Indian Kanchan Drupati came to the Philippines from Central Africa  in 1979 after marrying Gobind Sadhwani.

The new bride found herself in a foreign country with Gobind’s family. She had few kitchen skills, including making chapati. Necessity pushed her to widen her culinary repertoire.

Today, chapati and vegetarian dishes, done the Indian, Mediterranean and western way, are what Kanchan considers her specialties.

After her father died, she found herself in search of deeper meaning in life. This led her to study  various healing techniques  to cope with the  medical challenges that came her way, such as breast cancer, brain hemorrhage, aneurysm, head injury, left eye cataract, umbilical hernia and a fractured leg.

All the trials, she said, only made her stronger and made her focus “on my life purpose.”

Mother Kanchan, as many fondly call her, is warm, welcoming, kind, loving and very positive-thinking. Though she is astute in healing through the methods of Mahikari, Reiki, Brahma Satya, Theta and Angel Cards, she said that it is the goodness of the heart that truly cures.

I’ve had the privilege of tasting her food and I love her paneer masala—pan-fried cubes of Indian curd cheese in a gravy made of onions, tomatoes and spices, with cubes of golden pan-fried paneer, served with homemade chapati and pickles. It was very tasty and as satisfying as a well-cooked meat dish.

Asked to describe her cuisine, Kanchan said, “Honestly, it is food for the soul. Meant to nourish, it is cooked with love and (aims) to bring comfort. After all that I’ve been through, I wish that my food sustained the body, brought good health and harmony to those who partake of it.”

Thanks to her, I have made a fantastic discovery: vegetable coffee. Made from a combination of 144 vegetables and herbs, Health Coffee Plus contains no caffeine or sugar. It’s delicious. The drink perks you up without you experiencing a dip in energy,  tiredness or palpitations. The flier lists numerous health benefits, including weight loss if the “coffee” is taken before meals.

For food orders, healing, Angel Card reading, and vegetable coffee, call Kanchan Sadhwani at 7822615.

Naomi Tomlinson

I met Naomi Tomlinson in the summer.  Her “children” and my son, Diego, belong to the same football club, Kaya FC.

Naomi  and her colleague, Roy Moore, are British nationals who set up the Fairplay For All Foundation in June 2011.

It started as a football club in Payatas, as a way to get to know the community, the area, and to identify the needs of the people living there. Not long after, Naomi said, Fairplay started a drop-in center.

At the center, the child can go and get basic education, join simple activities and be given healthy and nutritious food.

All the activities are designed around helping a child’s development—academic, emotional, creative or general development.

The center has a nutrition program. “Every day the children are given healthy and nutritious snacks and meals when they come in and join the activities and classes,” Tomlinson said.

The snacks include Mingo, a “super drink” made of mongo, malunggay and rice. This gives the children lots of extra nutrients and vitamins and when drunk regularly, can help the child  gain weight and become healthier.

A vegetarian herself, Naomi prepares vegan versions of  traditional Filipino dishes. The kids don’t eat enough vegetables, she noted.

“The reason we put so much emphasis on healthy and nutritious food is because malnourishment is a serious problem in Payatas,” she explained.

When we visited Naomi to celebrate my son’s birthday with his football mates and the other kids at the center, I found out Naomi’s work was more than I could have even imagined. The doting “mother” on the football field is a modern-day Mother Teresa (though not a nun) who embraced her mission, to serve the children with so much love.

I was  in awe of the urban farm that she built on the topmost floor, where she grows  tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, herbs and kangkong, as well as fish.

“The waste from the fish goes into the grow beds to feed the plants,” she explained. “The plants then clean the water which is in turn pumped back up to the fish. The only costs are the fish food, the low voltage pump, and occasionally topping up the water after very hot weather. This makes the whole system extremely sustainable.”

Tomlinson said her dream is  to make a much larger urban farm. “Aside from teaching the children more about food, the farm will allow us to open small cafés in the area (locally known as carinderia) which will expand our current baon store (for school lunches),” she said. “This means we can provide food made from healthy sources, grown organically and locally, at a fraction of the cost of anywhere else.”

“Eventually we will open a restaurant outside of Payatas,” she added. “Advocating healthy eating, the restaurant will offer healthy and tasty food, while all profits return to our social work.

“Together we can make sure that everyone gets their basic rights of food, water, shelter and an education. Together, we can be a part of something good.”

The center is open to donations. It costs P1,000 a month to sponsor a child. This will cover his baon, transportation and school needs.

Call 0918-4521874.