Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. -Reinhold Niebuhr
Disturb us, O Lord when we are too well-pleased with ourselves when our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little, because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, O Lord when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the water of life
when, having fallen in love with time, we have ceased to dream of eternity
and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of Heaven to grow dim.
Stir us, O Lord to dare more boldly to venture into wider seas where storms show Thy mastery, where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars.
In the name of Him who pushed back the horizons of our hopes and invited the brave to follow. -Sir Francis Drake (circa 1650)
Let history be His story. -Zeus Dorado (2009)
For my contacts, welcome to a tiny part of my world. Otherwise, welcome to a whole lot of my announcement board. ^ ^ v
From my back, I was almost killed furtively. The human being failed, apparently, as his blade went through my company jacket, and slipped in a tiny slit between my ribs and elbow. And “tiny slit” here means his knife just stayed there, flanked by my arms in a stormy, rush hour, EDSA-corner-Roxas-Boulevard dusk.
Aground-breaking modus operandi.
From an office of the corporate world, I’m set to go to a production management meeting at Parañaque for our social enterprise. During commute, I was balancing my way into the jeep on the rim of its entrance because Mr. X, who went in ahead of me, blocked the way in by using his whopping umbrella he intentionally opened. He unnerved the other passengers by yelling “Mali! Maling jeep! Mali!” while shoving his total weight on me while Mr. Y, the person behind me who fortunately failed to kill me, placed his hands inside my side pockets to do another crime. Attempted murder, successful theft.
Moments of July 16 froze.
From the jeep, Mr. X and Mr. Y ran away after taking everything they wanted except my life. Wallet. Cellphone. I sat down at the center of the jeep now filled with passengers who were shocked - some showed concern, few talked to me, one was even crying. On the way, as friendship blossomed after series of conversations with different people, I felt grateful to them and delivered: “Salamat po sa inyo, at maraming salamat po sa pag-aalala. Mabuti na lang po at wala sa atin ang nasaktan, maganda niya’y mag-ingat tayong lahat palagi. Intindihin na lang po natin na nasa kamay ng Diyos ang dalawa, at ang lahat.”
At the end of the day, we seek for questions more than its answers.
I condemn the crime. However, I never blamed Mr. X and Mr. Y, not only because they are no different from the image and likeness of our Creator, of you, of me, but also because I have long accepted the fact that they have been more piteous victims of our own society. I just hope that my wallet and phone can save at least one life or if not, shake one’s conscience. And still if not, God holds the answer as we have our own puzzles to hold. “Why?” is endless so I’d rather ask “What can I do?” If perceptive understanding of impoverished lives, even mere imagination, brings despondency, what more can it bring when poverty is translated into reality? This truth has been driving offenders to do crimes as upshots of other popular crimes. For instance, greed and graft and corruption yield a hungrier nation, paving the way to bridge law-breakers and lawmakers. For comparison, some dignified noble individuals proudly claim that they stand for things bigger than themselves, their principles and aspirations for others. And in the same breath, some undignified people ensnared in poverty are just caught in the middle of fighting for what will make them survive, struggling for what will give cure to the ills of people they love and fill the stomachs of people who love them, killing for what will make them alive. Though different, all of us share the same dignity. We all have the responsibility to censure the sin and pray for the sinner. It only becomes genuine with a step further to do something for others to improve lives and move humanity forward.
Life gives death value in the same way as vice versa. Both co-exist, or just one thing perhaps, to drive us with purpose.
If that human being successfully stabbed me in the same spot he was thinking to draw my blood from, I would have regretted a lot of things:
-failure to embrace my dad, my mom, my brother and tell “I love you.”
-wasting opportunities to smile, hug, say sorry, thank you and show how important you are to me, confess how much I value the time we spent together, and failing to appreciate who you are to me and;
-not being able to see YOU again and apologize and thank you and tell you that I have always stayed in love, and it has decided everything
I’m a philosophy aficionado.
I love talking about life and death because my vision of living and dying is just one and the same spark in time perceived from two opposite vantage points of humanity. Just like how lightbulbs die (and live through flickers), every moment of our lives is one step from the beginning of our occasion, inevitably and simultaneously moving towards the last page of our life stories. You know Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium?
