Her guiding philosophy was her adherence to the thought of simply believing in herself no matter what other  people say.  This motivated her to act on her goals and she tenaciously stayed in the paths of practical choices which led her to the right direction.

Graduating as a nurse from Far Easter University and Sta. Rita were challenges she faced with bravado despite the discouraging realities of financial limitations at that time. She managed to rise above it and made it to her goal. It was not surprising for her intention was to better her life and help her siblings and her beloved mother.

She migrated to Canada in 1966 and worked as a nurse at Winnipeg General Hospital. It was in the Filipino community in Manitoba that she served as director of the Kayumanggi Filipino Association and she also became a member of the Kagumanggi  Dance Troupe. In 1968 she organized the first Miss Philippines- Manitoba to raise funds for the association.

Family life is the top of her list of priorities. She is married to Satish Kumar Vohra  from New Delhi India, who she met in Winnipeg , an electrical engineer by profession. They have two children Sanjib and Reena both professionals in their respective fields.

In 1970 she moved to Montreal and worked as assistant head nurse at the Jewish General Hospital. While working as a nurse she took post graduate courses in McGill University. Norma has always been fascinated with the dynamics of beauty pageants. Her early exposure to this was back home among her sisters and nieces. She had a natural flare for she was endowed with the stature and fashionable taste for what is essential to be a contender in activities such as beauty pageants.

It was not common knowledge among the Filipino community in Montreal   that she was one of the founding members of FCAWI and one of the organizers of Miss FCAWI. She also served as director of FAMAS and there she initiated the idea of organizing the Miss Philippines- Montreal as a fundraising activity. She helped out for the first few years in the process of the pageants. She became Mrs. Philippines- Montreal in 1997. In the same year her daughter Reena won the title Miss Philippines – Montreal and she eventually became the finalist in the Canadian Search for Miss Universe. She was the international director of the Bb. Pilipinas of the World in Toronto.

In 1998, she co-founded the first Miss Global Beauty Quest an international pageant in Montreal. 

In 2000, she accompanied Miss Global Canada as part of the Miss Millennium beauty pageant in Helsinki, Finland.  Her experienced as a international and local pageant organizer she  was named as the regional director for the Canadian Search for Miss Universe by T-era Productions.  She served as the official chaperone of Miss Canada in Puerto Rico during the 50^th anniversary of the Miss Universe pageant. She is often invited to be a judge various beauty pageants in Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Vancouver and New Jersey.

Now in her retirement years she generously gives her time to community work like being a member of Philippine Foundation of Quebec where she participates in fundraising activities.  She is still an active volunteer organizer and adviser with Miss Earth Canada and is always there as mentor and coach for aspiring candidates. In the year 2002 she was awarded one of the Most Outstanding Filipino Canadians in Toronto.

He was born in Tanawan Batangas and graduated in Samson Technical School in the Philippines.  Vic was a businessman in his early twenties. He owned a restaurant, a photo shop and videography studio in his province. It was his nature to dabble in many interesting ventures and his resourcefulness led him to many doors.

He migrated to Montreal in 1990 after he met and married his French Canadian wife Francine Dolbec. They raised a family and had three children. Life was focused on nurturing the needs of his family as well as the growing interest in his businesses. It was not an easy ride but the challenges were motivations for him and he expanded and made more opportunities for himself and for those people he met along his business and social circle.

Life made a three hundred and sixty degrees turn for Vic when he found himself in Mackensie Park alone, broke and homeless. He lost his business his family life and most of his friends. It was a long story that was played along the themes of trust, betrayal, envy, gossip and depression. The very people he trusted turned against him and he had nowhere to go but down. It was a time in his life where nothing mattered anymore, yet everything mattered if he desired to look for a better direction in life.

In those dark days, he found the answer. It was the voice within him that called him to turn to a greater power than himself. It was a time for deep reflection and repentance. He surrendered to that higher power. He became aware of his spiritual nature and the need to listen to that voice of wisdom inside him.

He was led to a new door of opportunity. His dark days became an epiphany for an invention. It was a technology, his line of profession and creativity.

