Touching people's lives

Touching people's lives
DIRECTLINE By Boy Abunda


KC Concepcion supports the search for Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO).

I deeply admire KC Concepcion. I appreciate many things that she does as a young woman, and as a young citizen of the world. Currently the National Ambassador of the United Nations World Food Program, she is also giving her time and support to the Search for TAYO or the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations. TAYO Awards has recently launched its seventh year search.

“The wonderful thing about TAYO is that they are working together, sama-sama, tulong-tulong. And being with them makes me really proud and inspired because the young people are doing so much for our country,” said KC.

TAYO, a yearly search for excellence that started in 2002, has become an inspirational vehicle to highlight the prowess and the concern for country displayed by the Filipino youth. The brainchild of Sen. Francis Pangilinan, TAYO was initiated to give recognition to youth groups who give their time and effort to make this world a better place to live in.

This year, TAYO Awards Foundation, Inc. announces its search for the 10 Accomplished Youth Organizations for 2009. Open to all youth groups — from student councils, barkadas, religious groups, volunteer groups, cause-oriented groups, etc. — and project entries can be anything. The deadline for submission of entries is on July 15.

As one of the judges of the previous TAYO Awards, KC acknowledged that she has personally become more inspired by the projects of the TAYO participants. “And I also get intimidated by the youth leaders. Sino ba naman ako para humarap sa inyo?” she revealed. “It helped that I spent years living abroad because I can appreciate my country more. And in my third year involvement in TAYO, I am really amazed at what the youth can do today. I’m really proud to be part of this generation.”

Commenting on how TAYO has evolved, Sen. Pangilinan explained, “The competition has become stiffer. The entries have become more creative, more colorful. Last year, over a 100 had joined and we anticipate the same number this year, if not more.” He also said that participants come from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

Sen. Pangilinan is also vocal about how TAYO has kept him motivated, “I thank them for inspiring us, for giving us hope, for optimism.” Previous winners, he said, have shown the depth and grasp of how the youth can touch the lives of many. Citing examples, he noted: “A youth group from Jolo, they got an ambulance and built a rescue team around it — mga youth ito ha. Meron naman diyan sa Dapitan, a volunteer fire brigade, 25 below ang average fire fighters nila. And there’s one from Ilocos, management students — they were able to provide bookkeeping and accounting tips for a farmers’ organization and helped them discover an extra P70,000. The farmers didn’t know that they had an extra P70,000 but from correct bookkeeping, they discovered it.”

As for KC, she is overwhelmed by the things she witnesses in the course of her job as an ambassador and her other involvements, like in TAYO. “Everytime I go back to Mindanao, I hardly think about my work in showbiz. I want to participate not just through entertainment, but in getting a lot more people involved,” said KC.

“Hunger, unfortunately, is a tremendous challenge that continues to face our generation and is not going away until we do something about it and I’m thankful to TAYO that they gave me an opportunity to talk about this. It is the most basic need, kasi kung gutom naman ang estudyante paano siya papasok? Hunger kills more people than AIDS, malaria, and HIV combined.” Calling on the youth, KC stressed, “We can do more if we work together.”

Memories of MET’s grand dame

My dearest Tita Conching Sunico, grand dame of Manila’s 400 (when there were only 400) and of the Metropolitan Theater, will be honored in a concert tribute billed Mga Ginintuang Alaala ni Conching Sunico at ng MET on May 14 and 15 at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.

“The concert is a grand tribute to the brave journey of one woman and the Metropolitan Theater that she devoted her life to preserving it. Both Ms. Sunico and the Manila Metropolitan Theater have many things in common. They were cultural forces of their time defining the artistic climate of their eras. It was during her management as executive director that the Met enjoyed a brief resurgence of its glory. The concert takes a look at that brief, golden period when the arts once again flourished in Plaza Lawton. Through the participation of the artists that she loved and who loved her in return, the golden memories of Conching Sunico and the MET live again.

In the cast are Leo Tavarro Valdez, Chinggoy Alonzo, Ana Feleo, Rachelle Gerodias, Karla Gutierrez, Chinggay Lagdameo, Tony Mabesa, Metro Manila Community Orchestra, Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group, Beverly Salviejo, Chino Toledo, UP Concert Chorus, with the special participation of Ben Farrales. It is directed by Tony Mabesa and Floy Quintos. Script by Floy Quintos.

Its great to see public figures who has a lot of influence to the Philippines society to be involved in Philanthropic activities.

QC house refuge for single mothers

QC house refuge for single mothers

By Edson C. Tandoc Jr.
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: May 11, 2009

MANILA, Philippines—Sixteen-year-old Maria was all set to enter university when she discovered she was pregnant. It shattered her dream of becoming a teacher and broke her parents’ hearts.

Maria and her boyfriend were not ready to become parents or even to get married.

“I was angry at my boyfriend,” she recalls. “I was angry at myself.”

She also worried about what the neighbors would say when they see her pregnant and unmarried.

