The Heroes of Philippine Funds for Little Kids (Masbate)
Yesterday, I discussed about the heroes of the Zamboanga chapter of the Philippine Funds for Little Kids here. Today, I would like to name my heroes in what became known as the Masbate Funds for Little Kids.
(I have a disclaimer though, because of the high level of volunteerism that we've really seen in these two community development projects, I wouldn't be able to name everyone. Rest assured that your deeds no matter how small has made a difference.)
Our story started with another conversation between me and Dr. Ofelia Samar Sy of Legaspi City, Albay.
Over the past few months while our project in Layag-Layag, Zamboanga City was on-going, Dr. Sy kept forwarding to me concerns from the Bicol region. Many of which I felt powerless to act on until finally she shared to me a story about kids who also swim to school in Sitio Mababoy, Brgy. Guinhadap, Monreal, Masbate. And then I thought to myself, this one I had experience with.
This was late May 2011, around the time when I just came back from my US trip where Facebook invited me to visit their headquarters to be part of a panel discussion on using Facebook Groups.
After a few days, a researcher from GMA News TV's Brigada show, Genelie Sta. Ana, called me and asked me if there were still areas aside from Zamboanga City where kids swim to school. I immediately shared the story of the kids in Isla Mababoy which was shared to me by Dr. Ofelia Sy, which was in turn shared to her by DepEd staff Mr. Justino "Dong" Cabarles. My first thank you goes to Dr. Ofelia Sy and "Uncle" Dong Cabarles.
After 2 days, a GMA News TV crew headed by reporter JP Soriano went to Isla Mababoy and covered the story of the swimming kids in Masbate.
And so last June 13, 2011, we saw a special documentary on Brigada hosted by Jessica Soho the story of "Batang Lukso," where the kids of Isla Mababoy jump off a rock cliff first before swimming to school. And so my second thank you goes to the GMA News TV team led by Jessica Soho and JP Soriano for helping us bring out the story of these swimming kids in Masbate even before we started to 'dive' into the ground.
Immediately right after the show, donations for the Bagong Pag-asa yellow boats started to pour in. My third thank you goes to all the initial donors that made the Masbate Funds for Little Kids possible: Jacqueline Marzan-Tolentino of Eton International School, Noel & Mariel Tolentino, Presidential Sisters Ballsy Aquino-Cruz and Pinky Aquino-Abellada, Lisa Cheng, Josiah Go, Anton Lim, Gel Caguioa, Bonifacio Gillego family, Atty. Vito & Dr. Mayette Bose, ACER Philippines, Dr. Jullie Sy, and others who wanted to remain anonymous.
This allowed us to build 25 Bagong Pag-asa boats in one month with one boat that is bigger and motorized to serve as an 'ambulance.' My fourth thank you goes to Manuel Wong for making this 'ambu-boat,' short for ambulance boat possible.
My fifth and very warm thank you (with lots of hugs) goes to donor Mariel Tolentino for donating and helping raise funds that made the makeshift school in Isla Mababoy possible. With the emergence of so many boats, enrollment shot up to 150 children. My sixth thank you goes to the 4 teachers that took the challenge of teaching in the makeshift school (my memory fails me for the moment but I will get the names, help Mr. Dong Cabarles).
My seventh thank you goes to all the other donors that made the materials needed for the makeshift school possible i.e. the chairs, tables, others: Alex Lacson, Wilma Zapata and many others.
My eight thank you goes to all the volunteers of Pinoy Power Bicol Coalition Inc. (some of them are Eppie Daep, George Labalan, Efren Monsalve, Beth Plaza, Mrs Sampaga, many others), Albay Medical Society and other volunteer groups who paved the way for the successful establishment of the Mababoy Elementary School Extension, the 600 meter water pipe system, and other mini-projects in the island.
Almost the same with the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids, there are so many unsung heroes in this story: there is Dir. Opay Tuy of DepEd Region V for allowing Mr. Dong Cabarles to assist us in coordinating our work in Isla Mababoy, there is Schools Division Superintendent Gilbert Sadsad who gave the first P5,000 to start the building of the makeshift school, there is school principal Letty Cervantes who coordinated many of the efforts done in Isla Mababoy as well, and Kagawad Glenda of Monreal who helped arrange the blessing and inauguration ceremony last July 2011.
As it was in my experience with the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids project, after my visit last July for the blessing and inauguration of the Bagong Pag-asa Boats and the makeshift school, we felt that our work in Isla Mababoy has just began...
The pages of my blog are surely not enough to name all the people, some are faceless and anonymous, who have allowed us to touch many lives in both the village of Layag-Layag and Isla Mababoy, but know that you have become part of the solution.
If there's one thing I've learned in this journey, building a nation is a lot like building a boat. It takes one community, one village to do it.
