A Can of Soft Drink a Day

Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development. - Kofi Annan

Having lived for a long time below the Philippines' poverty line, I now believe that education is a daily gift. Education is a daily gift given by those who want to make a difference in the lives of others and by those who hope to transform lives.

If not for the kindness of these people, you may not be reading my ideas now and you may not have seen the photographs I passionately try to take.

My college education seemed to be a far-flung dream for me and my parents. Heavens decided to close its doors to my childhood dream of becoming a doctor. However, it opened a window - an academic scholarship for an engineering course.

The generosity of the donors in the Handumanan Science Foundation of the University of St. La Salle in Bacolod City made a difference in my life. I was truly grateful for there was no contract involved, no payment to be made after graduation and after I find work. There was however that unspoken honor, privilege and resolve to  pay it forward.

I am currently sponsoring a child to school through World Vision. I have been sponsoring him since 2006. He likes to play with his toy car. His family lives near a stream and a mountain and their house is surrounded by trees.

It is always a joy when I receive small notes from him such as these...

For the past three Christmases, I have received one hand-made card and 2 World Vision cards. They have made my Christmases more meaningful...

Sponsoring a child's education through World Vision is like giving a daily gift. It is the gift of sparing a can of soft drink a day for your sponsored child.

There were times when it becomes really hard to spare those cans of soft drinks, especially if they have been accumulated for three months. But I made a commitment and every time I go out of the bank after making my quarterly deposits, I feel relived, joyful and satisfied knowing that for the coming three months I am again making a difference in a child's life, a day at a time.

World Vision is a Christian organization dedicated to working with the world’s most vulnerable people - children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. World Vision looks beyond religion, race, ethnicity or gender. Just as Jesus Christ extended love and compassion to all people, especially to children, World Vision aspires to partake and manifest these values to all, especially to those living in poverty or suffering from oppression and injustice.

World Vision Philippines currently has 120, 000 sponsored kids with 23,000 children supported by fellow Filipinos here in the country. There are 8 local communities (Zambales, Isabela, Cebu, Aklan, Misamis Occidental, Cavite, and two at Palawan) in the country that are being supported by World Vision.

For 2009, World Vision aims to send 9,000 more children to school.

If you are willing to make a difference by saving for a can of soft drink a day for one of these children to go to school for them to have a chance for a better future, you can visit their website here. If you have further inquiries, you can also email them at: wv_phil[at]wvi[dot]org

Imagine the possibilities that you might be giving a child now for his future.

Imagine the chain and the linkages of people who will someday pay it forward.

Imagine the bright future of our country when every child truly has the right to education.

If you can imagine it, let's work together to make it happen. Make education a daily gift.

A can of soft drink a day goes a long, long way...

The First Great Step: The Story of White Jade

"Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God." 

The time was 1947. The place, China. The communists under Mao Tse Tung had begun "The War of Liberation", and Chiang Kai-Shek's government armies were being pushed hack.

Nonetheless a young American evangelist by the name of Bob Pierce had preached with good success in Shanghai, Hangchow, Nanking wherever Christian missionaries could arrange meetings. His last stop was at the University of Amoy on Amoy (now Xiamen) Island in the Formosa Strait. Hundreds of college students made decisions for Christ. Upon hearing him, a tall Dutch reformed missionary named Tena asked Bob to stay over and speak to the 400 children who attended the mission school she ran nearby. He agreed. He spent four days telling, as simply as he knew how, the good news of Jesus to the Chinese schoolchildren. When he felt the time was ripe, he appealed to them to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, then go home and share with their parents their new faith. Many young hearts were gathered into the Kingdom.

The next morning, as Bob prepared to leave Amoy, he stopped by the school to say goodbye to Tena and thank her for the opportunity to minister to the children. Instead of the gracious early morning reception he had expected, a distraught woman met him at the Front door. In her arms was a child. The little girl was still sobbing. Her back was a lurid pattern of red lines and purple splotches. She obviously had been whipped and beaten. Her thin dress was soaked with blood. Her eyes were puffy from crying and she hold on to Tena's neck as if her life depended on it.

"What happened?' Bob asked. "White Jade did just what you asked, Tena replied. "She went straight home and told her parents she had become a Christian and would worship only the one true God. Look what it cost her! Her Father screamed that she had dishonored her ancestors, beat her and threw her out of the house. Tena thrust the traumatized little girl into Bob's arms and asked, "Now, what are you going to do about it? I have six other children already sharing my rice bowl!

Bob held the child awkwardly. White Jade wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. Every few moments, she shuddered with the residing sobs. Tears streamed down Tena's red face. Her lip quivered, but her jaw was clenched. The pain in her eyes demanded an answer. Pierce was shaken to the core of his being. The enormous social implications of Christ's gospel began to unfold in his mind. The incredibly vulnerable child in his arms was a child of the King. And she needed to be cared for.

