#choosesocial

I’m not your definition of a Filipina role model. I understand but don’t speak Tagalog. I was born in Philippines but couldn’t tell you much about life in the country. I grew up eating ‘adobo,” palabok,’ and ‘pancit,’ but only recently learned the difference between ‘lechon’ and ‘lechon kawali.’ I’ve lived most of my life in Canada where I was raised to believe that Philippine-made meant cheap, and “opportunity” was always paired with “abroad”.

So, it must be a surprise that here I am – co-founder of ChooseSocial.PH, an organization that aims to connect and educate people about social enterprises in the Philippines and the work of Filipino social entrepreneurs. It’s a surprise but an honour to be part of an organization that proudly showcases the work, impact, and innovations of Filipinos and what they are doing to make their communities even better.

For the many of you who don’t know, a social enterprise is a business that primarily exists in order to address a social or environmental cause. You might have immediately thought about Toms Shoes or even Ten Thousand Villages, some of the better-known social enterprises. But what about Kalibrr (named one of five filipino tech startups to watch in the Wall Street Journal)? Hapinoy (a social enterprise modernizing the traditional sari-sari store model to help female entrepreneurs)? Or The Enchanted Farm Café (a café in Quezon City selling gourmet and artisan foods made from 100% Philippine ingredients and sourced from local farms)? These are exactly the stories that we want to tell.

The concept for ChooseSocial.PH slowly began to form after Jérôme and I travelled to Philippines in December 2013. This was my first time back since moving to Canada when I was three years old. During our short two-week trip, Jérôme and I both fell in love with the country. I loved the warm heat on my skin even when it was pitch black outside and the heaviness that was always present in the air. I loved the open hospitality of strangers on the street who would invite Jérôme over for a beer, and seeing my father so proud to show us the home where we grew up in Bulacan. Despite all the things to love, however, you would have to be completely daft to be oblivious to the extreme poverty, inequality, and complex social and environmental issues prevalent within the country.

When we returned to Toronto, we heard of an event through Kapisanan, a Toronto-based Filipino arts and culture organization where Jérôme had been taking Tagalog classes back in 2013. The event was marketed with the intriguing headline “Batman, Foodies, Fashion + CrisisMaps” and we decided to attend. This was our introduction to the world of NextDayBetter and it was my first time being surrounded by so many people like me – second generation Filipinos who grew up in Canada. They were hugely idealistic, and I discovered a community of people who not only looked like me, but also shared my ambitions to create positive and impactful change in the world.

At the first NextDayBetter event in Toronto, I discovered a community of ambitious Filipino youth (and also plenty of delicious Filipino food).

We were inspired. Jérôme, with his insatiable appetite for knowledge, intensively began to research the Philippines. He occupied himself with learning about the tech and startup scene, social issues, and economy. He came across Gawad Kalinga, an extremely impressive Filipino organization founded by Tony Meloto committed to eradicating poverty in the Philippines. One of the key ways they aim to do this is through their Enchanted Farm, an incubator for Filipino social enterprises. From there, we were introduced to organizations such as GoldenducK, Gourmet Keso, Human Heart Nature, Rags2Riches, and engageSPARK. The range in size, mission, and product offerings was astounding, and the creativity with which many of these organizations tackle the country’s most complex social issues completely floored and humbled us.

Something we noticed early in our research was though many social enterprises were doing amazing work, learning about it was a huge challenge. Many of these organizations didn’t have websites or were impossible to find, and when we did find them, the messages were so convoluted that it was next to impossible to understand what they did. That’s where the idea for ChooseSocial.PH was truly born. We essentially created what we wanted for ourselves –  a go-to resource to learn about social enterprises in the Philippines that was visually appealing, up to date, and in touch with the younger generation of Filipinos.

We officially launched our website in November 2014 and have 73 organizations in our directory to date, with over 150 organizations waiting to be researched and added. We continue to make improvements to our site, and are focused on strengthening our relationships with social entrepreneurs and partner organizations. When I think of it, the two of us are a funny group – me, a Filipina still learning Tagalog; and Jérôme, a Québecois living in Toronto who learned English as a second language and knows more about the Philippines than I do. We are both members of our respective diaspora communities in our unique ways.

I would be lying if I said I didn’t have my doubts. I doubt whether the two of us are really knowledgeable or qualified to be involved in this type of work. I get anxious when I think about the future and what ChooseSocial.PH will become, if it will become anything. I get frustrated when my friends and own family don’t understand or show interest in what we’re doing. I wonder, more often than not, if I know what I’m doing and if those entrepreneurs we spend so much time researching and learning about ever wonder the same things.

Despite the doubts, I draw my inspiration from stories. Stories of the people on our website, and of the Filipinos I heard speak the first time I attended an event with NextDayBetter. I am moved by experiences of Filipinos who choose to stay in the Philippines rather than go abroad because they want to fight for their communities, and stories of Filipinos who left and returned because they believed they could make it better. I am driven by stories of people like my partner Jérôme and my sister who works with Filipino youth, like the amazing team of NextDayBetter, like the people who email us on a weekly basis wanting to learn more about social enterprises and how they can contribute – people who may be far from where they came from but wear their Filipino-ness close to their hearts. I strive for the day we can finally shed off the description of Filipinos as “resilient people” and replace it instead with words like; “innovative”, “empathetic”, “passionate”, “intelligent”, and “entrepreneurial “.

These are the things that drive me and put my doubts to rest, and though I am still discovering what it means to be Filipina, I know I am not alone and there are people like me and different from me who are trying to achieve the same goals. I am so humbled and excited to be able to continue to share the stories of such amazing organizations and people with you.

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Gelaine Santiago: Gelaine, a Filipino-Canadian, is co-founder of ChooseSocial.PH – the go-to resource to learn about the social enterprise scene in the Philippines. She works as an HR professional in Toronto during the day and loves to talk about all things social enterprises, women’s and minority rights, entrepreneurship, tech, start-ups, and food (of course).