MEET MERIAM MANALILI
Founder & Executive Director | Every Journey Matters
Senior Care Advocate | RCFE Owner | Financial Services Professional
“I learned that we may not always be able to change the diagnosis,
but we can change how someone experiences the journey—
with dignity, connection, compassion, and love.”
For Meriam, Every Journey Matters grew from a lifetime of caregiving, family, resilience, and the belief that no senior or caregiver should have to walk this journey alone.
THE MOMENT EVERYTHING CHANGED
During the past several years, my husband and I became actively involved in operating our residential care home. Through that experience, we had the privilege of caring for seniors with a wide range of needs, including members of our own family, Divina and Rudy Manalili.
Divina was living with dementia and experiencing many of the challenges families know all too well—confusion, disrupted sleep, changes in routine, anxiety, and periods of nighttime restlessness. As her needs increased, traditional approaches alone didn't seem to be enough.
Instead of focusing only on managing behaviors, I began asking a different question:
How can we improve her quality of life?
FROM CAREGIVING TO A MISSION
We developed a structured daily routine centered on exercise, prayer, meaningful activities, and companionship. We introduced visual reminders, personalized daily schedules, and familiar family photographs. We encouraged social interaction by pairing her with a roommate. We developed seven-day wardrobe hangers designed to help identify an outfit for each day alongside photographs of her children and encouraging Bible verses.
We also introduced what eventually became the inspiration for our Program Coordinator model. Three times each week, someone met with her individually to complete specially designed cognitive workbooks, play games such as Scrabble, Jenga, and Pictionary, and engage in meaningful conversations and activities designed to encourage connection, confidence, and joy.
Over time, we began noticing meaningful changes in her daily life.
She appeared to sleep more consistently.
Her nighttime wandering became less frequent.
She seemed calmer.
She began looking forward to her activities.
And what meant the most to us—she smiled more.
Those moments taught me something profound.
Even when we cannot cure dementia, we can still improve someone's daily life.
As I continued working with seniors, I heard countless stories of neglect, caregiver burnout, financial hardship, loneliness, and families simply trying to do their best with limited resources. My own mother eventually progressed to advanced dementia and now lives in a memory care community. Accepting that I could no longer safely care for her has been one of the most difficult decisions of my life. Although I know she is receiving the specialized care she needs, there are still days when guilt finds its way into my heart.
Those experiences strengthened my conviction that families deserve more support than currently exists.
I began searching for practical dementia resources and supportive tools that could truly make a difference. I envisioned interactive memory bears that played the voices of loved ones, structured daily routine systems, dementia-friendly workbooks, wearable reminders, and tools that would preserve connection, dignity, and independence.
Much of what I imagined simply didn't exist.
So instead of waiting for someone else to create the resources I wished our family had, I decided to help create them myself.
That decision became Every Journey Matters.
Every Journey Matters exists because every senior deserves dignity.
Every caregiver deserves support.
Every family deserves hope.
Every life has value.
And every journey—no matter how difficult—is worthy of compassion.
Every Journey Matters is more than an organization to me. It is the culmination of my mother's resilience, my family's experiences, my years as a caregiver, and my unwavering belief that together we can transform the way our communities care for aging adults and those who love them.
Because every journey matters.
A CALLING TO SERVE
I made a promise to myself that I would pursue an education and create opportunities that my parents never had. I earned degrees in Health Science and Business, eventually realizing that while I loved healthcare, my passion and talents were best suited for business. I spent the next twenty-five years building a successful career in software technology.
My husband and I worked hard to give our children experiences I never had growing up. They traveled internationally, participated in sports, and enjoyed opportunities that were only dreams during my childhood. We volunteered together, coached youth sports, and I proudly served as a PTA President. I believed we had carefully planned the life we wanted.
Then life reminded me that no amount of planning can prevent hardship.
In 2023, my mother-in-law became critically ill. She was diagnosed with vascular dementia, congestive heart failure, and kidney failure. She required twenty-four-hour care but refused to move into a care facility. As my husband is an only child, our family stepped in to become her caregivers.
Nothing could have prepared me for what caregiving truly meant.
It was emotionally exhausting, physically demanding, and often heartbreaking. Dementia can be unpredictable. Some days brought moments of connection, appreciation, and love. Other days brought confusion, anger, resistance, and behaviors that were difficult for everyone to understand.
I learned firsthand how dementia can affect not only the person living with the disease, but the entire family surrounding them.
There were moments when I felt defeated.
Moments when I questioned how much longer I could continue.
Moments when I experienced feelings of guilt simply for being exhausted.
Looking back, I realize those emotions were not unique to me—they are shared by family caregivers everywhere. Yet too many caregivers carry these feelings silently, unsure where to turn or whether anyone truly understands what they are experiencing.
Those experiences transformed both my personal and professional life.
Today, I also serve families through financial planning because I believe every family deserves a plan, every business owner deserves protection, and every parent deserves peace of mind knowing their loved ones will be cared for if life takes an unexpected turn.
MY STORY
I often tell people that Every Journey Matters didn't begin with a business plan. It began with a lifetime of experiences that taught me resilience, compassion, and the importance of serving others.
I come from humble beginnings. My greatest inspiration has always been my mother, whose unwavering faith and perseverance became the foundation of who I am today.
At just 40 years old, my mother became a widow while she was two months pregnant with my youngest sister.
Overnight, she found herself alone in the Philippines with eight children, another baby on the way, and an uncertain future. Determined to create a better life for her family, she made the difficult decision to immigrate to the United States.
Two months after giving birth, she left behind her newborn and the rest of her children in the care of family while she traveled alone to America in search of opportunity. It was one of the greatest sacrifices a mother could make. Through determination, hard work, and the support of family, she was able to reunite our family one year later.
Life continued to test her.
As a child, I was involved in a devastating fire accident that left me hospitalized for nearly two months. My mother quit her job to remain by my side, forcing our family to rely on government assistance to survive. Shortly afterward, my grandmother passed away, and we lost the home we had been living in.
My mother also battled severe epilepsy throughout her life. Because of her seizures, she was never able to drive. Eventually, she underwent brain surgery that required a lengthy hospitalization of nearly three months. My oldest sister stepped in to care for the younger children while my mother fought through another difficult chapter.
Despite every obstacle—widowhood, poverty, illness, raising nine children, and countless hardships—my mother never allowed us to feel hopeless.
We always had food on the table.
Our rent was always paid.
We were always in church thirty minutes early every Sunday.
She couldn't give us luxuries, but she gave us everything we truly needed: faith, discipline, love, resilience, and the belief that our circumstances did not define our future.
Watching her sacrifices inspired me to dream bigger.
