This story appears in the September 2015 issue of Forbes Asia. This is FORBES ASIA’s ninth annual philanthropy issue, giving us another opportunity to single out the region’s most noteworthy givers. Our […]
Co-produced & co-directed this award-winning documentary about one woman’s journey through a century of love, war and discovery.
Curiosity, Adventure & Love is a the story of a woman raised by fate to go boldly where few young women of her time and upbringing would go… into the arms of chance and life.
A young American woman leaves her country and all security behind, to begin an adventure in
the Philippines that would witness the birth of a nation, a cruel war and Occupation and
reconstruction.
Jessie, is a striking personality, somewhere between Scarlett O’Hara and Amelia Earhart, who knew no boundaries and flew far ahead of her times, without regard to sex or society.
Her story of a century well-lived is both rich and one that should restore our faith
in our own humanity.
"VIRGIN OF THE ROCK"
I went stand up paddling as is my habit, but this time I found 40 pesos ($1) floating in the sea. I watched it float a little but then decided to pick it up. After a few moments, I decided it was a gift from the sea to the Virgin of the rock- this is what I have nicknamed the statue of the Virgin Mary that sits in the middle of a makeshift shrine on Willys rock near the shore of Boracay's White Beach. She sits in this giant rock formation, (which looks like a giant turtle) guarded by one young coconut tree, and only accessible at low tide.
I paddled over and tied my board to the makeshift banister, walked up the rock-stairs and after a few seconds of reflection, placed the 40 pesos between her praying hands…
I only visit her when the sea or beach provides a gift and today it did! Sometimes its’ a shell or a piece of coral or a small rock or in one case a hermit crab ( I thought perhaps she needed a friend so I introduced them) but today it was cash..
The Virgin gets lots of visitors so I figured maybe someone would come along who needed hope or the sign of seeing money or perhaps the money itself -- so I decided I would leave it just in case..
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SUNSHINE LICHAUCO DE LEON