I met two Filipino para swimming athletes when I went on a trip with the Good News Pilipinas team to Lian, Batangas in September to be at the International Coastal Clean Up of Toyota Motor Philippines.
It was my first time to meet Ernie Gawilan and Edwin Villanueva, both swimming competition gold medal winners! They were really cool!
The Paralympics is really cool, too! The games help people who are differently-abled or have unique bodies join sports.
Toyota’s “Start your Impossible” is helping para athletes get to the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2020. Filipino para athlete Ernie Gawilan is one of the athletes who will join the Swimming Competition in 2020, next year!
Ernie needs to train for the games and the “Start your Impossible” is supporting his needs to work hard for the games, and to win the games.
“Start your Impossible” helps people who thought, or once thought that certain things were impossible to start, to do, get, use, or obtain.
That seems really cool! People are helping others in competitions so they can win! How nice! I think this is very good of the Toyota people to help Para athletes and other people to win and get awesome rewards!
So the para athletes were in Batangas at a place beside the ocean, to help with the beach clean up and plant mangrove seedlings.
I think Filipinos should be doing the same thing! Filipinos who are looking for something to do and how to spend their day should join the Coastal Cleanup to take away trash that can kill both surface life and sea life and plant mangroves!!!
You should also take time to visit when a Coastal Cleanup is happening, and you might get to meet the Para athletes and some cool people too! Children can join the Coastal Cleanup when they’re older!
Editor’s Notes: Asia Para Games gold medalist Ernie Gawilan and Palarong Pambansa medalist Edwin Villanueva took a break from their training to participate in the 2019 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) on September 21 for the Toyota Motor Philippines’ (TMP) mangrove planting and coastal clean up drive. They were joined by volunteer employees, environmental groups, and the Philippine National Police at the coastal area of Barangay Lumaniag in Lian, Batangas. Ernie Gawilan is the Philippines’ Start Your Impossible Ambassador. The para-athletes were with TMP President Satoru Suzuki and officials at the Lian leg of the Toyota ICC.
SEND cheers in the comments below to our Filipino para athletes and coastal clean up volunteers for caring for the environment!
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