Enjoying the wonderful world of RMAF! Translating Greatness of Spirit into Action!
I’m so fortunate and felt so blessed to meet the two great recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation.
Thankful that I was invited by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation‘s social media team, with a small group of writers and online influencers last Saturday, June 1, held at the Asian Library of the Ramon Magsaysay Center, Roxas Blvd.
As we gladly interacted with Filipino nun and surgeon Eva Fidela Maamo, 1997 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Community Leadership, and Sri Lankan pscyhologist Ananda Galappati, 2008 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Emergent Leadership. They shared with us “Translating Greatness of Spirit into Action.”
Greatness of Spirit ‘is for everyone.’
These awardees shared their stories of their work in their respective community, their passion, their selfless services to people of all walks of life. As admirable they are, we saw how they exemplify Greatness of Spirit, the brand of selfless service and leadership that the late President Ramon Magsaysay was known for.
With us during that afternoon, Sr. Eva, shared to us that leadership can be learned through experience, by being sure of one’s identity and values, by looking at work with a sense of mission, and by being willing to work with others. (As I call her now, my special Angel Sis. Eva.)
She’s currently busy maintaining no-fee health clinics in Manila informal settlement areas, providing meals to malnourished children, managing the Our Lady of Peace Hospital in Parañaque City, and going on medical missions to indigenous people.
Thru the Skype video interaction with Galappatti , he said that “working on an online portal to connect people to psychosocial and mental services” at www.mhpss.net, where psychologists from all over the world can connect with each other and find resources that will help them serve others better.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation was created in 1957, the year the Philippines lost in a plane crash a President who was well-loved for his simplicity and humility, his passion for justice, particularly for the poor, and his advancement of human dignity.
Among the many friends and admirers of the late President around the world were the Rockefeller brothers. With the concurrence of the Philippine government, the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund(RBF) established the Award to honor his memory and perpetuate his example of integrity in public service and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society.
The foundation has since implemented the Magsaysay Award program, pursuing the mission of "honoring greatness of spirit in selfless service to the people of Asia".
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| GOS Ambassadors with Sr. Eva Fidela Maamo, RM Awardee for Community Leadership, 1997 |
Let us be inspired by the Greatness of Spirit of the Ramon Magsaysay awardees. Let's make a commitment to a lifetime as we realize that we should be positive and always have goodness approach to all life situations. And let's be a positive influence to those around us, and help improve lives.
For more information and updates,
please visit the official website/s of Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
