Pink is the color of courage ...and good friends, and good food!

Courage usually comes in shades of red, for blood spilled on the battlefield, for passion in defense of a cause, for strength in the face of danger. But there is a different kind of courage, the kind that sustains day after day, that makes one take just one more step, and then one more, that makes one affirm life and joy in the face of an illness debilitating both physically and spiritually. And the color of that courage is, appropriately, pink.

Pink is the chosen color of ICanServe, a breast cancer support group founded in Manila in 1999 which aims to “empower women with breast cancer and women cancer-related information so they can have a voice in their own health care. It offers hope so women will not feel alone in their journey. Volunteers are cancer survivors willing to share their light with other patients and survivors so that their path is better lit, and the journey, lighter.”

Its mission is to “arm women with breast care health and breast cancer information so they can make informed decisions about their health. It also provides access to special services that will help the breast cancer survivor recover and heal more effectively.” ICanServe was founded by broadcast journalist and cancer patient advocate Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala, who serves as its president.

The group has successfully pioneered several projects, such as the first breast cancer resource guide “ICanServe: A Network of People, Places and Services in the Service of the Philippine Breast Cancer Community,” and the first national breast cancer forum called Silver Linings plus the first national homecoming for breast cancer survivors held in 2005. The next forum and homecoming is planned for September 2008 in Cebu.

Two weeks ago ICanServe held another landmark event, the first ever Pink Kitchen, which was a rousing success at the Rockwell Tent. One of the most talked about and purposeful events in this town of endless – sometimes mindless – happenings, the Pink Kitchen was a two-day food festival that brought together under one tent a veritable parade of the country’s top professional chefs, chefs without restaurants (this was therefore a rare chance for the public to sample their culinary creations), at-home chefs, bakers, restaurateurs, and food and wine people. There were so many participants that they had to be rotated – there were different concessionaires for lunch, merienda and dinner on both days.

Thus the crowd, many of whom just hung around the whole day, or a good part thereof, going off at times to the mall next door, had a wide range of food choices: Filipino, Chinese, Thai, Burmese, Indian, Indonesian, Malaysian, Moroccan, French, Italian, Spanish, Swiss, Cuban, and a dizzying array of mouth-watering calories that made me hyperventilate just looking at them.

Here is a sampling: the irrepressible Jill Sandique and Myrna Segismundo did what they do best, which is make you forget your diet; imaginative and engaging chef and teacher Reggie Aspiras cooked Spanish; Sunshine Puey displayed her skills (although mom Bela Yuchengco was there, she didn’t bring her treasure of a Chinese chef); Pinoy comfort food with a twist from Ann Castro; there were Swiss breads and Malaysian breads (the latter from Chef See Cheong Yan); even someone selling cookware. All the chefs and food outlets – unfortunately there were far too many for me to mention – did more than feed hungry folk: they donated proceeds from their booths to ICanServe. And because no tipping was allowed, let me now take my hat off to the volunteer students and staff of Enderun College who charmingly and patiently waited on and bussed tables. I hope their teachers gave them all A-pluses!

Days before, P200 entrance tickets were sold by ICanServe members to friends, who sold to more friends, and so on. Everyone wanted to help, so everyone, it seems, bought tickets. And, once there, everyone bought food chits. Our group of six – out on a “sisterhood” spree – ended up with more food than we could eat because we had to use up our chits! And judging from the way people were sharing and offering food, everyone bought more chits than they could afford in terms of calories. But hey, it was all good food among good friends, and for a very good cause.

Rather than going into the who’s who of the A-list crowd that came, ate and ate some more those two days (a few of them are in the photos on this spread), I want to salute the fearless and wonderful ladies of ICanServe, especially Bettina Osmeña and Beth Romualdez who put the event together, very ably helped by Minnie Jentes, Libet Virata, and Marge Jorillo, with Beth’s daughter Via Reyes as project coordinator.

Alice San Juan was tireless in plying us with food while hardly stopping for a bite herself. I was overjoyed to see many friends looking not only healthy but beautiful and brimming over with life and joy, like my college classmate Bibeth Orteza and my churchmate Alice Orleans. But I also missed a few friends who were not well enough to be at the event.

Overcoming one of the greatest challenges in life – facing up to cancer–– and then working to help others over come it too, these women deserve to wear this pink badge of courage, and deserve too our admiration and support. Be sure you’re there at the next Pink Kitchen.

 You can contact ICanServe at tel 687-3942, email [email protected] and www.icanserve.net