View this: A dying, old man named Mr. Magorium was lying on a hospital bed while his worried associate told him: “You have to live.” The old man smiled, and peacefully replied, “I have.”
My favorite part of the film was when the old man delivered these lines: “When King Lear dies in Act V, do you know what Shakespeare has written? He's written ‘He dies.’ That's all, nothing more. No fanfare, no metaphor, no brilliant final words. The culmination of the most influential work of dramatic literature is ‘He dies.’ It takes Shakespeare, a genius, to come up with ‘He dies.’ And yet every time I read those two words, I find myself overwhelmed with dysphoria. And I know it's only natural to be sad, but not because of the words 'He dies.' but because of the life we saw prior to the words.”
Ergo, I’m just trying to say that I could not keep in touch with you through my 09153112940 anymore.
So please keep in touch through my 09107552823 and please let me borrow one last second from you. Thank you very much for reading through and reaching this paragraph, plus in case you have read everything, my parting words would be sincere. 1 second, well-used, is already worth a lifetime ‘diba? And if I fully consumed my deathbed I’ve just tasted last night, I would have missed the opportunity to use that 1 second to let you know that it would mean an entire meaningful lifetime for me to let you know this: I love you.
A year ago, then B.S. Management student Mian Alampay decided to make an excursion out of her sheltered life and the comfortable confines of Ateneo de Manila University to do things which she considered as out-of-the-box.
It was not so much as youthful rebellion on her part as the desire to get to know less privileged people around her, reach out to them, and perhaps make a difference in their lives in her own little way.
The opportunity came when Mian was chosen with two others to represent Ateneo in the First Future Leaders of Asia Forum in January 2008. Mian was part of the Ateneo Management Association and project director of a social entrepreneurship endeavor. The event organized by the Ateneo School of Government together with Ashoka Foundation and Coca-Cola Foundation, aimed to inspire and encourage young leaders to become social entrepreneurs. Aside from her group winning in a theoretical case presentation, Mian also won for herself a R20,000 grant at the business plan writing competition.
She used the money to fulfill her childhood dream of teaching and reaching out to children. So that summer, despite objections from her mother who wanted her to take on a summer job, Mian decided to pursue her passion for teaching.
She used the grant to conduct a month-long art work workshop for children at the Batasan Hills Elementary School.
With the help of her best friend and her boyfriend, Mian taught 30-40 children, aged five to six years old, basic arts and crafts, painting, coloring and drawing. Mian also conducted story-telling sessions which the children enjoyed as well. The children were then asked to present their finished work after every session and Mian could see how their confidence and communication skills developed over the summer weeks.
Chains for change
From teaching children, Mian then continued her advocacy by helping wives of inmates break the chains of poverty through a thesis she helped produce with classmates Kassie Lim, Carmela Deang, Jackie Gorospe and Zeus Dorado.
The thesis was part of their Theology Praxis immersion, required under the social entrepreneurship/theology class of Ateneo professor Harvey Keh. The immersion involved a visit to the National Penitentiary of the Bureau of Corrections in Muntinlupa City, and included a tour of the lethal injection chamber, an interaction with the inmates, and a three-day live-in immersion with the inmates’ families.
Mian’s parents naturally objected, worried for the safety of their daughter.
But Mian insisted, assuring them that she was ok. The experience proved to be an eye-opener.
“It was scary at first but this changed soon. At church, we saw how the inmates worshipped intensely.
They were also very talented with their paintings, wood burnings, plastic artworks. During my stay with a family of the inmate, they treated me like a queen, offered me their only bed to sleep on while all four of them slept on the floor, and cooked for me. It was such an eye-opener, because sometimes sobrang kuripot natin or selfish but them, even with the little things that they have, they still make sure you get the best of everything,” shares Mian.
These two experiences served as an impetus for Mian and her group to focus their thesis on a social enterprise that would help the wives of inmates earn additional livelihood by making bags. Through a partnership with the Philippine Jesuit Prison Services (PJPS), a non-government organization inside the Bilibid providing scholarship to children of inmates, the group hires the services of the mothers of PJPS scholars as sewers to create “chain bags’’ from vintage clothing.
