Sarah Songalia

Founder, Burublig Para Ha Tanauan
Mandaluyong City, Philippines
Global FWN100™ '14

Sarah Songalia has always had her belief that despite the odds, in time, anything can work so long as the right ingredients are there - attitude and passion. Ms. Songalia is Youth Ministry Founder and President, a Presidential Leadership Scholar; an active youth leader at Sangguniang Kabataan; a finance officer; an auditor; a risk consultant; a founder of Saavedra Songalia and Associates and Entrepreneurs Accounting Academy; and a financial advisor at Prulife UK.

The onslaught of Yolanda left her quivering in fear for the lives of her loved ones. While desperately waiting for news from back home during that fateful November 8, 2013 super typhoon, Sarah knew that what happened in her hometown could be worse and a lot of help would be needed. She asked their website administrator to create a page for her at Facebook named Burubig Para Ha Tanauan. She offered her offices to be drop off points for relief goods solely for Tanauan, Leyte, her hometown. A lot of Tanauananons answered the call and the rest is history.

Amidst the tragedy, she can say that true "Bayanihan" reigned. At present time, they moved on to livelihood programs after delivering more than 100 tons of relief goods to the people of Tanauan, Leyte.

Grace Relucio Princesa

Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Arab Emirates
Global FWN100™ '14

Ambassador Grace Relucio Princesa is a Babaylan or Filipina warrior from Ligao, Albay. She is a career diplomat and a distinguished Philippine public servant for the last 26 years. Ambassador Princesa finished her Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service and some Masteral Units from the University of the Philippines.

It was her stint in Baghdad, Iraq, from 2001-2003, that merited her two Presidential Awards, the DFA's Gawad Mabini Dakilang Kasugo Award in 2003 and the Civil Service Commission's Lingkod Bayan Award in September 2005 for successfully evacuating Filipinos before the outbreak of the 2003 US-Iraq war.

She writes about her advocacies for Filipinos, on financial/entrepreneurial literacy, disaster preparedness and consequences of climate change/renewable energy awareness, feminized migration, and development and time management through the "Bayanihan ng Bayan at mga Bayani" in the Illustrado, a monthly magazine for Filipinos in the Middle East, published by Lalaine Chu-Benitez.