Making A Difference

Some of the many things My Love Nald and I want instilled in our daughter are the ability to share blessings with other people and appreciate what we currently have. We reinforced this big time, during her birthday celebration this month.

Since she’s our only daughter, Aleksis has had the chance to celebrate her previous birthdays the way a typical kid would – fast food restaurants, in school, at home, etc. She also gets to have the toys and other stuff she would request for. At the same time, she is also aware that she may not have everything she wants just because. She has limitations as we’re not filthy rich to provide them for her. We’re just able and capable.

Our family celebrated her 8th birthday on Saturday at the ASILO de SAN VICENTE de PAUL at UN Avenue, Paco, Metro Manila. ASILO is a crisis center where people, mostly kids, and sometimes their other family members take refuge from certain situations they’ve encountered.

The center offers four services for various sectors of the society namely: Child Welfare and Development Program, Youth Welfare and Development, Family Welfare and Community Development, and Lakbay-Kapatid Program. All of these programs aim to help support and guide Filipino children and youth (usually orphans, neglected, and abandoned children) become better individuals. Social workers, Sisters of the Daughters of Charity, Lay Mission Partners, and volunteers sustain the organization.

For a fraction of the cost we normally spend during her birthday celebrations in the past, we were able to share to more than 60 kids in the center. We had lunch, played games (with My Love Nald as the host), and watched them showcase their talents. Mind you, they’re very good singers and dancers!

With this experience, all of us in our family – My Love Nald, Princess Aleksis, our Nanay Niknik, and I, were humbled. We all felt at peace after. With the several hours we spent with the kids, we were able to make them happy.

Let me share with you what one of the kids said towards the end of our stay: “Maraming salamat sa oras at sa lahat ng bagay na ibinigay ninyo sa amin. Alam namin na maraming tao ay busy at nagpapasalamat kami at nandito kayo. Di man namin masusuklian ang lahat ng ito pero ipagdadasal namin na sana mas maging mabuti pa ang buhay ng pamilya ninyo.” I still feel a lump on my throat whenever I remember her words. It hits me right in the heart every time. How beautiful their hearts are, how simple they could be, how uncomplicated, how wonderful. I’m wishful thinking that all of us would have pure hearts like theirs.

Our family have sworn to doing this again. In our own little ways, we are able to do a lot for other people.

Serendipity perhaps, again, our old man upstairs led the way for me to realize a lot of things I’m supposed to be thankful for… For more information about ASILO, click on the photo below.

Earth Hour: Let's Do Our Share

On March 29, 2008 the Philippines will join countries around the world as we literally "turn the lights out" for EARTH HOUR - an event that will fuel awareness on climate change and prove that when the people of the world work together, they can make a difference in the fight against global warming.

EARTH HOUR will take place throughout the Philippines from 8 to 9 in the evening on Saturday night, 29 March
2008. WWF invites you to participate by shutting off lights for 60 minutes, organizing your own "lights-out" event or by forwarding this message to your friends, co-workers, and family.

Launched in Australia on the 31st of March 2007, EARTH HOUR moved 2.2 million people and 2100 businesses in Sydney to turn off their lights for one hour. This massive collective effort reduced the city's energy consumption by
10.2% for one hour. With Sydney icons like the Harbour Bridge and Opera House turning their lights off and unique events such as weddings by candlelight, the world took notice. Inspired by the collective effort of millions of Sydneysiders, many major global cities are joining EARTH HOUR in 2008, turning a symbolic event into a global movement.

YOUR participation will go a long way in spreading the message that we, as individual droplets working collectively – can create an impetus far more powerful than the mightiest of rivers. For more information, log on to the WWF EARTH HOUR page at www.earthhour.org.

If you want to learn more about how else you can help make EARTH HOUR in the Philippines a success, contact Teena G. Santiago, Marketing Manager of WWF-Philippines / Kabang Kalikasan ng Pilipinas at tsantiago@wwf.org.ph or (632) 920-7931, (632) 920-7923, or (632)920-7926.

Help A Child Live Better

My friend Claire sent me this through email.

To quote her message: "Last night, I attended a talk sponsored by World Vision. It was truly inspiring; its premise was simple...that all it takes is for good people to do nothing for evil to prevail in the world. Not exactly a new concept, but it really struck a cord just the same.

The speaker said that if each person does a small act of heroism, the world would be a much better place. So there, I'm appealing to you guys to sponsor a child because right now there are 11.6 million out-of-school youths in our country. Of those, only 120,000 are receiving some sort of help from World Vision.

Let's do our fair share. It's just PhP 450 a month. Please, please, please. All you have to do is log on to this site.

In addition to Claire's appeal for everyone's kindness, this is one of the best ways for us to give back to the society for all the blessings we are receiving. Pay it forward.

Kcat Visits Miami

Last week, (December 14, 2007), Kcat went to our office to personally deliver the shirts my friends and co-workers ordered from her. Of course, she was with her Mom and some other family members. Meeting her was a joyful experience for me. It was like seeing my celebrity idol in the flesh. She is not a celebrity. She’s a real person, but BETTER THAN a celebrity! No exaggeration, but that was how I felt.

I was a bit teary-eyed when I interacted with her, not out of pity, but of complete admiration. She’s such an inspiration. In my life, there have been a lot of times when I felt I wasn’t having enough, of anything and everything. I am aware that this is not right, and no matter what positive things I tell myself, I revert to my old ways.

Then Kcat came into my life. In that short period of time that I watched her PROBE episode, it triggered something positive in me. It was just serendipity. Perhaps it’s our old man upstairs who brought her to me so I’d be able to realize that I could be a better person. Kcat was a flash of radiance and has started to bring me back to what I’m supposed to be.

Thanks, Kcat! Again, you only not show great courage, most of all you help change lives. The ripple effect of what you are doing is creating a lot of goodness in other people. I will forever be thankful that you have been part of my journey towards the light.

Let's Help Kcat Hear Again!

My Love Nald and I were watching Probe on TV last weekend when we saw one of their feature stories.

Kcat, is a young lady who has NEUROFIBROMATOSIS Type 2 (NF2). It all started with ordinary headaches and before she knew it, she couldn’t hear, couldn’t walk, couldn’t even cry. Because of this, she has stopped going to college and has been going through therapy for several years now.

Her being sick didn’t stop her from living a life, though. In fact what is so inspiring about her is that she’s so positive! She said “nothing will happen to me if I’d be negative about it, everything that happens, no matter how negative it is, has something positive that will come out of it.” She’s going to go through an operation that will cost her over PHP 1 million. She doesn’t want to just ask for money from people so she decided to do her own fund raising by designing shirts she’s selling for only PHP 300. This is also part of her advocacy to let people be aware of the disease.

Prior to being sick, she was an artist, and using a computer now, she designs her shirts!

I was humbled to see and hear her on TV and so I got in touch with her and pledged to help her raise some of the money she needs for her operation by encouraging friends to buy her shirt. By doing so, she’d be able to hear again. With all our help, we can make a difference in one person’s life.

Click this link to her Multiply account which has her shirt designs.