The Girl Scouts of the Philippines conducted a forum on March 3 – 6, 2017 held at Ating Tahanan NTPC , Baguio City.

My sister, Jojie F. Alcantara, was invited to be one of the speakers for this forum and luckily I was chosen to assist her.  It was a chance also for me to go and visit Baguio City for the first time.

Ms. Bella Celeste A. Velasco whom we call “Ms. Chebelle”, is the Head, Publications Section and OIC of Communications Division.  She was responsible for arranging our trip to Baguio.

It was an early trip to Manila on March 3, 2017 as we boarded through PAL at 4:30 a.m. flight.  I was very sleepy then but I’m so excited to be on this trip as I was looking forward to arrive in Baguio City.  We arrived at 6:45 a.m. and was fetched by a white van to transport us to our destination.  I learned that Baguio was 4 hours away.

As we arrived in Baguio, I was amazed at the place where we will be staying.  It felt like home and the view of the pine trees everywhere made me feel so comfortable.  Seeing the unique and beautiful flowers around us made me realize that Baguio is indeed a must city to visit.

The place is called Ating Tahanan, National and Training Program Center owned by the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. We stayed in one room with my sister on the 2nd floor complete with facilities. We were truly comfortable and felt warmly welcomed by the staff and management.  The Living Room was attractive with shiny floors and attractive frames that hung on the different sides of the walls.  Seeing this, I could remember my Grandma’s house in our province which looked similarly like this.

 

Our room had two comfortable beds without an aircon or electric fan due to the fact that we do not need these because the weather was understandably so cold.

The kitchen was spacious and clean complete with all the things we needed.  We always have a hearty breakfast served between 8:00 -9:00 a.m. We can see the pine trees below through our window. It was a relaxing moment for both of us.

They have a restaurant located at the next building where there are available rooms upstairs for the guests who will stay.

My sister started her  workshop the next day, March 4, 2017 to the 50 participants representing different cities of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.  They were really excited as they come in earlier than expected.

Jojie Alcantara presented her great output for these past few years through a  brief power point presentation and gave her best advice on the techniques of photography afterwards .  Everyone was all ears during her speech and some had a chance to ask her personally as they showed the pictures they captured using their cameras or cell phones during an activity. This was the highlight of the forum.

The participants had fun while learning a lot of remarkable things about photography from one of the humble and witty photographers of Mindanao, Jojie Alcantara.  She had felt the warm reception of the participants and appreciated how they were eager to learn every step or process of taking good pictures.

What made it more exciting were the prizes given away during the raffle which was picked at random by the organizers of this forum.

They had a group picture taken outside with Ms. Jojie Alcantara.

I am also grateful that before the forum ended, we were given a Certificate of Appreciation and tokens from the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.

The workshop was a huge success that truly inspired all the participants of  the GIRL SCOUTS OF THE PHILIPPINES.  I am deeply honored to be part of this forum.