Madam Preciosa Soliven wrote an article about me in her column! Wow! I didn't realize that she included in her column some stories about me during my "younger years". I remembered that she interviewed me thru the phone way back 1993 when I was already in Colegio San Agustin-Makati.
Thank you, Mrs. Soliven for this article. It's kinda tooooo late to express my gratitude but I guess being thankful has no expiration date. Hehehe
I share with you the column of Mrs. Preciosa Soliven . The title of the article about me and my youth group is "The Vision of the Young Eagles."
http://www.philstar.com/education-and-home/2014/10/16/1380655/why-pye-parent-youth-encounters-should-replace-pta-secondary
This is the copy - paste version, hehehe!
A wonderful attribute of teenagers is their concern for the major moral issues of civilization such as racial equality, poverty,
self-serving government and ecology. This beam of light was brought to fore by 21-year-old speaker, Cristina “Kitte” Santos of the Barasoain Parish Youth Council, the only child of Pastor
and Luzviminda Santos of Malolos, Bulacan.
Cristina, then a 17-year-old education sophomore at PNU in 1990, together with her parish group of 27 young men and women (her friends since Grade V), won the most outstanding award in that year’s Magnolia Youth Achievement Awards (MYAA), after they took up the challenge of their parish priest, Father Sonny Sunga,
to go around Malolos, observe the basic needs of the simple barrio folks, and undertake a community development work over
a seven-month period.
They decided to focus on Lamayan, a small fishing village off Malolos that could hardly be reached by ferry boats at high tide
or low tide. Thus, half of the school population would often be absent, except for a few students who dared
to swim across the river.
They observed that the ferry boat riders had no roofed terminal station. The bangkeros were overcharging, overloading and generally had no discipline.
They also noted a wasteland of 70 hectares of old rice land, which could not be reached by an old irrigation ditch on a lower level. The villagers would discourage them saying, “Hindi na uso ang magpaka martir” (Martyrdom is now old-fashioned), or
“Bakit hindi na lang kayo magsipagtulog? Mga bata pa kayo.” (Why don’t you go to sleep, young as you are?)!
To address the problem of funding, the older people suggested that they ask the governor or the mayor for help. But to learn the value of money, Cristina and her friends were determined:
“We don’t have to wait for government’s help,
for we can help ourselves.” In seven months, they raised
P27,000 from selling old newspapers, singing for church weddings with Cristina on the organ, and conducting solicitation drives.
What helped the community tremendously were the structural designs of the engineering and architecture students in the group, while labor was provided by the villagers and farmers.
Thus, a wooden footbridge was built for Lamayan,
as well as ferry boats and a kubo (palm shed) for the boatmen.
A three-meter deep by one and a half kilometer long irrigation canal link was built, which activated the old irrigation canal, benefiting 40 farmers. It took them one and a half months to complete the diggings.
This project underscored the truth that when given the opportunity and challenge to get connected, engaged and achieve, our teenagers can shine like the stars.
- A Point of Awareness by Preciosa S. Soliven, The Philippine Star, October 16, 2014
As I was reading the article, I can't help but shed a tear (or two) thinking of what my youth group and I, then, experienced just to push through with these projects for the people of Malolos.
It was a gigantic task but with sheer determination, zeal and community spirit we were able to help our kababayans.
This. I. Miss.
I miss working in different projects and immersing myself in the community. I knew, back then, that what we were doing was very idealistic but we were able to prove that things can be done if there is a will.
The three projects - Free Ride for Students, Water Irrigation and Walk Bridge (Mrs. Soliven was not able to include the first project), made an impact in the lives of the Malolenyos and for us young people then it was enough that we were able to help.
The projects, the music, the camaraderie and family spirit brought us all together. This is one priceless experience.
"Sometimes superheroes do not wear capes.
Sometimes they just wear t-shirt and jeans
and sing inside the Church."
- At yan ang sabi ni Manang!