There is wisdom in the ways of our ancestors. That's why they called the smallest political unit in the country, the barangay. It came from the word 'balangay,' which refers to the boat. Because what they realize is that you really need the whole community united and in 'kabayanihan' to build a boat, to build anything. This experience has made me stronger and wiser because I gained confidence when I realized that we were always a smart race. I can only pray that the hope that the yellow boat virus has unleashed is just the beginning of this re-discovery.
(This is the second in my series on the little heroes write up... more to come...)
The Heroes of Philippine Funds for Little Kids (Zamboanga)
I know it has taken me some time to recognize the little heroes that have made the Philippine Funds for Little Kids possible, but here goes. We are slowly scaling our operations and I would just like to thank all the people, all the organizations and all the media organizations that have helped the Philippine Funds for Little Kids become what it is today.
Almost a year ago (October 29, 2010), I traveled for the first time to Zamboanga City. A city I have always wanted to visit. Though I was born in Cotabato City, I have never gone there. I have been to Gen. Santos City, Saranggani area, South Cotabato, Davao City, other areas of Davao, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro City, Iligan City and Lanao area, I have not been given the chance to visit Asia's Latin capital.
I went to Zamboanga City as one of the speakers for the 4th Mindanao Bloggers Summit where I was to speak on using social media for nation-building. My first thank you goes to Ryann Elumba, who was the lead coordinator for the 4th Mindanao Bloggers Summit in Zamboanga City and was largely responsible for making my visit to the city possible. Many thanks goes to Ernie Tomas of the Mindanao Development Authority as well for suggesting me as a speaker and for Blogie Robillo, one of the founding members of the group, Mindanao Bloggers, for passing the suggestion on to Ryann Elumba. Special thanks also goes to Sec. Sonny Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, for allowing me to take this trip.
Surely, I would never have heard the story of the swimming kids in Layag-Layag if I didn't go at that time. But this is getting ahead of the story.
During the sidelines of the summit, since I was already there I also met with volunteers who helped us during the campaign. One of them was Juljimar Gonzales. And my second thank you goes to him for bringing up the story of the kids who swim to school somewhere in Layag-Layag. Upon hearing it I was really shocked and couldn't believe it. I could even remember asking him countless times if he wasn't making up the story. (It is very true that movements start with the first conversation.)
The other volunteer that I met was the head of the People Power Volunteer Center in Zamboanga City, Dr. Anton Lim.
Upon my return to Manila, I really felt something had to be done to help those kids. And so I shared the story through my Facebook status and asked people what we can do to help these kids. Josiah Go, the marketing guru, immediately responded with an initial P5,000 donation and that practically started the mini-fundraising campaign on Facebook to help the kids of Layag-Layag. Over the next few days, friends and friends of friends "donated" both time in re-posting the donation call and money to the cause (so that we can buy a boat) which came to be known as the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids. So, my third thank you goes to Josiah Go.
My fourth thank you goes to all the initial donors - Manuel Wong, Joshua and Marilyn Go, Howell Cu, Rosanna Llenado, Lerma Advincula, Maximo Joaquin, Butch Jimenez, Jerry Caritan, Cindy Trinidad, Danessa Lu, Josiah and Chiqui Go and Josiah's kids Chase, Juju, Tricia and Calel.
While all these was happening, I also called Anton Lim again to verify the story and also to ask him if he can take on the funds that will be raised so that we can buy those kids a boat. My fifth thank you goes to Anton Lim for accepting the challenge of 'buying' the boat. (I put buying between quotes because we eventually had to build the boat.)
Within one week, we were able to raise P70,000 which we believe was enough to buy those kids the boat. Anton Lim together with his friends also wanted to make sure that the local community in Zamboanga City can play its part. And so they started their own fundraising as well and began looking for a boat.
Unfortunately, boats we could buy (it needed to be big and motorized) were pretty expensive and so we decided to build them a boat instead.
It took quite a while but at last around January 2011, Anton Lim found a boat-maker, Abraham Mawadi, who was also one of the parents in Layag-Layag. My sixth thank you goes to Abraham Mawadi for accepting the boat-building project. And so around the middle of January 2011, they began building the boat. This gratitude extends to all the people who helped Anton find the boat-maker which includes Kagawad Jesse Jamolod. My seventh thank you goes to Tito Gadon of CENRO-DENR who donated their confiscated logs to be used to build the boat.
By early March 2011, the boat was almost finished and Anton and I were discussing the possible name of the boat. Eventually, Anton decided on "Bagong Pag-asa" (New Hope) since the boat is sort of a symbol of this renewed optimism and hope for the kids and for the community of Layag-Layag.
And so on March 27, I went to Layag-Layag for the first time. Together with friends from Tzu Chi Foundation - Zamboanga, we turned over the boat to the community together with donations of blankets, school supplies and school bags. My eight thank you goes to the people behind Tzu Chi Foundation - Zamboanga who truly supports our mission. Some of them who were with us that day were Bryan Yeo, David Luy, Carol Lim, Cristopher Te, Jessica Enriquez, Fely Castillo, Noel Navarro and Cresencia Te. I will forever be grateful for the support that you've shown (as I'm sure the kids also are) the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids and now, the Philippine Funds for Little Kids.
