Walk the Talk

WALK THE TALK
By Marivir R. Montebon

In one of the thousand international meetings at the United Nations New York Headquarters recently, I had the time to cover the 5th Forum on the Eradication of Poverty which is the side event of the Annual Ministerial Review of the UN's Economic and Social Council.

Meetings like these always meant having a whole bunch of statistical information on the subject matter, as to how much has global poverty risen, how much has it been reduced locally, youth participation in local governance and businesses, etcetera, etcetera. The statistics are simply overwhelming.

The challenge with technocrats at the UN is how to put a human face on the kind of work they are putting together. At the forum, it was pleasant to know that they noted of my suggestion, to qualify how a woman micro-entrepreneur has effectively lifted herself from poverty in a given period of time. We need case studies, we need stories.

Silently but surely, I am privy to the fact that there are thousands, if not millions of well-meaning groups and individuals who are working together to make the world a little better. Their stories, not statistics will normally land in the papers and the digital highway, and will be most inspiring.

For that, I will have to mention again OSM! maiden issue cover Merly Barrette Barlaan who is well on her way on the dream highway of eradicating poverty right in her own hometown in Montesunting, Bohol. A thousand and one Moringa trees must have been grown by now, greening the landscape and adding money into the pockets of mothers and fathers. Most of all, ensuring good health from their own backyards. I will never grow tired of telling this again and again, like a progress report to readers who want to believe that good things are being undertaken at the local level.

More power to you, Merl and your team!

OSM! features today California-based sales engineer and awesome citizen Gisela Doherty Bitz who takes life as a breeze, regardless of the storms it ocassionally unleashes. I am hats off for Gisela's magic, a wonderful mix of the Eastern and Western cultures of her parents, being American and Filipino.

Enjoy our 11th issue today, dear awesome readers. OSM! is three months old, but has a readership of 10,000 all over the world! I am jubilant and grateful!