MANILA:
9
November
2013
-- It might be raining buckets outside, and
further south
the nation is counting the costs of the worst typhoon
ever, but
every cloud has a silver-lining remember, and the Salesian
Sisters in
the Phiippines would like to extend the following good news to
everyone
in the region. The event took place quite some time ago, but
they would
still like you all to know about it.
A Salesian Sister social worker was recently honoured by the
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) of the Philippines
for her
dedication and commitment to her profession.
Sr. Maria Victoria Palomo Sta. Ana, FMA, Executive Director of
the
Laura Vicuña Foundation, Inc., was named 2013
OUTSTANDING SOCIAL WORKER
by the PRC in awarding ceremonies at the Manila Hotel.
Known for her strong stance against child labor and advocacy
of women’s
rights, she was lauded for her “selfless dedication to the
poor,
especially the empowerment of young people.”
Aside from her work in the Laura Vicuña Foundation, she
has served 30
years as a Registered Social Worker and 25 years as a
Salesian
Sister. She also sits as the International Board Member for
Asia in the
International Network of Consecrated Persons Against
Trafficking in
Persons (Talitha Kum).
According to the PRC, she used her networking skills, coupled
with hard
work and determination, to improve the services of the
foundation, thus
enabling it to serve a large number of disadvantaged women and
children
despite its small size.
Under her leadership, the Laura Vicuña Foundation
became the first
Philippine non-government organization to be given the 2012
STARS
IMPACT AWARD, an honor bestowed by the London-based STARS
Foundation to
organizations in the Africa-Middle East and Asia-Pacific
regions which
achieve excellence in providing services to disadvantaged
children.