That day was one of the happiest days of my life. As with the belief of Tzu Chi, it is very fulfilling when you have been given the opportunity to help. And indeed, we have been given the opportunity to help a whole of community where there are 200 kids and almost 1,000 households.
After some discussion with Anton and my new-found Tzu Chi friends, we realized our work in Layag-Layag has just began...
Again, thank you to all the donors, supporters, and volunteers of the Philippine Funds for Little Kids - you are all part of the solution!
Many thanks as well to the Zamboanga State College of Marine Science and Technology (ZSCMST) for taking on 12 college scholars from Layag-Layag and Ms Christine Marie Fernandez, Yolynne Medina for teaching our scholars basic computer skills, to Penny Laney from the US, DepEd USec. Lino Rivera for the continuous support in all our efforts, and to Rotary Club of Zamboanga and PP Sixto Kwan for the dental/health missions, DSWD Sec. Dinky Soliman for the swift action on including the community into the CCT program, Zamboanga City Health Office, People Power Volunteer Center volunteer Ernie Castillo, and Willy & Maely San Juan for creating a music video about our project.
Special thanks goes to Charlie Villanueva for the video coverage of the boat turn-over last March 27, to Michael Vincent Cajulao of the Philippine Information Agency for the first article on the project, to Danny Macansantos for the interview of Dr. Anton Lim and me on Radyo ng Bayan, to Danny Corteza for his article in the Zamboanga Times, and to the bloggers who first wrote about us: Ubert Cruz, Noemi Dado, Jane Uymatiao, Cocoy Dayao, Karen Ang, Rico Mosesgold, Ria Jose, Dinah Libunao, and Rico Hizon of GoodNewsPilipinas.com.
Special thanks and mention goes to Winston Almendras for celebrating his blog's 5th anniversary (BatangYagit) with a donation call to buy school supplies for the kids of Layag-Layag.
Special thanks also goes to the Associated Press for the international coverage that it brought to the story of Layag-Layag, Facebook for sending a team to create a video story for the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids, Readers Digest Asia for the special feature this October 2011, Luke Perez and Tempest Films' Zap Berenguer & Lester Castor for also creating a video story, USA Today blog, ABS-CBN Bandila, ABS-CBN Umagang Kay Ganda, ANC's Headstart team and Karen Davila, HuffingtonPost, Yahoo! News, Manila Bulletin, Al Jazeera, Planet Philippines, WhenInManila.com and Manila Times for allowing me to be a guest writer, and to all the other bloggers and news organizations that covered us - thank you very much!
Many thanks as well to Col. Pascual of TFC and the whole Task Force Zamboanga team for providing security during our visits.
Just like the story of the Starfish, little things do make a difference...
(This is the first series in my little heroes write up... next stop will be the little heroes in the Masbate Funds for Little Kids)
CNN World View covers the swimming kids of Masbate
I never imagined that our efforts in the Philippine Funds for Little Kids to seek out and help kids who swim to school would one day be featured on CNN, here's the link - http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2011/09/05/world-view-manila-swimming-to-school.cnn.
Our story started in Zamboanga City, specifically in Layag-Layag, Brgy. Talon-Talon where last October 30, I found out about a story where kids have to swim in order to go to school. Within a short period of time upon learning of the story, my friends which included Dr. Anton Lim of Zamboanga and marketing guru Josiah Go and I were able to raise enough funds to build these kids a boat and that's how the Zamboanga Funds for Little Kids was born, which is still an organization devoted to helping the kids of Layag-Layag and their community up to this day, with the help of Tzu Chi Foundation - Zamboanga and the Rotary Club of Zamboanga. We are still raising funds for a community center, a solution to their potable drinking supply problem, and other basic needs.
Last June 2011, a good friend from Legaspi City, Dr. Ofelia Sy shared to me the story of the kids who swim to school in the island of Mababoy in Masbate. This story was in turn shared to her by a DepEd regional official in the person of Mr. Justino Cabarles.
I was really surprised that the story of kids who swim to school was not confined to Zamboanga and so I in turn shared the story with a researcher from GMA News TV's Brigada show. And last June 2011, GMA reporter JP Soriano and his team went to Mababoy and did a documentary on it. Donations immediately started to pour in after their feature story and that's how the Masbate Funds for Little Kids was born.
Because of these projects being in two different areas, we as a group, decided to call it the Philippine Funds for Little Kids. And right now we're still looking for communities where kids swim to school. We really feel its important that we as citizens become active participants in nation-building and become part of the solution. It's the only way our country can move forward. And of course, these kids are the future of our country, its important we equip them with the right tools and knowledge.
You can help us by liking our page on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/philippine.funds. Let's start the Learning Revolution!