A tragedy like St. Bernard is not new to us. Last year, we saw the erosion of mountains in Real, Quezon Province. And in 1990, we experienced the biggest earthquake. But God’s loving presence is always with us that each time a misfortune happens, He is there to soothe wounded bodies, wounded feelings and broken lives. Faith in its mysterious ways and magnificent power never fails to save us from temporal and spiritual damnation.
We remember when Mt. Pinatubo erupted. Filipino hospitality came to the fore. The spirit of bayanihan was rekindled. And together, we were able to stand up amidst the destruction with a little help from friends.
We feel fortunate to have friends around us. One of these friends is the Hong Kong All Stars Sports Association (ASSA) which donated P2-M to victims of the Leyte landslide. It was an auspicious event for ASSA because upon reaching its 20th anniversary, the organization chose to donate money during a celebration at the Fontana Leisure Parks. ASSA founding members are all from the entertainment industry of Hong Kong. ASSA together with Fontana’s top officials coursed the money through the Philippine Red Cross. Philippine Red Cross is always an active participant in helping people. The Red Cross was among the first to arrive on the scene the day the infamous Wowowee incident happened at Ultra.
ASSA was founded in September 1986 and has now a total of 100 members who regularly come together for a series of activities in sports that fosters camaraderie among fellow actors and singers and corrects the wrong impression people have of Hong Kong celebrities – that they have unhealthy lifestyles and are into all sorts of vices.
It was a team of soccer players which started ASSA and as years went by, basketball, tennis, bowling, badminton and golf teams came into the picture.
"As one of the founding members of ASSA, I have been involved in a lot of charitable projects that we do around Hong Kong and Malaysia. I hope younger members could maintain the efforts that we have done all these years. I am also glad we have accomplished our goal to change the wrong notion that people have of actors like me," says Simon Yam.
For the past 20 years, ASSA has done charitable projects for the elderly and orphans in several countries like Australia, Canada, The Netherlands, and Malaysia. But in Hong Kong, it is the care of the elderly that has been ASSA’s top priority.
Simon Yam who starred with Angelina Jolie in Lara Croft Tomb Raider, was among those present during the 20th anniversary of ASSA. Others who lent their presence were top Hong Kong celebrities like Allan Tam who sang Mike Velarde’s composition Dahil Sa ‘Yo in Chinese, making the song popular in China and Hong Kong, actor-director Eric Tsang and singer-comedian Nat Chan.
ASSA members had a wonderful time in the 302-hectare Fontana property which boasts of a golf course, vacation villas and water park with mechanical waves.
Not to be left out in giving a helping hand are our local celebrities. One of them is Ruffa Gutierrez who had a fund drive for the victims of the Leyte landslide. Ruffa is magnificently beautiful inside and out. She auctioned celebrity clothes, bags, shoes and other things to raise funds for the victims. Several local stars have agreed to auction their personal things. Concerts have been held and are still being held for the victims. And the government is leaving no stone unturned to save the lives of those affected by the landslide.