He developed the idea of expanding the use of chargers. It is a diverse and multifunctional carrier that would solve the charging needs of cell phones, Bluetooth, Ipod, Blackberry, Iphone, MP3 and MP 4 , GPS and PSP.

Vic is back in orbit in his life as a businessman and inventor. He is committed to his awareness in God’s presence in his life. It is this presence that makes life more purposeful and meaningful for him. The way was opened to him when he was led to the ministry of Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy.  There was more clarity and direction in his life. He had a deeper sense of faith.

He claims with joy that his invention is funded by people who are angels sent to him by God. They are made of individuals who hardly know him and were networked through the energy of faith and trust. He believes life is all about our spiritual alliance with God.

1. A declining birthrate; and
2. An aging population
The characteristics that will blend into the increased quota of accepting 320,000 immigrants per year as follows:
1. Encouraging new immigrants to settle outside big cities like Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver to spread the economic    
benefit of immigration across Canada (currently, the Greater Toronto Area is receiving around 100, 000 new immigrants  
every year and this has led to an increased pace of development as compared to all other Canadian cities)
2. Matching new immigrants with jobs that meet their level of skill and trade (currently, a majority of new immigrants are
accepting their first Canadian jobs which usually underachieve their higher level of skill and trade)
3. Making it easier for temporary workers and foreign students to remain in Canada and become new immigrants (temporary
workers and foreign students have a strong knowledge of Canada and are already adapted to the Canadian lifestyle) Characteristics that need to be more addressed by the Liberal government party concerning this increased quota of accepting 320,000 per year or even the current immigration quota are:
1. Recognizing foreign educational credentials for a quicker transition and job placement for professional who require a
license or registration to practice, such as, pharmacists, medical laboratory technologists, registered nurses, engineers,
physiotherapists, architects, social workers, teachers, etc. (currently, new immigrants who wish to continue to practice
their profession where licensure or registration are required may have to accept jobs that are lower than their level of skill
while they undergoing their licensure examination process which can take two years to complete depending on the
license.)
2. An increased budget from the federal government for the city of Toronto to assist the settlement of 100,000 to 140,000
new immigrants every year (currently, the city of Toronto is receiving a share of the federal government budget for the
settlement of new immigrants, however, this share is not proportional to the share of new immigrants settling in the 
Greater Toronto Area on a yearly basis)
3. Quicker processing by Canadian immigration offices abroad for potential new immigrants applying under the skilled   
worker category, which can take two to five years to process.

For more information on any immigration matter including how to bring your relatives to Canada as immigrants, please call the writer, Mr. Don Collantes, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at (416) 733-3605 or toll free at 1-877-882-6888.

The above article is only general information and is unintended to act as a legal document. The writer is a member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC), which is a professional regulatory board immigration consultants as recognized by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), a Department of Government Canada. The writer is also the Chief Operating Officer of CWSS Canada USA Immigration Services Inc., which is a multinational corporation that provides immigration services to Canada, with the Head Office located at 5754 Yonge Street, Suite 103, Toronto, Ontario, M2M 3T6, Canada. Toll Free No: 1 877-882-6888 Email Address: chitoc@cwss-canada.com

The newspaper is now a year old and each month was interesting as we all faced the learning curve with eagerness and enthusiasm. We felt motivated in every issue that we successfully prepared and published. We felt the acceptance of the community that moved us towards a better perspective to serve the needs of our readership.

We aim to give more information that would stir the good feelings and deep sense of meaning in the lives of people. There is an abundance of stimuli and we often focus in negative information that promotes restlessness and depletes our energy.  We want to give positive feelings when people read our publication. It makes life more meaningful and hopeful.

We celebrated an anniversary that was focused on honoring the good qualities that are inherent in people. We presented individuals whose lives were lived in the spirit of perseverance, commitment, integrity, dedication, loyalty, compassion, benevolence, courage, humility, magnanimity and love.

We are honored by the presence of everyone.  It was a community gesture of unity and acceptance.

Thank you to our staff and volunteers.
We appreciate your effort, time and dynamic contributions.