Targeting the female teenage market, these chain bags became such a hit with the segment because of its innovative design of having adjustable chain straps and only one bag per design. “Chains for Change believes in fashion with a purpose as it manages to bridge the ever-changing face of fashion with our determination to give the wives of Bilibid Prisoners a more comfortable life through a more sustainable form of livelihood.,” Mian explains.
Buying fabrics from ukay-ukay stores, Mian and her group then bring the materials to the house of PJPS volunteer Gloria Andres where the wives work on it. Part of the profit goes to these workers, over and above the income they get from the labor. The wives are also consulted about the design of the bags to make them more participative and appreciative of their work.
This early, the group’s thesis/social enterprise has already received accolades and awards. Among this is the recent HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards where they bagged second place.
Mian also reports that they got a final grade of B+ for their presentation with their professors and their business plan was included in this year’s roster of academic papers published in the Ateneo Student Business Review. They were also able to establish links and networks during their participation at the TALAB: The 13th Ateneo High School Fair Fashion Show. Their group has also set up their own stall at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City. From March until June, the public can now buy the Chains for Change bags from the prisoners’ wives themselves who help in the selling.
Looking back at those “out-of-the-box” things she has done, Mian could only beam with pride at the impact it has done for her, and hopefully for other people. While she hopes to pass on her art workshop to the lower batches for them to continue and pay forward, she envisions passing on Chains for Change to the communities themselves, empowering them as their lives change for the better.
Chains for Change is officially sponsoring the Fashion Show of the 13th Ateneo High School fair dubbed as TALAB on January 31, 2009 at the Ateneo High School Covered Courts where we would release the latest and hottest collection of our chain bags!
"Catch the stars of TALAB, as 13 pairs of models take lighting the sky to a whole new high...
Catch special guests like Chris Tiu, Robi Domingo, DJ Mo Twister and Grace Lee, and many more."
"Be there. Spread the word, spread the flame. Feel the heat."
Itching to see Sandwich perform live on stage while being able to see waves of hot models strut their stuff down the fashion ramp? The Ateneo de Manila High School’s 13th Annual Fair ALAB will have it all, on January 30 to 31st at the high school campus. There’ll be a rock concert, fashion show, bazaar, dating game, poetry reading show and many more.
Every peso earned during the fair will go to the Tulong Dunong, the Ateneo High School’s scholarship program which will enable public school kids to study in private schools such as the Ateneo and Miriam.
Fan the flames of ALAB! Help out these scholars, have fun and make sure that when your friends talk about the hottest event this year, ALA-13, you won’t get the cold silent treatment.
And for the Ateneo College community,
Catch us in Ateneo SEC Field on February 5-6, 2008 at
IgNATION gathers industry leaders and student leaders equally dedicated to nation-building under one roof to engage in sessions that will inspire the participants to heed the call for change in our society. The six sessions aim to provide the members of the various organizations as well as interested students with a venue to ignite their passion to lead in their respective fields.
Heartheir Cry.Believein their Stand.Followtheir Path.
January 28, 2009 || MVP Roofdeck
Sector-BasedCluster
Harvey Keh on Philippine Social Vision
Benjamin Abadiano on Bridging Communities
January 30, 2009 || MVP Basement
Business Cluster and Intercultural Relations Cluster
Mark Ruiz on World-Class Innovation
Josiah Go on Branding You
February 06, 2009 || MVP Roofdeck
Media, Creative Arts Cluster and Performing Arts Cluster
Missy Maramara on The Filipino Talent in the Spotlight
Jaime Ramon "Jim" Paredes on Bringing OPM to the World
February 09, 2009 || MVP Basement
Issue and Policy Analysis Cluster
Rene Raymond Raneses on Re-imagining Philippines
Hon. Florencio "Butch" Abad on Hope in Phil Politics
February 11, 2009 || MVP Basement
Science and Technology Cluster and Health and Environment Cluster
Dr. Fabian Dayrit* on Science and Philippine Society
Dr. Josette Talamera Biyo on Developing World-Class Science
February 13, 2009 || MVP Roofdeck
Faith Formation Cluster
Raymond Aguas* on Nation Spirituality
Onofre Pagsanghan* on Love your Calling with Passion
Jim Paredes shared this Youtube video last Friday calling this guy the "most amazing Aussie I have seen, and probably one of the top 5 most amazing human beings on earth." For me, I remembered our Philippines. Listen to Mr. Jim Paredes himself in one of the leadership convention of
It is such a waste to dump your notebooks with usable pages in the trash.