Maria sought refuge at the Nazareth Home in Quezon City, which is a shelter for pregnant teens and unwed mothers. Operated by the volunteer group Kaisahang Buhay Foundation (KBF), the halfway house hopes to protect mothers-to-be and their unborn children.
The home provides a place—free of charge—for women facing unexpected pregnancies and have run away from their families.

It also seeks to protect the children they may not want by providing alternatives to abortion and to the society-induced stigma attached to being a single mother.

“We want to protect the children so they do not suffer from what their mothers have done,” says KBF volunteer Maria Paula Molato, who supervises the home.

Safe haven

Nazareth Home is a haven for unmarried pregnant women. Most of the girls come from poor families who are not ready for marriage or motherhood.

It also provides refuge for rape victims, who the home would rather call “survivors of sexual abuse.”

The youngest girl admitted to the shelter is an 11-year-old who became pregnant after she was raped in Pampanga province three years ago.

Sometimes, married women who get pregnant while working abroad because of extramarital affairs stay at the halfway house because they are afraid to go home and face the consequences of their actions.

Nazareth Home also provides counseling and training to help pregnant teens “regain self-worth and self-esteem.” It tries to reconcile the girls with their families.

It also prepares them for motherhood, hoping that they would decide to keep their babies when they leave the shelter.

While the KBF can facilitate the adoption of babies born in the shelter, the KBF’s Molato says they try as much as possible to encourage the new mothers to bring their babies home with them.

Like a home

There are 12 girls living in the shelter. Two of them, including Maria, have just given birth. The shelter can accommodate up to 20 girls.

It looks and feels like a typical home: The two-story house has a sala, a kitchen where the girls can cook, a dining room with a large table, and three big bedrooms. Bringing together girls with similar problems will help them realize they are not alone, Molato says.

The shelter usually gets referrals from churches, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other volunteer groups.

Full-time mother Jo Ann de Larrazabal is one of the volunteers at the shelter. She helps prepare the girls give birth “successfully and beautifully.”

De Larrazabal hopes to make the girls’ childbirth experience less traumatic so they would learn to value their babies more.

“It helps when they know what is going to happen,” she says. “It takes away the fear.”

De Larrazabal, 49, a fine arts graduate and mother of three children, says she started volunteering in the shelter in 1996.

At the beginning, the girls were subjected to harsh conditions and even verbal abuse when they were brought to the nearest government hospital to deliver their babies.

Birthing room

De Larrazabal decided to raise funds to put up a “birthing room” at the shelter.

In September 2006, the first baby was born in the birthing room—a simple room with a bed and a “birthing stool” where girls can give birth sitting down, which is the natural way, she says.

The shelter has a volunteer midwife during delivery.

“Here, the women feel valued and cared for,” De Larrazabal says. “The best benefit is that the baby bonds with the mother.”

Foster care

Sixty-five girls had given birth in the birthing room. De Larrazabal says many if not most of the mothers brought their babies home instead of giving them up for adoption.

Maria gave birth in the same room on April 6. She was given the option of keeping her month-old daughter, or relinquishing her for adoption.

There is a third option which the shelter calls “foster care.” A family takes care of the baby for six months. In that period of time, the mother can decide whether to keep her baby.

The KBF, which operates the shelter, is licensed and accredited by the DSWD to offer adoption.

Maria finally left Nazareth Home on Friday afternoon.

She was picked up by her parents, who had also undergone counseling sessions at the shelter. She got a warm welcome from her family.

“I used to be very angry,” Maria said. “But the anger in my heart disappeared the moment I saw my baby girl.”

Of course, she brought her baby home.
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Raising a kid by yourself is tough, its great to see there is an institution that understands and supports teenage mothers, rather than berates them. This is just a good contribution to the Philippines society

Binay lauds BDO employees for volunteer work in Makati-GK project MANILA, May 4 (PNA) - Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay on Sunday lauded employees of Banco de Oro (BDO) who have volunteered to render community service at the Makati-Gawad Kalinga (GK) Community Development Project located in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan for 10 Saturdays. Binay said around 35 to 50 BDO employees have participated every Saturday in building 28 houses sponsored by the BDO Foundation in a portion of the 3.2-hectare property acquired by the city government in Brgy. Kay Pian in the said city starting May 2. “The city government and the people of Makati are truly grateful to the volunteers from BDO for their willingness to help build homes for homeless families. Their selfless act will go a long way in the realization of our dream of a livable and sustainable community for our less fortunate residents,” Binay said. BDO Foundation is by far the biggest donor with its P2.8 million donation to the project, dubbed “Dreamlandville.” Source:http://positivenewsmedia.net/ Meanwhile, Binay said the BDO Foundation has set the groundbreaking ceremony for the BDO-GK Community within Dreamlandville for May 16. Binay will lead other city officials and representatives of GK and the BDO Foundation in the ceremony. He also reiterated his appeal to members of the business community, civic organizations and philanthropic individuals to support the said project through donations. (PNA)