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Grammar Police
6 years ago
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
The future is another country
t's grey and chilly. Throngs of thirty and forty somethings lumber through the drizzle to an agricultural hall outside Coventry. I pay the £11 entrance fee and once through the door everything changes. Sunny optimism illumines the interior. Maple-leaf flags hang like bunting while red, white and blue balloons jostle for attention with inflatable kangaroos and surfboards. This is Emigrate, the largest migration exhibition in Britain, at which financial advisers, estate agents and lawyers from more than 60 organisations offer advice to 7,000 visitors on how to gain entry to new lands of opportunity.
I join the queue of visitors who are eager to discover how to clinch the golden ticket: an Australian visa. We take our seats and the game-show begins. On the stage, a smiling Australian migration lawyer talks up the prize of a one-way ticket to the land of surf, sun and beer. "Once you get a visa you can sit on the beach for the rest of your life. You don't need to work if you don't want to."
At Emigrate, points win prizes. Later in the day, at stalls dotted around the fair, there are talks on how to gain the differing number of points required for entry by Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Each country has its own list of desired skills and professions and the fair's walls are pasted with posters cataloguing each nation's sought-after occupations. Are you a bee-keeper? A civil servant? Welcome to New Zealand. Hairdresser? Last year Australia was desperate for you.
Now, after admitting large numbers of Chinese and Indian scissor-hands, hairdressers are no longer required. Qualification for permanent residence can be a lottery but there are some certainties. All countries allocate more points for youth, English-language fluency and education. And if you are an entrepreneur with thousands to invest in your new country, Australia, New Zealand and America all want you.
Myths about points swirl around the show. To demonstrate the abundant migration misinformation, the presenter, Ben Willis, a migration agent and lawyer, asks, Paul McKenna-style, for a guinea pig who believes he or she has the 120 points to qualify for permanent Australian residency.
The victim says confidently that he is an engineer, aware Australia is desperate for them. "Do you have a BSc in engineering?" the presenter asks. "No. I switched careers later and took an MSc in engineering," he replies. It is not enough. The BSc would have given him the necessary points but the MSc counts for less.
The volunteer's face falls. The presenter looks vindicated: "My main message is: don't assume you will manage to get 120 points," he says.
Registering the wavering mood in the audience, he attempts to gee them up: "It's worth going through the hurdles or else you'll be stuck on the M1 thinking, 'what am I doing here?' Australia is the best place to be. Once you've made a decision to come, just do it."
To keep wannabe migrants' eyes fixed on the prize, we are introduced by video link-ups to Brits who have leapt through the migration hoops to settle in new countries. At one talk, entitled "Chat with Brits in Canada", we're presented to Maxine, a migratory role model who moved from London to Ontario two years ago: "She got a whopping 79 points! She only needed 67 to qualify!". Canada's craving for her postgraduate social work qualifications ratcheted up her score.
It's a gold rush for the emigration industry. The Office for National Statistics' figures show more British citizens left the UK in 2006 - 207,000 - than in any year since records began in 1991: 49,000 for new lives in Australia, 71,000 upped sticks for EU countries, mainly Spain and France, and 16,000 to the US.
More and more people hanker to move abroad. A 2006 BBC survey found that 13 per cent of 1,000 people asked were planning to emigrate in the near future, twice the number who wanted to leave when the same question was asked three years before.
Yet the British press and politicians have been so mesmerised by the rising number of non-British nationals arriving - which the ONS recently showed had swelled to 510,000 immigrants in 2006, double the number a decade ago - that the British exodus has been ignored.
Of course, emigrating Brits are nothing new. At the height of its imperial power in the 19th century, Britain experienced mass migration not only to colonies and dominions such as India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa but also to countries with colonial connections, such as the US.
Professor Tim Hatton, a labour market economist from Essex University, estimates the annual emigration rate in the years before the first world war at around 5.3 UK citizens out of every 1,000, though this included a disproportionately high share of Irish emigrants when Ireland was part of the UK.
Even today, according to Jim Hammerton, emeritus professor at Melbourne's La Trobe University, who has written extensively on the history of migration, Brits are cashing in on the "colonial dividend", empire having established "common language and family ties to countries".