It's even more of a waste if you throw that old cartoon pencil away even if it can still be sharpened and used!
Gather all your notebooks, pencils, erasers, crayons and padpaper that can still be used and help a public school kid be ready with school supplies next school year!
REMEMBER.
Saving your old school supplies means even more savings on the part of a public school student's parents.
Drop your donations at designated ONE BIG SUPPLIES DRIVEBoxes located at the Xavier Hall, Matteo Ricci 1F, Rizal Lib and Caf Entrance fromSeptember 15 to 19, 2008.
This project is being organized by Mian, Melai, Zeus, Kassie and Jackie for their Theo 141 project, which aims to help in uplifting the country's educational system.
What if tonight Japan decides to occupy this country and tomorrow you find yourself, or your girlfriend or your mother raped by the Japanese military?
What if they even killed your family, robbed you of your livelihood and dignity?
What if, after 60 years, the Japanese and your fellow Filipinos act as if nothing bad ever happened?
This is the exact experience of the Filipino Comfort Women who have never felt the justice they deserved.
I will narrate the story of Lola Fedencia David, 80, in trying to portray the undying cry for justice of the dying Filipinas who suffered terribly in the hands of the Japanese military during the colonial era. It was 1942, Lola Fedencia was an innocent 14 year-old girl from a family of farmers. His father had dug a tunnel where they could hide in case the abusive Japanese would trespass their home. One horrible afternoon, the Japanese military barged into their house forcing her family to bury themselves in the tunnel like rats while the intruders stole all their harvest. Unspeakably, after the robbery, they burned the house down. Twisted fate had persisted to molest Lola Fedencia, cutting off the innocence of her childhood quite early. To cut the long story short, the Japanese slashed her ear, lashed her hands, seized her into a garrison, and threatened to cut her head off if she wouldn’t be terrified enough to let the Japanese do what they want. Along these lines, in one of the worst nights of unwritten Philippine and Japanese history, sex between a savage, brutish man and a little, helpless girl had begun.
It is not only a stolen childhood, it is a destroyed lifetime. It is not only burning the house of poor people, it is dehumanizing a hardworking family. It is not only inflicting pain to a girl, it is taking away the dignity of a human being. It is not only hurting the innocent, it is the tearing of the vagina of a child.It’s not just drawing blood out of the feeble body of a 14-year old, it was the thrusting of the ram of injustice towards the rotten Philippine history which Filipinos have tried to forget.
It can be said that laborers who receive less than the minimum wage is injustice. Then what can we call this free child labor involving brutal mutilation and abominable orgy? The price tag of their labor has not been paid for decades now. No payment can ever suffice. Crime is an understatement.
This keeper of history, who is half telling her life, half reliving a lifeless melancholy, was already crying when she described how she went in a room with 4 other young girls, 2 Japanese soldiers who “hinimas-himas” her until she kicked them. She tried to resist until they forcible sealed her mouth with a handkerchief. They locked her for 10 days, raped her, raped her more, raped her grandmother, killed her grandmother, and after years of search for justice, the fight proved to be futile in the present.
The message they were struggling to put across is clear. Though their eyes have been blurred by tears through the long and painful years, no injustice in the past should ever be forgotten.
What then are we supposed to do to bring justice in this country if it is evident that fighting for it, even for decades or lifetime spans of the dead, is futile?
Advocate BYOB (bring your own baunan) and CLAYGO (clean as you go) - a project by AEMC (Ateneo Environmental Management Coalition) and COA. this project is pushes Ateneans to bring their own lunch boxes instead of using styrofoams or other cardboard materials for their meals in school. it will start this coming August and will be an ongoing reform in the hopes of helping out the waste management in our campus.
