In the face of natural disasters, violent conflict, poverty, and a number of deep-seated societal issues, the common Filipino’s “resilience” has constantly been held up as a shining character trait. However, a growing number of people are seeing “The Filipino Resilience” as a glorified coping mechanism, seemingly resigned to just powering through adversities with a mindset to live just to survive each day.
Optimism in Action: Giving people a reason to smile about the future
Colgate aims to reinstate the optimistic spirit behind Filipino smiles, but in such a way that galvanizes them into progressive action.
Everyday many people are putting their optimism into action, mostly flying under the social media radar until now: #SmileStrong spotlights three exceptional individuals, or Muses, whose Optimism in Action sparked positive change among their respective communities and social spheres. Arizza Nocum, Candy Pangilinan, and Brina Maxino share the same bright smile, born out of their own individual hardships and the strength they mustered to achieve what convention told them they couldn’t.
Muses of positive change
Arizza Nocum is a peace advocate, leader, and entrepreneur who co-founded KRIS, a non-profit organization promoting peace through education. Candy admits to her difficult experience in raising a child with special needs but finds that experience as rewarding as any other parent would. She wrote a book, “Mommy Dear: Our Special Love”, which details her journey on overcoming her fears and dealing with her son’s condition and continues to challenge the stigma of being a single parent using whatever platform she can.
Brina Maxino has Down Syndrome, yet went above and beyond what was expected of her, she is now an Assistant Teacher at PEAN Integrated School and Special Olympics Global Youth Ambassador for Asia-Pacific.
Enacting #SmileStrong initiatives through media events and activities
Colgate champions these three muses who smile through uphill battles, who challenge the status quo with a positive outlook, and shape the future with their confidence. Colgate’s #SmileStrong campaign seeks to demonstrate the inspirational power of these remarkable individuals through a series of short videos.
“While a lot of Filipinos may just smile their troubles away, there are those who silently do what they can, with the circumstances they are dealt with, to make their lives, and lives of other people better. And they do all of these with a smile!” says Ari Mandelbaum, Marketing Director of Colgate- Palmolive Philippines. ”[The muses] live the spirit of Optimism in Action every day, each with their own unique stories and struggles, but manage to rise above their challenges to serve as an inspiration to society in their own ways.”
Learning to Smile Through Strife: Arizza Nocum’s Educational Quest for Peace
As a child of Christian and Muslim parents, Arizza Nocum learned to live with her inherent duality early on, and came to respect her clashing traditions and shared values in equal measure. However, Arizza learned while living and studying in Manila that with her heritage, prejudice was a constant reality she had to live with.
Arizza’s mission: peace through education
This led to the creation of KRIS Libraries — educational centers designed to accommodate disadvantaged youth in areas riddled with violent conflict.
Most branches of KRIS are established in the Zamboanga area, serving as safe spaces for both Christian and Muslim children, whose shared education also helps forge bonds regardless of their religion or culture.
Arizza’s work on KRIS eventually landed her a spot in the Extremely Together initiative, a group of youth leaders handpicked by the Kofi Annan Foundation.
Arizza Nocum as a #SmileStrong muse
This led to the creation of KRIS Libraries — educational centers designed to accommodate disadvantaged youth in areas riddled with violent conflict.
Most branches of KRIS are established in the Zamboanga area, serving as safe spaces for both Christian and Muslim children, whose shared education also helps forge bonds regardless of their religion or culture.
Arizza’s work on KRIS eventually landed her a spot in the Extremely Together initiative, a group of youth leaders handpicked by the Kofi Annan Foundation.
Ambassador of Smiles: Brina Maxino on Defying Expectations in School and in Life
Throughout her life, numerous people have dismissed Brina Maxino’s capability to learn and keep up with kids her age — all because she has Down Syndrome.
Thanks to the encouragement and support of her parents, however, Brina managed to attend regular schools from pre-school to high school, waving off the special curriculum offered by specialized schools (and their expensive tuition fees).
Brina is now 24 and a consummate achiever, working as an educator and reaping awards and accolades for her academic excellence (among others)
Achiever and proud member of the “unified generation”
As high school class Valedictorian, Certificate holder in General Clerical Skills, a degree holder in Associate Arts and History Major, Brina went further than anyone — except maybe her loving and supportive family — ever expected.
While studying hard for her degrees, Brina also became the Special Olympics Global Youth Ambassador representing Asia-Pacific. She was then appointed as one of the ten Sargent Shriver International Global Messengers by the Special Olympics in 2019, making the rounds in companies and schools around the world to spread her message of inclusion.
Today, Brina works as an Associate Pre-school Teacher at PEAN Integrated School of Paranaque — the same school that welcomed her as their first student with special needs.
Brina Maxino as Colgate #SmileStrong Muse
As high school class Valedictorian, Certificate holder in General Clerical Skills, a degree holder in Associate Arts and History Major, Brina went further than anyone — except maybe her loving and supportive family — ever expected.
While studying hard for her degrees, Brina also became the Special Olympics Global Youth Ambassador representing Asia-Pacific. She was then appointed as one of the ten Sargent Shriver International Global Messengers by the Special Olympics in 2019, making the rounds in companies and schools around the world to spread her message of inclusion.
Today, Brina works as an Associate Pre-school Teacher at PEAN Integrated School of Paranaque — the same school that welcomed her as their first student with special needs.
A Journey of Smiles and Strength: Candy Pangilinan on Discovering Her Perfect Family
As a mom to 16-year old Quentin, Actress, and comedienne Candy Pangilinan has regularly opened up to interviews on her struggles in raising a child with ADHD. When Quentin was diagnosed with the condition, Candy realized caring for a child with special needs will require her lifetime commitment — a fact made doubly difficult by her being a single mother.
Years passed and Candy credits her son as the catalyst for discovering the strength she never thought she ever had.
Documenting the journey and countering stigma
Candy published the book “Mommy Dear: Our Special Love” in 2017, which chronicles her journey in raising Quentin and as a response to people who can relate to her experience.
With her book, Candy hopes to provide other parents — especially single parents — with enough useful takeaways from her own journey. She says that the sense of responsibility, commitment, and accountability should always be there for the relationship and the family to grow — otherwise, insisting on making it work may be the worse option.
Recently, she honors invitations to discuss her experiences at conferences on ADHD, where her insights prove valuable to an audience who struggle to deal with their own children with special needs.
Candy Pangilinan as a Colgate #SmileStrong Muse
As a natural fit for the #SmileStrong campaign, Candy Pangilinan embodies the type of individual Colgate finds inspirational in trying times. With the way she constantly shares her moments with Quentin online, almost always with ear-to-ear grins or goofy faces, one can’t help but admire her tenacity to stay positive throughout her single motherhood.
Special Smiles, an alive and intimate event set early next year will feature Candy as Colgate’s #SmileStrong muse to host a discussion on raising children with special needs. her commitment to giving Quentin the best life he can have always gives her the energy to #SmileStrong, resulting in the beaming, wisecracking personality people know and love.
In collaborating with Colgate, we hope to share more of Candy’s story and her real-life wisdom on how her acting career — as the character who laughed in response to life’s challenges — helped her internalize those values into optimism in action.
To know more about this campaign and our muses, you may check out: https://www.facebook.com/ColgatePhilippines/
