it with you!
Bea
Really sorry to the moms, but you completely lost your chance at this post...
Sophia
Because more than you do, your kiddos naturally stand out! And they are a sight to behold!
April 15, 2010
Buttons to Hope adopts scholars
Application for Buttons to Hope scholarship ends today. Thank you to those who have recognized, appreciated and embraced our offer to help. We will announce the first set of BTH scholars soon!
Photo by Bembot Briones
"There are almost 22 million families in the Philippines. If we can convince 2 million families to adopt 1 scholar each, 2 million of our out-of-school youth will go back to school so they could be better prepared for the future. If we are able to convince 5 million Filipinos out of our 88 million Filipinos today, each one willing to adopt one scholar, 5 million of our out-of-school youth could go back to school tomorrow.Poverty makes the poor children around us vulnerable to the diseases and malice of this world. Ignorance makes the poor children around us prey for the vultures in our society. Poverty and ignorance – these lead our poor children to prostitution, to drugs, to crime.
We are at war today. We are at war against poverty, against greed, against corruption. During wars, where there is actual combat with mortars and missiles, we help people along the way. We give them food, we give them water. We should do the same now. We should not leave behind our people to suffer in poverty. We should not leave our poor children in the streets. We should find a way to feed them. We should find a way to send them to school.
To adopt a child as a scholar is one simple but tangible way to help our poor children. Every family in our country who has the means, who can afford, must be encouraged to adopt one scholar. Adoption of poor children as scholars should become part of our culture as a people." - Excerpt from a speech of Atty. Alex Lacson
Buttons to Hope heeded the call to contribute to reducing poverty by helping a few scholars from Baao, Camarines Sur get college education. To all our supporters, thank you for making this possible.
Disclaimer: F.A.R.M. as a group is non-partisan and not a supporter of any political figure. But in principle, we do support political agendas that aim to promote education for all Filipinos.
April 14, 2010
Why do you read the F.A.R.M. blog?
This blog, which will turn ONE on May 1, has become an indispensable part of my routine for so many reasons, the most important of which is: it serves my purpose to help my little rural town Baao.
The F.A.R.M. blog also continues to get hits and attract followers. Please do "become a fan" of F.A.R.M. on Facebook, so you get more updated on the latest blurbs. Thank you for making us reap these titillating little achievements!
I've put up a month-long poll on our homepage: Why do you read the F.A.R.M. blog? Please take a second to click on your choices. It will help me think about better and more exciting articles in the future.
Thank you all from the button of my heart. - CB
April 12, 2010
Buttons to Hope in full swing!
What does it take to make a cool change?
Shared vision. Eye for results.
A few determined individuals.
Food.
As of today, Buttons to Hope has raised P364,377.75 ($8,099.00) worth of cash and pledges. Five students coming from both public and private high schools in Baao have indicated interest and are being considered for scholarship. Application ends on April 15.
BTH meet on 9 April at Via Mare, Shangri-La: Jet, Jane, Bidibidi, Tom, Louella and Cherry
F.A.R.M.ers are up and about, working out the details. Let's help them sustain the momentum. Support Buttons to Hope in any way you can.Type "Buttons to Hope" in the search bar for more details about the project.
April 9, 2010
F.A.R.M. Palettes: Reds and blues
Whether you do red and red...
ever red-y
Or red with black...
very berry
Or red and blue...
patriot
And blue and blue...
atlantic
blue bayou
ocean
Doesn't really matter.
sweet valentine
Because F.A.R.M. will never run out of awesome possibilities!
F.A.R.M. Palettes: Citrus!
Like 'a roll of lifesavers...'
ablaze
sunkissed
pinyapol
mave
lakers
flores de mayo 1
flores de mayo 2
Fresh, citrus F.A.R.M. candies are must-haves during the summer!
F.A.R.M. Palettes: Purples and pinks
Sharing our current collection of very feminine and pretty romantic F.A.R.M. - in purples and pinks!
royal violets
sweet valentine
lilac
cotton candy
For you to look dainty everyday.
A F.A.R.M.er fights for her dream
And we are all for it. Venus, we support you from the button of our hearts!
Dethroned Bicol beauty queen fights for dream
By Ephraim AguilarInquirer Southern Luzon, PDI
First Posted 02:35:00 04/09/2010
BATO, CAMARINES SUR—Streamers of congratulations still hang in Barangay San Vicente here for its instant celebrity-daughter, Maria Venus Raj, who would have represented the country in the Miss Universe pageant in August after winning the most coveted Binibining Pilipinas title.
But her reign had been cut short by organizers less than a month ago.
“My fight is now more than just chasing a dream. It is about clearing my soiled reputation. It is about standing up for people who are poor and born out of wedlock. It is a fight for acceptance,” Raj said in an interview at her house made of wood, bamboo and “anahaw” leaves.
She has been living in the house without electricity for 21 years.
Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) took back her crown when it discovered false information in her birth certificate—that she was born in San Vicente, Bato, Camarines Sur, when she and her mother said she was actually born in Doha, Qatar; that her father is a Catholic Filipino when, in fact, he is an Indian; and that her parents were married when they were actually not.