2. Don't drink water from your laundry so...
use biodegradable laundry detergents - it is assumed that used water for laundry is no longer potable. but in fact, it can still be called clean water in a few years time. although, when using non-biodegradable laundry detergents, the water will permanently be unsafe to drink. so our group suggests that people use biodegradable laundry detergents so that water can still be restored to their clean and safe state.
3. Thanks to those F-graded Papers! It can now be used as...
scratch paper - as seniors, our paperworks keep getting thicker and thicker. major papers, passes and other homeworks just keep piling up! we suggest that teachers allow their students to submit our papers and passes printed on the clean side of scratch papers to save our trees and to recycle old papers from a few years back. dont crumple scratch paper either, they become unusable for recycling plants.
4. Time to UPGRADE your fashion SENSE!
ask for mugs in coffee shops - in college, coffee plays a very important role especially on days and nights before major papers are due. coffee shops are also places set for meeting points for group projects. getting a mug instead of the paper/plastic cups for your drink is highly recommended to limit wastage. by doing so, you are already helping out the environment while not sacrificing the taste of your favorite cold or hot caffeine-infused beverage hyping you up for yet another all-nighter!
5. Wag kang plastic! Mag-bag!
use reusable bags instead of plastic bags in supermarkets - a few supermarkets like Rustan's sell reusable and recycled bags for putting your groceries in. investing in these would really save up on plastic bags normally used for carrying your groceries.
6. Yes to Trampolin! No to Tarpaulin!
write a letter to SOM dept to ban the use of tarps - marketing, LS and opman. these three subjects are known to be subjects where students go all out for their grades. each group presumably uses around 3-5 tarpolines for advertisements in their final defense, which they later on just throw away or leave as space-takers in their rooms. a unified suggestion to the SOM dept, asking them to ban the use of these tarps would gravely aid in wasting our limited resources. NO TO TARPS!
7. Cute Boys and Girls live in the same village!
form carpools, commute or use bikes - people who know anyone else who lives in the same area should suggest using a carpool system instead. this would enable them to save on gas as well as not polluting our environment. commuting is also an option for those who dont live within bike-range from Ateneo. these new methods of transportation can be really exhilarating for those who arent used to it!
8. Weeeee! Treeeee! Weeeee!
Fund A Tree - a few orgs namely ESS (Environmetal Science Society) and LM (Loyola Mountaineers) have projects wherein students would give money for the care of a tree. trees are a highly valuable resource and with deadly fumes polluting our earth, we would badly need more trees to clean our air. not to mention, it would be a nicer picture of the earth if there were more greens.
9. Kung may Liver Lover, dapat meron din Lungs Lover!
quit/lessen smoking - smoking only adds to air pollution and so this would only be a little sacrifice we can make to be able to breathe clean air once again. for the school to be able to help with this, we suggest tearing down the smoker's pocket gardens in Ateneo. this seems to be a project that our school is already starting as smockets are disappearing one by one.
10. Check out the latest gadget ever: Tabo Rocks Big Time
limit water usage by using "tabo" instead of a shower - using a "tabo" can significantly lessen water usage during showers because you only get water when you already need it instead of it flowing limitlessly from a showerhead. you may opt not to do this permanently but even twice a week would sufficiently get you to save up much water! imagine how much more if you made this a habit for everyday!
We all are part of the VISION. And NOW is the perfect time to start doing something that will bring about positive change to society.
What have you done lately for the Philippines?
…
Change begins with THE CHOICE.
We need to choose a leader who will fight for what is right and fair.
We need to choose a leader who will risk for that which mattered.
We need to choose a leader who will, after a 6 year-term, move the Philippines forward, together with every Filipino proud of the nation, for what he/she has done and for who he/she has been.
In the periodic table, what is the element symbolized by H? “Help!”
Ano ang kulay ng mga taong dugong bughaw? “AB!”