A couple at the Emigrate fair support Professor Hammerton's observation. The woman, in her late 30s, pacifying her toddler with an apple, tells me her parents came to Britain from India in the 1960s, and her husband had lived in Australia as a child for 10 years before they met: "I know it's possible to uproot a family and be happy."
Brits are departing their home country in greater numbers than the French or Americans.
The Institute for Public Policy Research estimated that 5.5m British nationals, or just over 9 per cent of the UK population, were living overseas permanently in 2006. It dwarfs the number of French living overseas, which is only about 1.2m, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Yet even the French eclipse the Americans: the OECD finds 1.2m US-born citizens, out of a population of 300m, live overseas, making the US diaspora proportionally much smaller than the French or British.
While the legacy of empire has provided Brits with some choice destinations, this alone can't explain the difference. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, IPPR's director of research strategy, suggests the British are more outward-facing than other nationalities: "Brits care about international issues - it's in British newspapers. Whereas American and French societies are more insular." This, he says, helps explain why Britain has, in relative terms, one of the largest diasporas in the world.
If Brits, as Sriskandarajah says, do have a wider view of the world, then cheap travel and improved communications make abroad not as foreign as it used to be and emigrating less daunting.
In fact, for many middle-class families across the world, living abroad is a rite of passage, whether it is gap-year students digging wells in African villages, high-flyers studying for MBAs or investment bankers accepting foreign postings. <
Dr Sam Scott, a lecturer in social geography at Liverpool University who has researched European migration, suggests the experience of foreign living and culture is a social aspiration and may be a way some families give themselves a mark of cultural sophistication. He says: "People's social and cultural experiences abroad are useful as a form of class 'capital'. It's about how you change as a person and the networks you enter that set you out as different."
The pursuit of this badge of distinction increases the likelihood of accidental migration, which takes place when the intention to return home is re-routed by, say, romance. Prof Hammerton suggests growing numbers of accidental migrants are making redundant the distinction of permanent migrants and short-term expats living overseas on a work posting.
How, for example, to define Ian Corfield? He is a 35-year-old chief executive of Bank West's retail division, who moved with his wife and two young children from central London to Perth after HBOS, which owns Bank West, offered him the post. "We always wanted to live and work abroad. We weren't sick of Britain; we just wanted to experience a different environment and culture," he says.
For the moment they're keeping their London house but think they might sell up and make Australia their permanent home, thereby blurring the demarcation between expat and migrant.
I ask Paul Beasley, editor of Emigrate, a magazine offering migration news and advice, why so many Britons want to leave. He says unemployment is not an issue but taxes and house prices motivate people to up sticks. "The property market is a big factor; they want their children to be able to get a foot on the property ladder. There is a dream, buoyed by the strong pound, that people can buy their houses outright abroad and have a nest egg."
Indeed, everyone I speak to at the fair raises the issue. At one stand, I ask what I could buy if I sold my one-bed London flat. "You could get a 3,000 square feet, four-bedroom house on an acre of land and three-car garage - a mini-mansion if you moved to Saskatoon," the Canadian consultant enthuses proudly.
Foreign homes allow us to experiment with migration. A survey by Barclays bank showed that 35 per cent of people buying a holiday home planned to relocate or retire there. David Bloor, a 49-year-old maths teacher from east Yorkshire, says that buying a property in Turkey has given him a taste for life abroad and now he hopes to settle farther away. Some commentators dub the fashion for buying overseas homes "pre-emigrating".
Professionals on overseas postings and Brits in possession of foreign properties are making British migration more middle class than it used to be, according to Prof Hammerton. He says traditional "migrations of austerity", when people felt driven out of Britain by hardship, notably in the postwar years and high unemployment in the 1980s, have given way to "migrations of prosperity" as people quit a Britain that is relatively affluent with high employment.
Prof Hammerton also says that migrants are both more wealthy and skilled than was the case in the 1950s. In part this reflects the fact that the middle class is bigger than it used to be and that tougher immigration policies in settler countries weed out lesser-skilled potential migrants, consigning the "Ten Pound Poms", British migrants who received financial assistance from the Australian government, to the history books.