Mother is OFW
During the pre-pageant’s panel and individual interviews in November last year, Raj had said she was born in Qatar, where her mother, Ester Bayonito, had worked as a domestic helper from 1986 to 1988, and was brought to the Philippines a month later.
Raj has professed her innocence, saying she had nothing to do with the information her aunt put in the document when her birth was registered three years after. She discovered the inconsistency when she applied for a college scholarship at the Francis Papica Foundation, which had not been corrected until she was dethroned.
Raj said she and her mother had no idea that she would someday be joining a national beauty pageant and that they were not able to correct the errors in her birth certificate because this would entail extra expenses.
The youngest in a brood of five children, Raj started joining local beauty pageants when she was 17 years old, as well as oratorical contests at San Vicente High School.
“Whenever I won, I would give the prize money to my mother, who saved it up to buy seeds for the planting season,” she said. Her mother, now 59, is a tenant farmer, dressmaker and “hilot” in their village.
“My dream, more than to be a beauty queen or a model, is to just really give my family a comfortable life,” said Raj, who graduated, cum laude, with a journalism degree at Bicol University.
Raj was Miss Bicolandia in 2007 and Miss Philippines-Ecotourism in the Miss Philippines Earth pageant in 2008. With her winnings, she started buying land on installment basis for her mother.
“We moved from one place to another … about four times. It was hard not to have your own place. When there were conflicts we were always forced to leave,” Raj said in Bicol.
Ma. Lourdes Pili, Raj’s English teacher at San Vicente High School, said she used to coach Raj for oratorical contests.
“What always amazed me about Venus was her determination to succeed. Whenever she joined contests, we would borrow uniform and shoes because hers were old and faded. But she was never discouraged,” Pili said.
In a press conference in Naga City on Wednesday, Raj recalled how hard she cried when she was told about the decision of BPCI officials to strip her of her title.
Her predicament, she said, started a day after she was crowned on March 6 when Stella Marquez de Araneta, pageant head, supposedly expressed shock when she learned that she was born in Doha.
Raj said she was given two options—resign or be dethroned.
She said she was coaxed to sign a letter of resignation and was advised not to talk about the reason for it to protect her and her family from “judgmental people who would belittle them because of her past.”
When she told the organizers that she could not just sign a document without the presence of a lawyer, they met again for several hours only to tell her that she would be dethroned, she said.
Raj’s replacement will be the contest’s second runner-up, Helen Nicolette Henson, as the first runner-up, Dianne Necio was only 17 years old then.
According to Miss Universe pageant rules, the winner of the title must be 18 years old.
Anjo Santos, Raj’s talent manager and mentor, said he was shocked at the sudden decision of BPCI. “It killed the dreams of poor beautiful girls like her who came from poor families to pursue their ambitions to succeed.”
She was never given due process, he added.
Because of embarrassment over her dethronement less than a month after she was crowned and the fear of being the talk of the town, Raj and her mother would not go out of their house.
Raj’s name is now all over the blogosphere. Fan pages on the social networking site Facebook were created to petition her reinstatement as the “country’s rightful candidate in the Miss Universe pageant.”
Free legal support
Lawyer Francis Padua Papica, who sponsored Raj’s college education, and another counsel volunteered to defend her for free.
A netizen, who requested to be identified only as King and a student of Bicol University, said his fan page would average around 300 interactions a day and had more than a thousand members.
One of Raj’s friends, Christian Jay Millena, 21, of Daraga town in Albay, believes BPCI has not dealt with Raj’s case with tact and decency.
“Take note that the BPCI even failed to properly inform the public and even the persons concerned of the real issue why Venus was dethroned,” he said.
Even Dante Jimenez, chair of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and also a Bicolano, pledged his group’s full legal support during the press conference held at Avenue Plaza Hotel
in Naga.
‘Handiwork of losers’
“I think this is the handiwork of losers who wanted to dethrone a legitimate winner,” Jimenez said.
Some 50 children from poor communities welcomed Raj with flowers to dramatize her roots and support from fellow Bicolanos. Before leaving, she told them not to give up on their dreams even though how poor they were.
“She is an inspiration to ordinary girls with beauty and brains who are just daughters of poor farmers or fisherfolk. She is a perfect inspiration to ordinary Filipinos who can tell the whole world that economic status is not a hindrance to fulfill a career using their God-given talent,” said Santos, Raj’s talent manager.
With a report from Juan Escandor Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon
See earlier post: A F.A.R.M.er wins the crown
Dethroned Bicol beauty queen fights for dream
By Ephraim AguilarInquirer Southern Luzon, PDI
First Posted 02:35:00 04/09/2010
BATO, CAMARINES SUR—Streamers of congratulations still hang in Barangay San Vicente here for its instant celebrity-daughter, Maria Venus Raj, who would have represented the country in the Miss Universe pageant in August after winning the most coveted Binibining Pilipinas title.
But her reign had been cut short by organizers less than a month ago.
