Pasay — In line with its objectives to promote health and wellness among Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) employees and provide assistance to employees in need, the DFA Ladies Foundation, Inc. (DFALF) opened its yearly Wellness Fair for the Body, Mind and Spirit, and a Meet-and-Greet session with its scholars on July 15, 2019.
DFALF Chairperson Madame Ma Lourdes Barcelon Locsin spearheaded the activities.
The three-day Wellness Fair for the Body, Mind, and Spirit opened with Madame Locsin, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Human Resources Management Ezzedin Tago and DFA Office of the Undersecretary for Administration Acting Senior Special Assistant Flerida Ann Camille Mayo leading the ceremonies, with DFA officials and staff present.
Merchants such as 1 United, Adarna House Inc., ALL IS WELLness Eye Spa, Anytime Fitness-Radiance Manila Bay, AXA, BDO, BPI Asset Management and Trust Corp., Daughters of St. Paul, Derm Factor, MX3 Food Supplements, Fitness First, Fully Booked, Go Salads, Green Leaf Essential Oils by Jose Ingles Jr., Hinelaban Farms, IAM Worldwide Corp., Kawaii Beauty, Macynn Cosmetics, MalagosAgri-ventures Corp., National Nutrition Council, Philippine National Bank, SGD Coffee and The Daily Soak offered their products and services to interested participants. Some even offered products and services on a free trial basis for visitors and guests to try.
To reinforce the need for wellness, there were also talks on health, fitness and beauty, as well as Zumba, yoga, tai-chi, ballroom dancing, and Body Jam sessions.
The Wellness Fair for the Body, Mind, and Spirit aims to provide educate employees on managing common health issues that affects one’s body, mind, and spirit, as well as encourage and sustain healthy lifestyle changes among DFA employees and their families through opportunities to avail themselves of affordable wellness services. It also aims to raise funds for the DFALF’s scholarship program.
After the opening ceremonies, Madame Locsin met with past and present DFALF scholars, composed of children of DFA employees and DFA employees themselves.
The scholars were given the chance to share their experiences and achievements, and thank the DFALF for its help in furthering their education.
For her part, Madame Locsin encouraged the scholars to work hard, continue pursuing their dreams, and be a source of inspiration for others.
She added that she and Foreign Affairs Secretary TeodoroLocsin considers the DFA a family, and therefore the priority beneficiaries for assistance, especially in addressing the educational needs of DFA employees and their immediate family members.
Also present during the Meet-and-Greet was Dr. Fatima Salam R. Batua-an, a former DFALF scholar who is now a practicing doctor.
She related that the DFALF was instrumental in helping her reach her dreams, as she was able to avail herself of the scholarship though her father, who at that time was a DFA employee.
After finishing her medical degree and becoming a doctor, she has decided to give back to DFALF, her benefactor. During the Wellness Fair, she was at the DFALF booth to give free checkups.
The DFALF scholarships are also offered to DFA employees who wish to further their studies. One of the DFALF’s scholars was Allan Aguilar, who started in the Department as a gardener and bookbinder in 2010. He availed himself of the DFALF scholarship in 2015 and finished his Bachelor’s degree in Public Governance in 2018.
Mr. Aguilar thanked Madame Locsin and the DFALF for allowing him to finish his studies and rise up the ranks. He is currently with the DFA’s Office of Asset Management and Support Services as one of the staff monitoring contractual obligations of the Department’s service providers.
Since the scholarship program started in 1997, the DFALF has provided education opportunities to 275 scholars. DFALF has been working with organizations such as the AMA Education System, Metrobank Foundation, Inc., SM Foundation, Inc., STI College, the Consular Corps of the Philippines and Security Bank to provide these education opportunities. DFALF also raises its own funds through its various programs and activities.
The DFALF is a non-profit organization committed to enriching the lives of the members of the Philippine Foreign Service and the community.
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