How do I love the Philippines, let me count the ways…
In 1995, French national Aurore Roiland, then a student in Science and Technology at the University of Nantes (France), was sent on a mission to the Philippines by a non-government organization (NGO), Les Amis Soeur Emmanuelle, to help improve the living conditions of the street children of Manila. The NGO was founded by the late Sister Emmanuelle, whom they look up to as the French Mother Teresa. Aurore traveled back and forth from France to the Philippines and immediately fell in love with our country.
The year after, Aurore established an association named Les Oursins – Enfants des Trottoirs, which aims to help disadvantaged children’s development and well-being in the Philippines. Aurore shares, “A long work began to conceive the program of actions on the field. I developed a pedagogy through play. And the first play center in the world for street and slum children was opened in Manila on April 2, 2000, through a partnership with Doctors Without Borders.”
Through Les Oursins – Enfants des Trottoirs, 500 children, from babies to young adults, were welcomed every week.
Aurore has received several awards for her work, including the Gold Medal of the Universal League of Public Welfare, which was presented at UNESCO in 2012; moreover, she was later named Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite in 2021 (the medal ceremony will take place this year at the Residence of France).
From the play center, she was also able to develop different programs: microcredit for families, medical programs, and schooling for children — help that would, over the years, come to support young adults who have now been able to enter various professional trainings and universities.
Twenty years since the formation of Les Oursins – Enfants des Trottoirs, thousands of street children have obtained their high school diploma, hundreds have reached university level, numerous technical diplomas have been handed out, and many young people have found good jobs in the capital or abroad. Today, they have transformed the association into a foundation in the Philippines. And, in addition to play centers, it has also been providing emergency aid services.
Aurore also set up a self-financing activity for Filipino handicrafts. Aurore happily tell us, “During my travels in Europe and Asia to participate in humanitarian conferences, I sold quality products made in the Philippines. Given the success of the sales in Hong Kong, Singapore and Paris, I had the idea to promote even more Filipino handicraft and savoir-faire.”
With family funding, she and her Filipino daughter by heart, Marjorie, launched the Liwayway brand in November 2017 — a line of luxury products they design themselves. Their creations are made with materials such as fine porcelain, woodcarvings, resin or fiber reproduction, papier-maché or Filipino weaving, which eventually branched out from homeware to a resort clothing line!
Aurore ends our interview by sharing with us, “I’ve been in the Philippines for 27 years. I moved to the country with my husband, Damien, 23 years ago. I told my husband I will only say yes if you follow me in the Philippines. We established our family here. As my son Louis Paul says, we are French by blood and Filipino by heart.”
Aurore shares with us reasons why she and her family fell in love with the Philippines:
1. Very quickly images, smells, and laughter come to mind when someone asks me what and why I like living in the Philippines! So many souvenirs.
2. I believe after all these years that what defines the Philippines and why we love this country is the Filipino himself or herself. Obviously there is not only one type of Filipino; I am not a fan of generalities, easily abused. But as a whole, the character/ personality of Filipinos is both gentle and strong. This made me love this country immediately.
3. A kind of sweetness of life: a way of life of the Philippines pleases me and soothes me, the little French girl raised to “hurry up.”
4. I was immediately charmed by the beautiful and good manners of the Filipinos towards their elders, the formulas and gestures of politeness, the invitation to eat, the welcome and many other things.
5. I have always been welcomed beautifully throughout the Philippines. Yes, what a sense of welcome! By the way, all this is not mentioned enough when we talk about the Filipino culture. Filipinos have a lot of delicacy and codes in their society.
6. I love the cheerfulness of Filipinos with their wide and bright smile. Because in the end, in any circumstance, this smile comes back! So yes, I love the tenacity and the positivism of this people! Their dedication and ingenuity often leave me speechless.
7. There are so many resources and patience! Empathy remains a very important trait in the Filipino culture, especially in the provinces. I love the fluidity and simplicity of interactions with Filipinos.
8. After 27 years in the Philippines, I continue to be amazed and surprised by the landscapes as I travel. I love the diversity of the atmosphere on the seaside, the beach side, the mountainside, the volcano side, the rice field side or the pineapple field side! Of course, I could talk a lot about the Filipino’s landscapes, but obviously France remains a reference!
9. After more than 25 years of living in the Philippines, I still eat like a Frenchwoman, but some Filipino delicacies have become comfort food for the whole family, from adobo to maruya. I, the French, nowadays enjoy my coffee with a delicious pandesal as much as with a baguette or a croissant! Filipinos like to eat like the French!
10. So, I like that my son is raised in the archipelago of smiles and good moods.
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