How these three Filipinas feed their passion—and purpose
We can be everything we want to be, anytime, anywhere as long as we’re moving with purpose and an end goal in mind. This is what the panelists of “She Slays: My Passion Fuels the Future” believe in.
Anna Oposa of Save Philippine Seas, Margaux Atayde of Corazon Atayde Memorial Foundation, and Tasha Tanjutco of Tayo Change Agency and Design Studio shared how their passions molded them into the women they are today at the recent She Slays event held at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura.
With the pandemic receding like a dark, distant dream, most of us have already planned our next move, much like these three inspiring women. Passion is what keeps them going, despite the challenges they face.
Shaping their own goals
“I wanted to be the next Lea Salonga,” Anna Oposa quipped. And so become the Lea Salonga of her own world she did.
Oposa is the executive director and “chief mermaid” of Save Philippine Seas (SPS), an online platform that started in May 2011 as a response to large-scale illegal wildlife trade, dubbed as the “rape of the Philippine Seas.” It was meant to be a short-lived, brief social media campaign but it continued to grow, thanks to a small team of “seatizens.” In 2013, SPS ofishally became a non-profit organization under the name Philippine Seatizens, Inc.
She got her penchant for the environment from her dad, who’s an environmental lawyer.
“I grew up talking about environmental issues at the dinner table. I did recite environmental laws off the top of my head, not because I wanted to, but because it was just part of my upbringing,” Ana said. “Whatever we do is connected to the sea.”
The award-winning environmental activist’s gentle reminder for those who wish to spend their time on worldly things? “Boys are erasable, but marine resources are not.” Funny as it is, Oposa is spreading a cold, hard fact.
For Anna and Margaux, it’s when the country doesn’t need them anymore that will signify that they’ve already done their part.
To serve with a heart
Margaux Atayde, on the other hand, said there’s always an opportunity to serve.
“Whether it’s being a good team member, there’s always an opportunity. I feel very blessed to do this as my full-time job, mostly because I have a very supportive team behind me. I get inspired every day with what I do,” she enthused.
Atayde is the co-founder of the Corazon Atayde Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides education to children through its flagship program LETS Read. They donate learning materials and conduct literacy programs and training to schools and communities who have the least access to education. The foundation has now reached more than 12,000 children and communities around the country.
“The gift of breathing is [already] a gift of a lifetime and just to be a small part of the hub is just so rewarding,” she added.
Being focused at a young age
Tasha Tanjutco, co-founder of Kids for Kids, a youth empowerment and charity organization that aims to inspire and educate a legacy of peacemakers, worldshapers, and changemakers, has been at the top of her game since she was a teenager.
Tasha and her sister Bella co-founded the organization back in 2015, at ages 13 and 15 respectively. Kids for Kids is composed of volunteers and project teams that ensure the organization continues to catalyze positivity around the world.
When they were in high school, they planned on starting a simple movement involving their friends. They ended up building a community of different movements and organizations since its founding. In 2018, she and her sister co-founded TAYO Change Agency & Design Studio, a multidisciplinary creative agency grounded on culture.
“It was just that simple idea that we had something to give and so much yet to learn from other people that we never had the opportunity to learn in school. So visiting these communities affected by this broken system we’re facing, learning from them made us realize, okay, this is what we want to continue, what we’re doing because these are the stories that need to be heard,” Tanjutco said.
Motivation vs. Burnout
Of course, not everyone can say that they never think of quitting, let alone get tired. For these three women, they’re just like everybody else who doubt themselves every now and then.
“First, we have to change the misconception that advocates don’t get tired. I think we can all agree that we all get burnt out. We just do it with red lipstick [on] so we don’t look tired! But it happens,” Ana said. For her, taking breaks and making her own rules for self-care are important.
Her secret: not reading the news unless it’s related to her work and doing something else aside from work such as her hobbies.
“You don’t have to be good at it; it just has to bring you joy,” she stressed. She believes that she can’t save the entire Philippines, but her work on certain marine protected areas and knowing that it is making an impact is already a meaningful achievement.
“All the sharks in the Philippines won’t die if I sleep more than four hours!” Ana joked.
As for Margaux, managing your self-expectations helps in keeping stress at bay. “One of the things I’ve learned is that you have to allow your expected expectations to be shattered because other things may come out of it,” she said.
For Tasha, she only learned how to take a step back just last year after the pandemic.
“I always felt bad that I had time to rest. But once I realized that because you are lucky enough to take a step back and you have that privilege to sleep at night, that you have to use that energy to give now to other people that don’t have it. That was the kind of realization I just had last year,” she shared.
When asked about the idea of giving up, the three women all agreed on the same thing: everyone goes through it. Just like getting burnt out, it’s a common thing to feel and or think about.
“[During the pandemic] I thought we were going to close down because our program was face-to-face. How do you teach kids to read without the teacher, without reaching them? How do we even know if they’re engaging with the material?” Margaux recalled. But they managed through all the adversities the pandemic had posed on their organization. They were able to pull through all the downsizing, the first of many steps of trial and error.
“We learned a lot. We shattered our expectations. We were humble enough to begin again, have more empathy than ever before for the people that we were working with.”
On being more effective advocates
For Anna, there’s “no such thing as a perfect environmentalist or a perfect advocate.” She believes that everyone has to make their choices given the resources and context.
“The motto that I have is aim for progress, not perfection, whatever you’re doing at that moment,” Anna shared. “Credibility and influence are something that you build. No one is born super influential.”
About further empowering women and children, and helping them find their purpose in life, Tasha believes that discussions about purpose are more special when it revolves around women and children.
“That’s because of the natural intergenerational conversations and connection that we have. For example, of course, our first teachers are often our mothers—this idea that women and children have this connection,” she said. For her, learning about the realities women face at a young age inspires her to empower more women and children.
“A lot of women and girls don’t realize the power that they have, because we are in a society that is quote-unquote, patriarchal, right? But what’s exciting is that women and girls meet with both head and heart. And that’s what I really like. It’s because we have this balance for compassion, but we also know how to empower,” she said.
Obsoletion as goal
It’s no joke leading a tribe of like-minded people, especially when it involves the environment and the minority. For Anna and Margaux, it’s when the country doesn’t need them anymore that will signify that they’ve already done their part.
“My goal is to make marine conservation ordinary. Right now, I get invited to things like this because the work I do is extraordinary. But how do I build a nation where we all care about the sea? That’s what I’m trying to do with my work,” Anna said, to which Margaux agreed.
“The goal is to be obsolete—you don’t need us anymore. The goal is children learning happily in school, reading, empowered, [and] have the tools to build their future,” Margaux said.
Although there’s still a long way to go, Tasha believes the days leading to it are all going to be worth it.
“It’s making sure that every child still has access to creativity and a childhood. But again, the idea is to eventually disappear. I think that’s what all NGOs actually are. It’s an idea that one day we are in this perfect world where we don’t have to exist,” she added.