“My fight is now more than just chasing a dream. It is about clearing my soiled reputation. It is about standing up for people who are poor and born out of wedlock. It is a fight for acceptance,” Raj said in an interview at her house made of wood, bamboo and “anahaw” leaves.
She has been living in the house without electricity for 21 years.
Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. (BPCI) took back her crown when it discovered false information in her birth certificate—that she was born in San Vicente, Bato, Camarines Sur, when she and her mother said she was actually born in Doha, Qatar; that her father is a Catholic Filipino when, in fact, he is an Indian; and that her parents were married when they were actually not.
Mother is OFW
During the pre-pageant’s panel and individual interviews in November last year, Raj had said she was born in Qatar, where her mother, Ester Bayonito, had worked as a domestic helper from 1986 to 1988, and was brought to the Philippines a month later.
Raj has professed her innocence, saying she had nothing to do with the information her aunt put in the document when her birth was registered three years after. She discovered the inconsistency when she applied for a college scholarship at the Francis Papica Foundation, which had not been corrected until she was dethroned.
Raj said she and her mother had no idea that she would someday be joining a national beauty pageant and that they were not able to correct the errors in her birth certificate because this would entail extra expenses.
The youngest in a brood of five children, Raj started joining local beauty pageants when she was 17 years old, as well as oratorical contests at San Vicente High School.
“Whenever I won, I would give the prize money to my mother, who saved it up to buy seeds for the planting season,” she said. Her mother, now 59, is a tenant farmer, dressmaker and “hilot” in their village.
“My dream, more than to be a beauty queen or a model, is to just really give my family a comfortable life,” said Raj, who graduated, cum laude, with a journalism degree at Bicol University.
Raj was Miss Bicolandia in 2007 and Miss Philippines-Ecotourism in the Miss Philippines Earth pageant in 2008. With her winnings, she started buying land on installment basis for her mother.
“We moved from one place to another … about four times. It was hard not to have your own place. When there were conflicts we were always forced to leave,” Raj said in Bicol.
Ma. Lourdes Pili, Raj’s English teacher at San Vicente High School, said she used to coach Raj for oratorical contests.
“What always amazed me about Venus was her determination to succeed. Whenever she joined contests, we would borrow uniform and shoes because hers were old and faded. But she was never discouraged,” Pili said.
In a press conference in Naga City on Wednesday, Raj recalled how hard she cried when she was told about the decision of BPCI officials to strip her of her title.
Her predicament, she said, started a day after she was crowned on March 6 when Stella Marquez de Araneta, pageant head, supposedly expressed shock when she learned that she was born in Doha.
Raj said she was given two options—resign or be dethroned.
She said she was coaxed to sign a letter of resignation and was advised not to talk about the reason for it to protect her and her family from “judgmental people who would belittle them because of her past.”
When she told the organizers that she could not just sign a document without the presence of a lawyer, they met again for several hours only to tell her that she would be dethroned, she said.
Raj’s replacement will be the contest’s second runner-up, Helen Nicolette Henson, as the first runner-up, Dianne Necio was only 17 years old then.
According to Miss Universe pageant rules, the winner of the title must be 18 years old.
Anjo Santos, Raj’s talent manager and mentor, said he was shocked at the sudden decision of BPCI. “It killed the dreams of poor beautiful girls like her who came from poor families to pursue their ambitions to succeed.”
She was never given due process, he added.
Because of embarrassment over her dethronement less than a month after she was crowned and the fear of being the talk of the town, Raj and her mother would not go out of their house.
Raj’s name is now all over the blogosphere. Fan pages on the social networking site Facebook were created to petition her reinstatement as the “country’s rightful candidate in the Miss Universe pageant.”
Free legal support
Lawyer Francis Padua Papica, who sponsored Raj’s college education, and another counsel volunteered to defend her for free.
A netizen, who requested to be identified only as King and a student of Bicol University, said his fan page would average around 300 interactions a day and had more than a thousand members.
One of Raj’s friends, Christian Jay Millena, 21, of Daraga town in Albay, believes BPCI has not dealt with Raj’s case with tact and decency.
“Take note that the BPCI even failed to properly inform the public and even the persons concerned of the real issue why Venus was dethroned,” he said.
Even Dante Jimenez, chair of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption and also a Bicolano, pledged his group’s full legal support during the press conference held at Avenue Plaza Hotel
in Naga.
‘Handiwork of losers’
“I think this is the handiwork of losers who wanted to dethrone a legitimate winner,” Jimenez said.
Some 50 children from poor communities welcomed Raj with flowers to dramatize her roots and support from fellow Bicolanos. Before leaving, she told them not to give up on their dreams even though how poor they were.
“She is an inspiration to ordinary girls with beauty and brains who are just daughters of poor farmers or fisherfolk. She is a perfect inspiration to ordinary Filipinos who can tell the whole world that economic status is not a hindrance to fulfill a career using their God-given talent,” said Santos, Raj’s talent manager.
With a report from Juan Escandor Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon
See earlier post: A F.A.R.M.er wins the crown
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