Why Retire in the Philippines/Marinduque Vacations: Meal Times Conversations Here at THD-Homelessness

Planning to Retire Soon!

If you are planning to retire in the Philippines soon, I suggest you visit several excellent websites on pro's and cons of retiring in the Philippines. However if you want to retire in the provinces, where life is simple, standard of living cheaper, less traffic congestion and pollution, availability of fresh seafood and vegetables compared to the big cities, my island province is the place for you! If this is your first time in my site, welcome. Some of the photos and videos on this site, I do not own. However, I have no intention on the infringement of your copyrights. The photo above is the front yard of Chateau Du Mer- Our Retirement Home in Boac, Marinduque, Philippines

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Meal Times Conversations Here at THD-Homelessness

Last month, I had the pleasure of joining two ladies for dinner here at THD. Our meal times conversations were stimulating and educational. We discussed the homelessness in Walnut Creek as well as in the State and what Governor Newsom and the mayors of big cities are currently doing to alleviate this problem. Sacramento, my former home have the most number of the homeless compared to other big cities in the State. Here's the latest news from the New York Times and Asian Journal dated September 20, 2023 and October 10, 2023 respectively.

Between 2020 and 2022, the number of homeless people in Sacramento County increased by 68 percent, to 9,278, according to the latest federal data. By comparison, San Diego County’s homeless population increased by 10 percent, and Los Angeles County’s by 2 percent. Sacramento County now has more homeless residents than San Francisco.

“Across the nation, Sacramento was one of the places where homelessness grew the most,” said Marisol Cuellar Mejia, a research fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, which analyzed the data

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/11/us/california-homeless-spending/index.html#:~:text=Across%20the%20country%2C%20homelessness%20is,unhoused%20people%20now%20live%20here.

https://asianjournal.com/usa/california/california-takes-action-to-tackle-homelessness-2/

However, the topic that aroused my personal interest was the medical missions in the Philippines. One of my lady dinner -mate informed us that her nephew(MD) had been involved with MEDICAL missions in the Philippines, specifically facial and hare-lip surgeries for the needy in the rural provinces in the Philippines every year. I told the group, I have been personally involved with medical missions in the Philippines in the island of Marinduque- our second home.

Macrine (RIP) and other Volunteers Help in the Distribution of Free Medicines to the Needy

Allow me to repost some of my previous blogs on our ( Macrine and I) involvement with this humanitarian activity for our former fellow province mates.

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2016/06/my-involvement-with-medical-missions-in.html

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-notes-conducting-and-organizing.html

https://chateaudumer.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-heart-melted-and-i-cried-again.html

I volunteered as a Translator for our Non-Tagalog Speaking Doctors. I was also acting as Treasurer during the Medical Mission, while Macrine was the over-all coordinator.

My Quotes for Today: You Give but Little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Kahlil Gibran, 1883-1931, Lebanese Poet, Artist and Mystic

No comments:

Fruit Trees in the Gardens of Chateau Du Mer

The Mango Tree-I have three varieties in my Garden-The Indian, Guimaras and Carabao Mangoes My caretaker/gardener informed me last month that due to the El Nino drought in Marinduque, two of my Durian trees died in spite of his vigilant watering. One of the tree was attacked by insects that looks like a big fly but yellowish in color that sucks the sap of the seedling. The roots of the other tree was attacked by ants residing in the soil. However, my other fruit trees, the rambutans( 2), the lanzones(2) and the jack fruits ( 2) trees are doing well. The above eight fruit trees were given to me by Retired General Recaredo Sarmiento of Boac and Lucena., about three years ago. General Sarmiento is the “atid” of my wife. “Atid” is the colloquial term for brother. Evidently, Macrine's father, the late Bernardo Jambalos was the Godfather of General Sarmiento during his baptism and comfirmation. Gen Sarmiento's hobby is orchard planting, reforestation and farming. The other fruit trees in my garden are guayabanos, cashew, avocados, starapples, duhats, ates, guavas, mangoes( 3 varieties) and papayas as well as several varieties of bananas . Of the above fruit trees, my favorite is the guayabanos, also known as soursop tree known for its anti-tumor and anti-cancer properties . The following are photos of the fruit trees. The Durian photo is from the web. Note that it almost look like a jack fruit tree, except that the leaves are bigger and shiny. My desire is to have a passion fruit tree in the near future. You are welcome to visit my orchard and flower gardens any time, if perchance you are in the vicinity of The Chateau Du Mer Beach Resort and Conference Center.

The Rambutan Tree and Fruits

The Lanzone Tree and Fruits

The Jack Fruit Tree

The Durian Fruit Tree