"Living life outside our country is an exhilarating and rewarding experience, but it's not a remarkable experience without the absence of difficulties. One of these difficulties is dealing with homesickness. It is an innate to everyone working abroad or even a few miles from our hometown into whom have less chances of coming back home often. We used to think and worry with our loved ones whom were left back home. And the most effective way to conquer homesickness is to be online always and connect with old friends. This is how Tagbino Serving Eagles was being conceptualized. It started by chatting and I started it by creating a group in Facebook just to connect friends, and also friends of our friends of any age living Tagbino, one of the beautiful Barangays of Vallehermoso in Oriental Negros, Philippines.
We have so many ways to make active members of TSE alive. Some are good in telling jokes and showing funny pictures and even editing pictures of some members to make it look humorous. Isn't it amazing that we can laugh and make other silent members laugh also at the same time? It is laughter that connects us with each other as a start. It is a way of elevating the mood of those around us. We can reduce our stress levels, and perhaps improve the quality of social interaction we experience from one another, reducing our stress level even more! Through laughter we were able to cope up homesickness and stress from work and those who are struggling with sadness mostly from personal problems with their families.
After almost a year since we started, we coined up an idea to contribute even little amount to give school supplies for those unfortunate children in our place. It was quite a successful activity. It was end of May during my vacation and the giving of school supplies fitted the season since the school year opening was approaching. I was fueled with the support of active OFW members. It was an inspiring activity where I realized that giving is also a stress reliever. This was then followed by some other charitable works like donating instrument for the church and helping one patient who is a son of a member admitted to Silliman Medical Center due to Steven Johnson Syndrome. The donations came not only from the people abroad but also from our neighbors working in the Philippines are thriving by stretching our hands together in order to care and serve.
We celebrated our first year anniversary on second week of July this year by giving T-Shirts to the Lady of Guadalupe Church Choir. Tagbino Serving Eagles was not born with a mission, just a concept of simply linking friends from the same place yet we found out that it became a charitable organization motivated by our profound will to serve the people in our beloved place Tagbino expecting no returns. This is a dramatic charitable move and very important message to everyone reconsidering each one has the role of being charitable and compassionate in our lives. I hope people consider this an invitation to look beyond the traditional means by which we, Filipinos try to help our brothers and sisters."
By: Helen Sarita ( Mother Eagle)