Tena stood, unmoving, waitinq for an answer. "All I have is five dollars.." he said meekly. The bold, confident evangelist-before-thousands was humbled and quieted by the needs of the precious child he held, "That's fine", she answered. "I'II take it. Five dollars will buy enough cloth for a new dress, some rice and a new slate for school. When you get home, send me five dollars every month. I'll let White Jade sleep in the kitchen. I promise you I'll take care of her."

World Vision was born with that five dollars; a ministry dedicated to caring for the white jades of this world, propelled by the prayer Pierce wrote in the fly leaf of his Bible- "Let my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God."

(Excerpt from One Life at a Time by Robert A. Seiple, compiled by Burce Brander, WV Information and Communications Group)

Featured in PBSP Annual Report

A few weeks ago, the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) released its annual report for 2008. PBSP is a non-profit consortium of corporations leading the advocacy on the practice of corporate social responsibility. 

My blog entry (in compressed form) about our company's tree planting held last year in Tabunan, Cebu has been featured in their report. Our company's copy of the annual report, in glossy magazine format was given to me by our Environmental Health and Safety chair.

Here's the cover...

[caption id="attachment_443" align="aligncenter" width="299" caption="PBSP Annual Report 2008"][/caption]

 My compressed article is featured in page 56.

[caption id="attachment_444" align="aligncenter" width="468" caption="My article about our company's tree planting held last year in Tabunan."][/caption]

A soft copy of the report could also be found in their website.

Thank you PBSP for including my article in your annual report!

Pencils...

Of all the writing instruments, none is more profound than the pencil.

If one is not satisfied with the form, slant or curve of the characters laid down on paper, one could always begin anew. Erasing those graphite marks is not a problem.

With the recent advances in pencil technology, we see different lead classifications: HB, 1H until 8H, 1, 2, 3, etc... Then, we have the mechanical pencils. I just wonder why the erasers of these mechanical types suck... So I stick with the old faithful eraser bar. And these mechanical pencils always require a batch of refills. Who knows when those fine leads will run out, or even break?

So it is with life... We write the scripts of our lives. In aspects where we want to have a different scenario, we could always erase the script, and begin anew. Just like the pencil types, we approach life in many different ways as we go through the different stages, as we face different situations.

The old eraser is just like the faith we cling into, graces that heaven outpours, and Love unlimited. We may have different formulas but faith always assures us, graces always fill us and Love always cleans us and allows a new sheet for us to again write on.

We must always have the zest and perseverance with our struggles. As such, we need extra helpings of hope from people around us for us to always have that reload of zest and encouragement. No matter how rough the course (even if sometimes we succumb and break) as long as we have hope, like the mechanical pencils, we would always have reloads and refills.

We are all called to erase those unwanted scenes and terms in our script. We may have used ink in our writings in the past. No worries! All we need are clean sheets of paper. Begin anew. And this time make sure to use pencils...

(originally scribbled on 22 Dec 2006)

Miss N, I will send something for you soon... :)

The Page of Mysteries

Friends, I have added a new page in this site. This is to promote to bring back the Holy Rosary in Catholic homes and in response to the testimony of Fr. Thomas Thekkumthottam, OSB.

Please take time to visit the Page of Mysteries. May the images help you reflect and rediscover the love for the Holy Rosary.

National Cancer Awareness Week

From January 19 - 22, 2009, the Philippines will be having the highlights of its National Cancer Awareness Week. In my home province, Negros Occidental, the Forum Against Cancer Through Encouragement and Support (F.A.C.E.S. Foundation Inc.) in cooperation with the local government and the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology will be having an exhibit on cancer awareness.



A blogging nurse from my home province (we actually live in neighboring villages and we have met here in the blogosphere), IFoundMe, requested some of her fellow bloggers (myself included) to support this noble cause. And so, this is a worthy deviation from my normal posts.

Having officemates and friends that are battling the big C, I have seen the primary human struggle against this affliction - the shock of the abrupt realization of one's certain mortality. Aside from the emotional struggle, cancer patients also endure physical pain as well as financial burden....

In most cases, the spotlight of the struggle is focused on the patient. The struggle of the patient's loved ones is sometimes obscured.

I would like to present another blogger who details her reasons why she connects to the blogging world. Her husband had suffered oral cancer. This is a short account of how she coped with cancer and how she took care of her loved one...

Friends, here is a dear lady - Balisha....

Addendum [19 Jan 2009]

I received an email from once of my contacts in World Vision and I have seen some keywords about cancer and searched for related sites through Google. Here is one very informative site:

CANCER PREVENTION COALITION