How many stars are there in the Philippine Flag? “5, Kalinisan… Kapayapaan… Katapangan… at…” “4, North, East, West at South.” “KKK!”
What is the capital of the Philippines ? “P!”
------------------------------------
Funny isn’t it? More questions underway.
Where can you find a public school no different from a pig sty? Where can you find a student, if that’s what we could call an all-night-worker-in-a-palengke, who sits with 79 other students in a classroom, if that’s what we could call a muddy-crammed-full-filthy-square, to learn? Where can you find a teacher who uses students as laborers to sell their products?
Dear reader, welcome to the educational system of the Philippines, where you’ll laugh your head off, where you’ll find millions of Juan Tanga who didn’t have the same privilege, or just the opportunity to learn how to read and understand what I’m currently putting down into this paper. Imbestigador’s documentary, Juan Tanga, mirrors how pathetic the state of education we have here in the Philippines, highlighting the tragedy of some public schools’ suffering of drowning in indifference. The documentary has exposed the extreme deficiency of classrooms, books, and learning materials in charge of engaging the future of this country to learn. It has highlighted the lives of poverty-stricken kids whose primary concern is not to be the best in class but to continue to exist – for their actual day-to-day struggle is for survival. Even teachers of this sector, who are responsible in shaping the masses of the future Phililppines, are on a serious struggle in making ends meet.
Reality check.
Billions of pesos alloted for education from national budget, an 11-year old gifted child who thinks ahead of her time saying words such as “hindi naman po hadlang ang kahirapan upang ang mga pangarap natin ay makamtan,” and a dedicated and passionate couple who had taught for more than 30 years without receiving the compensation they deserve – all of these paint the picture of the education system in deprived public schools in the Philippines.
Funny?
Dear reader, bottomline is, we can do something. And you know, we must. So let’s put our acts together and desire to affect the education system because this is our country and the future of your children is on the line. Tomorrow’s still a mystery but let’s make use of the now, a present to change things with our concrete actions towards holistic social development.
Unleash your creative juices, time to have a checklist of 5 things we can (or must I say must) do for this country:
1) BE THE CHANGE! The world is waiting for an action. Begin something new. Set aside time in learning how to help. Find different venues where you could share your resources, talents, time and yourself in purposes that are greater than your dreams. Be part of a bigger dream. Instead of looking at who’s hot (and who’s not), take time to use search engine to seek where your help is an utmost need. For instance, a concrete way to address the education problem here in the Philippines is to give a helping hand to AHON Foundation
2) THE MOBILE CLASSROOM! If the kids can’t come to your classroom, try the other way around, bring the classroom to those kids. Create a lesson plan when you caught sight of a kid from afar. When that boy or girl approach you, be friendly, nothing’s wrong with a short conversation right? So have a chat and integrate values in your conversation. Stretch your imagination and be the best teacher of a road. Make the streets, or even better, make the world a classroom for everyone. 3) THE DIGITAL TEACHER! Techie! I know you have a multiply, right? Friendster, Facebook, YM perhaps? Plus all other social networking sites you belong are your venues to be able to communicate the alarming concern about the education system in the Philippines. It would not be too hard to write educational things or inspirational words in your blogs every other time. Think of all the people you could reach, of all the young people that could possible read your sites, of all the minds that could benefit from your thoughts, and who knows, one day, your words may reach that one magical person through the net and he or she would be instantly inspired to make a difference. 4) IMMERSE! Volunteer hours from a weekend to go to an area of less fortunate kids. Being with them alone gives them hope. So go forth, teach, walk the talk, and be one with the shapers of society. There are a lot of organizations catering to this sector. Well in fact, dear Atenean readers, in Ateneo alone, just volunteer for a few hours in organizations interacting with underprivileged children and you would experience a priceless presence with the kids - feel happy deep inside. Visit these sites for more information:
In the trailer, DSWS Services, namely LOCKERS, CARPOOL, LOST AND FOUND, LOANS, SST, PROMOTIONS AND DOCUMENTATIONS helped Indi and Mutt in their mission to find the lost debutante.
Directed by Chris Verde Story by DSWS Core '08-'09
Download this and other original video files with Multiply Premium.
