Lady of Smiles has new reason to smile

When I covered the visit to the Philippines of Dr. Bill Magee and his wife Kathy (a nurse) for Operation Smile, a charity which offers free cleft lip and cleft palate operations to poor, disfigured children, I was told of a lady from Cebu who strongly supported the project. The other donors were big multinational companies like Coca-Cola, and the low-profile Cebuana was as generous as the most generous of them. I would later get to know her name, and last year, I had the privilege of meeting the self-effacing philanthropist.

Her name is Mariquita Salimbangon Yeung and she is indeed a smile personified.

“Kindness is always in fashion, always in style,” Mariquita, a successful real estate developer in Cebu, told my colleague Büm Tenorio Jr. She established in 1991 the MSY Charitable Foundation Inc., which, since 1998, has partnered with Operation Smile. Happily married to Carlos Yeung and a mother of three, she finds fulfillment in giving the poorest of the poor the ability to express their happiness as well — through a priceless smile.

Mariquita has been smiling ear to ear lately with the arrival of her very first granddaughter, Katherine Mary, daughter of Mariquita’s daughter Carla and her husband Chris McKowen.

It was a joyous occasion for the Yeung-McKowen family to welcome the birth of their first daughter Katherine Mary after their two sons, Harry and Cameron. 

Doting grandparents Carlos and Mariquita Yeung gave Katherine Mary Yeung McKowen a grand baptism officiated by Msgr. Roberto Alesna at the St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish in Lahug, Cebu City.

It was a twofold celebration held at the sprawling gardens of Villa Mariquita — an intimate luncheon for the godparents and immediate family and a dinner party for the family’s numerous close friends. Chef Piya Suthasiri of the family-owned Kandaya Resort whipped up a delicious five-course meal for lunch and the dinner party had varied caterers. There was an Italian corner, a Japanese buffet and a spread of Filipino delicacies.

Katherine Mary was oblivious to the grand celebration of her baptism but there will be pictures for her to enjoy when she grows up. (You may e-mail me at [email protected].)