From north to south.
From east to west.
That’s how 2018 Miss Universe Catriona Gray navigates and uses her moral compass.
Catriona is thinking ahead, no more, no less.
Because of the unsafe water problem in the whole country, as it flows to from Zambales to Siquijor and back, she sees to it that she helps in maintaining a clean, clear and clear-cut water supply and waterways based on her capacity as a human being, as a woman, as a beauty queen, as a citizen of the world, as a Filipino.
Right after Gray has done her on cam work for the documentary film “Forged by Fire,” a movie project of Operation Blessing Philippines in collaboration with CBN Asia, where she waded the waters of Zambales just to support and uphold truth about the suffering of the marginalized fisherfolk in the western part of the region, she went southbound—to the beautiful and mystical land of Siquijor.
Cat was in this Visayan-island to help residents acquire potable water through H&M Philippines and Team Catriona.
Imagine a beauty queen sharing her life in the boondocks.
She might not be a muse of pulchritude as Maita Gomez, the Philippines’ representative to the 1967 Miss World and Nelia Sancho, the 1971 Queen of the Pacific who went underground to fight the oppressive and authoritarian regime of the Martial Law period, Catriona has her own way of serving the people.
According to the 2018 Miss U, she went to Siquijor with the apparel line group not to promote and bring relief goods like clothing in consonance with the textile business but to purify drinking water in the province. She was an anticipated guest in the island as the residents were all hospitable and kindhearted to her, one of them was a housewife named Sheila Lou.
“When we visited Nanay Sheila Lou in her home, she welcomed us with openness, sharing stories of water-related challenges that families, including her own, continue to navigate every day,” said Cat in her social media pages with an icon of a droplet of blue water.
The beauty queen-actress brought a water filtration system to the whole community and what a leap of faith this has made the residents more resilient and manageable.
“And just one day after receiving the water filtration system, she shared how it has already helped her family—an immediate impact we hope to sustain for years to come,” she quipped.
In her stay in the magical land of Siquijor, Cat was accommodating and candid about her integration and assimilation of the socio-economic and cultural realities of the countryside.
“In Siquijor Province, conversations with people became the heart of our journey and Catriona’s team, we moved with the intention to listen closely, provide support, and help bring clean water access to those who need it,” interjected a rep of H&M Philippines.
“Our mission in Siquijor is only the beginning. More stories on the way. In the coming days, we’ll be sharing stories from the Siquijodnons we met along the way, beginning with Barangay Simacolong in Lazi, as told through the experiences of Nanay Sheila Lou, a barangay health worker.
“Impact starts with awareness. Then action. Then people come together to create a wave of change. And in Siquijor, that wave has started,” added the group’s rep.
Expect the presence of Cat all over the Philippines in the next few days or weeks.
According to her, this mission is only the beginning as she and her group work toward reaching one barangay, one municipality and one province at a time.
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