However, if some Brits are migrating by accident after relaxing in their Provence holiday home or putting down family or work roots abroad, most people I meet at the Emigrate fair just want to leave Britain. There is something rather melancholy in visiting a fair with hundreds of people who want to leave the country.
Some of the would-be emigrants say they are fed up with Britain's "uncontrolled immigration".
The Elstons, a couple in their 30s from Nottingham, have been thinking of moving to Australia for the past 18 months. At first it was Canada, but then they changed their minds. "Canada and Australia are very different," I suggest. They shrug their shoulders. "It's more that we want to leave this country than go to another country. I pay too much tax. There are too many foreigners coming to this country due to EU restrictions being lifted," Mr Elston explains. I ask him if he doesn't see the irony that he will be an immigrant in Australia - the kind of person he is complaining about. He shakes his head: "I prefer other countries' immigration policies. They're controlled."
According to Paul Beasley, Gordon Brown's decision not to call an election until 2009 might exacerbate the exodus, not because of the prime minister himself, but because "when a political party has been in power for a number of years, people start to become disillusioned; they begin to feel that politics is a dead game".
But talk around the fair isn't just of policy and property. People at Emigrate speak of their motives for migration in therapeutic and emotional language. They want "space to breathe" to "get away from stress".
Beasley sums it up: "People just feel that life in Britain is becoming more stressful, more difficult. They believe that moving overseas will balance their lives and they will have much less stress."
I talk to Paul, a 43-year-old graphic designer who is planning to move to Australia with his wife and four children: "We want a better quality of life. I don't like Britain. My spare time is pressured. You live for your holiday. I want to be in an environment where the lifestyle is slowed down and you can take advantage of time to be with your family."
Paul's remarks appear to confirm Prof Hammerton's verdict that the "migration of prosperity" has replaced the "migration of austerity". Aspiration for a better quality of life these days need not be a hankering for increased riches but a reaction against the perceived stress of modern life.
Stress has become a "virulent epidemic" in British society, according to David Wainwright and Michael Calnan, authors of a study entitled Work Stress, published in 2002. The idea of being "stressed out" grips the nation. It radically alters how people look at work and the world around them. Work in pressurised Britain seems undesirable, and countries that appear to offer a more relaxed lifestyle are attractive.
Some people I met at the fair lusted for adventure but most were fed up and desperate for sunnier climes and eager to escape the stresses of life in Britain. So much unhappiness made me desperate to get away and I plonked myself in a mini-cab. It wasn't just me that felt infected by the visitors' discontent. "Everyone's been so miserable," my cab driver remarked. "I'll tell you what, we're better off without that whingeing lot. Give me the immigrants any day."
Friday, June 17, 2011
Cover
Isang araw, dumating ang housemate ko sa bahay habang nakatambay ako sa dining area. May bitbit na bagong boylet, na nang lumaon, aking napag-alaman ay 23 years old. Pogi at straight-acting si boylet, na tatawagin nating CJ.
May katawan si CJ, di kataasan, pero matikas. Lalake kumilos at magsalita. Tahimik noong una, pero nang makausap ko siya habang naghahapunan, unti-unti na rin kaming nagkapalagayan ng loob. Naramdaman ko na mabait si CJ, at parang uhaw sa kausap na may sensibilidad. “Kuwento ka pa, Kuya,” ang lagi niyang inuulit. Alam niyang sa tagal ko na bilang isang well-adjusted na bading, marami akong maishe-share sa kanya. So ako naman, bilang isang mabuting housemate sa kanyang iniirog, kuwento naman.
Hanggang sa tuluyan na ngang nag-enjoy si CJ. Nag-ayang uminom. Naglabas ng inuming nakalalasing si housemate. Toma kung toma.
Nainggit ako nang bahagya dahil sa harapan ko, habang nag-iinuman kami, nagho-holding hands sina housemate at CJ. Ang cute nila. Parehong butch at straight-acting, pero ang sweet sa isa’t isa. Ang saya. Mas nanaig ang pagkagiliw ko sa kanilang dalawa. Bumabangka ako ng kuwento habang taimtim na nakikinig, at pagkaminsa’y nagtatanong si CJ. As usual, si housemate, listener lang at di masyadong sumasabat.
