13 December 2013 - The Philippines Embassy in Prague joined 44 other countries in this year’s annual International Christmas Festival organized by the Diplomatic Spouses Association (DSA) for charity at the Hilton Hotel Prague on November 28.
Charge d’Affaires, a.i. (CDA) Juan E. Dayang, Jr. said that the Philippine Embassy booth was a hit in the Christmas Festival as people rushed to the Philippine Embassy stall to buy Philippine pearls. He said that “the Philippine pearls sold like hotcakes.” He added that from the Festival’s opening at 10:00 a.m. till its closing at 4:00 p.m., people were non-stop in lining up to get their chance to purchase Philippine fresh-water pearls at reasonable prices.”
The Philippine booth also sold Philippine food items such as dried mangoes and handicrafts such as capiz candle holders with entrepreneurs Martin and Myra Nižaradze, owners of Pnoy Store in Mala Strana, and Philippine handicraft distributor Dagmar Kumova.
The Philippine Embassy also participated in the ASEAN booth, which was organized by the ASEAN Committee in Prague (ACP) for the first time this year. The ASEAN booth displayed handicrafts, food and textile products from five (5) ASEAN Embassies in the Czech Republic namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Paul Hermans, the DSA treasurer, has confirmed receipt of the Philippine Embassy’s contribution to the DSA amounting to 37,387 Czech koruna (CZK) or 82,873 Philippine pesos representing ticket sales and percentage of the table sales.
CDA Dayang said that the Philippine Embassy is happy to join the DSA’s Festival to “strengthen solidarity with the diplomatic corps, promote Philippine products, and share one’s blessings to the least fortunate by donating a part of the proceeds generated by the Philippine Embassy booth”. The Philippine Embassy also pooled some amount from the proceeds to benefit victims of typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines.
The Festival was opened for the first time by Mrs. Ivana Zemanová, wife of President Milos Zeman, who is the patron of the event. The Philippine booth was one of the booths visited by Madam Zemanová and was presented by the Embassy with Philippine handicraft products.
First Lady Zemanová said that “the DSA Festival is a result of several months of collaboration between people divided by different cultures and languages, but united by the idea of helping the disadvantaged of our country. Their efforts are truly inspiring and we owe them a great gratitude”.
The Diplomatic Spouses Association (DSA) started in 1997 as a nonprofit organization to enable its members to enhance cultural relations with the host country and share their own cultural heritage. By selling merchandise from around the world, members raise funds to support Czech humanitarian organizations. Since 2000 the DSA has raised more than CZK 55.5 million or 122 million Philippine pesos, which makes DSA one of the leading local benefactors in the Czech Republic. END