People living in a foreign land and who have roots in Southern Leyte get homesick for their country, especially their hometown, and find ways to bond with their kababayans.
Every summer, Southern Leyteño International members go outing or camping with their families in a selected place. For summer 2021, around sixty of them attended the event at the WoodDale Forest Grove, WoodDale Illinois, 20 miles west of Chicago. Several games were played, prizes given, group singing, line dancing, laughing and story-telling, and eating. A crispy and delicious lechon was, of course, the centerpiece.
Rupert and Madeleine Mercado with their daughter and grandchildren, the Tagnipez Family of Hinunangan, Aida Calo, Bonifacio and Evelyn Ramos, Jonathan and Oriel Carillo were there, and many more.
Southern Leyteño International was organized in 1991. Many of its members are living in Illinois and others in other places of the United States, like California.
