Make your Nanay proud

That has always been one of our wishes, deep in our bones, to make our parents proud, especially our mothers who were once literally linked to our bodies.

That is also the fulcrum around which Make Your Nanay Proud (MYNP) Foundation Inc. sits. Founded by our good friend, Boy Abunda – talk show host, popular columnist, university lecturer and supporter of causes honorable and noble – the MYNP was founded in honor of Nanay Lesing, Boy’s beloved mother, and of all the mothers in the country.

MYNP stands in stark contrast to the slew of foundations and non-governmental organizations who were used, wittingly or unwittingly (since the judicial determination of the cases are still ongoing), in the pork-barrel scam allegedly led by its Queen, Janet Napoles. Whereas the others served as funnels to steal billions of pesos, some of which filled bath tubs and caused callouses to grow on those who counted the cash, MYNP operates on the proverbial shoestring, even if its dreams are big.

Boy Abunda, who just defended a few days ago his dissertation for the PhD in Social Development at the Philippine Women’s University (congratulations!), said: “With love, we shall brave even the deepest waters. Duc in Altum – Go into the deep!”

Being a foundation that relies only on donations, it has not been easy to run MYNP. “There were challenges both internal and external that tested our fortitude and determination. But nobody said that it was going to be a walk in the park to sustain a foundation built around the concept of making our nanays proud. It was like diving into the deep blue sea. But as I always say, with maternal love, everything is possible.”

Executive Director and Ladlad Party List officer Bemz Benedito said that in 2015, their projects created mother-loving communities through their Make Your Nanay Proud Book, Sine Nanay Festival 2015, Best Nanay Awards 2015, MYNP-BJMP Engagement with liberty-deprived women and mothers, MYNP Soup Kitchen, Tulong Kay Nanay Project, Radyo Balintataw Text Tula Partnership, MYNP Outreach Projects, engagements with mother-LGBT, listening sessions with mothers and stakeholders, and a compilation of research materials and articles on motherhood.”

For 2016, Boy said that they will touch base with “the world of millennials and centennials to show that making our nanay proud is indeed epic and cool.”

I first met Mike Sicat, MYNP president, at the awarding ceremonies of their photo contest on mothers. He said that “when you open yourself to chance, you will find yourself transformed and your life will never be the same. I am a testament to this.”

Three years ago, his good friend, Boy Abunda, asked him to join an organization that will honor our mothers and make them proud by being the best that we could be.

“I was convinced by Boy’s passion and I know him to be dedicated to his work, and so, I agreed. And as the old adage goes, the rest is history, and it has been one wonderful journey of realization and discovery for me.”

His friends and colleagues congratulated him for the seamless merging of business and purpose of giving back to the community, “but no accolade can compare to the warmth and smiles of the mothers whom I meet in the many activities of MYNP. I attended a few activities at first, and I felt the warmth of what we really do. From then on, I would not miss any activity, for the world.”

He continues: “Like a good mother, in the end, what we really seek is that soft caress as we lay our heads on her lap, a kiss on the forehead, and the words we long to hear – ‘magaling anak, proud si Nanay sa iyo (you did well, my child, and Mother is proud of you).’”

One of MYNP’s major successes is its book that was launched at the first Philippine Literary Festival 2014 on October 23, 2014 at the Raffles Makati.

The book, published by ABS-CBN Publishing Inc., contains over 80 anecdotes, stories and reflections from celebrities, leaders, personalities, and everyday folk. The Philippine Literary Festival 2014 was sponsored by National Book Store and Raffles Makati.

When he was told by ABS-CBN Publishing Inc. that the book would be launched at the opening of the literary festival, he gasped and thought: “Siyempre natakot ako... how in the world did we deserve to open the first ever Philippine Literary Festival... how can we share credits with the likes of Amy Tan and Chang-Rae Lee?”

But the more he thought about it, he realized: “Why can’t we open the Philippine Literary Festival? What can be more literary than a mother’s love for a child? Or a child’s musings and introspection, ideas, concepts on how he or she makes his or her mother proud?”

As their senior council adviser Washington Sycip reminded Boy, “Your message must be simple, it must be short.”

Thus, their mission statement: “Make your mother proud by being the best of who you are and by being the best in all you do.” And these were distilled in the first book’s shapes of thought, its curves of feelings.

Boy adds,”’MYNP believes in the power of maternal love, with the love of a mother anything is possible... We believe if you want a better world, start with the individual. We believe strengthening families starts with strengthening the individual. These mother-loving communities create a better country.

This is the reason we put up MYNP, we want to do our share in nation-building.”

The book landed in the top five bestsellers at National Book Store. A sequel, on time-honored recipes by mothers, is already in preparation.

The first book featured stories and anecdotes from leaders like Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago and President Noynoy Aquino, to celebrities like Coco Martin and Kathryn Bernardo, to everyday individuals.

“No story is less or more than any other story. Each one of us has a unique way of articulating our love for our mothers and how we make them proud,” Boy said in an interview.

There will be many more stories to come from the women who fed us with milk, sang lullabyes for us, sent us to school and prepared us to face bravely what the Greek poet Sappho called “life’s beautiful pain.”

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