Dumating sa puntong medyo may tama na si CJ. Kuwento na rin siya ng kuwento. Napansin ko ang cellphone niya. Nagandahan ako sa casing, kulay dilaw. “Ang ganda naman ng cellphone mo, ang cool ng kulay,” sabay kuha sa kanya. Napansin ko ang litrato bilang wallpaper sa cellphone niya. Si CJ at isang babae.
“Sino ito?” tanong ko.
“Girlfriend ko,” mabilis niyang sagot.
“Girlfriend?”
“Oo, girlfriend. Pang cover.”
Natameme ako. Itinuloy niya ang sagot niya.
“Ganyan talaga, dapat may girlfriend. Para di ako mabuko.”
Di pa rin ako nakapagsalita.
Nalungkot ako ng husto, pakiramdam ko sinuntok ako sa dibdib ng dalawang beses.
“Na-sad naman ako,” sabi ko, sabay paalam. “Akyat na ako, may isusulat lang ako.”
“Huy, baka naman i-blog mo ako ha!” habol ni CJ.
“Oo, ibo-blog nga kita,” sagot ko, ayaw ko kasing magsinungaling.
“Sige, basta palitan mo lang pangalan ko.”
Natawa ako, pero tawang di nakaibsan ng naramdaman kong lungkot.
Naisip ko yung girlfriend. 19 years old lang. Hindi niya alam na ang boyfriend niya, may ibang lalake.
Bakla ako, oo, at naniniwala akong isa akong mabuting tao. Ayaw na ayaw kong manloko, at nalulungkot ako pag nakakakita ako ng mga taong nanloloko, o niloloko. Alam ko na takot lang si CJ. Pero nakakalungkot pa rin. Sana, ma-realize ni CJ na hindi niya kailangang gumamit ng cover. Na hindi niya kailangan manakit para maiwasang masaktan.
May katawan si CJ, di kataasan, pero matikas. Lalake kumilos at magsalita. Tahimik noong una, pero nang makausap ko siya habang naghahapunan, unti-unti na rin kaming nagkapalagayan ng loob. Naramdaman ko na mabait si CJ, at parang uhaw sa kausap na may sensibilidad. “Kuwento ka pa, Kuya,” ang lagi niyang inuulit. Alam niyang sa tagal ko na bilang isang well-adjusted na bading, marami akong maishe-share sa kanya. So ako naman, bilang isang mabuting housemate sa kanyang iniirog, kuwento naman.
Hanggang sa tuluyan na ngang nag-enjoy si CJ. Nag-ayang uminom. Naglabas ng inuming nakalalasing si housemate. Toma kung toma.
Nainggit ako nang bahagya dahil sa harapan ko, habang nag-iinuman kami, nagho-holding hands sina housemate at CJ. Ang cute nila. Parehong butch at straight-acting, pero ang sweet sa isa’t isa. Ang saya. Mas nanaig ang pagkagiliw ko sa kanilang dalawa. Bumabangka ako ng kuwento habang taimtim na nakikinig, at pagkaminsa’y nagtatanong si CJ. As usual, si housemate, listener lang at di masyadong sumasabat.
Dumating sa puntong medyo may tama na si CJ. Kuwento na rin siya ng kuwento. Napansin ko ang cellphone niya. Nagandahan ako sa casing, kulay dilaw. “Ang ganda naman ng cellphone mo, ang cool ng kulay,” sabay kuha sa kanya. Napansin ko ang litrato bilang wallpaper sa cellphone niya. Si CJ at isang babae.
“Sino ito?” tanong ko.
“Girlfriend ko,” mabilis niyang sagot.
“Girlfriend?”
“Oo, girlfriend. Pang cover.”
Natameme ako. Itinuloy niya ang sagot niya.
“Ganyan talaga, dapat may girlfriend. Para di ako mabuko.”
Di pa rin ako nakapagsalita.
Nalungkot ako ng husto, pakiramdam ko sinuntok ako sa dibdib ng dalawang beses.
“Na-sad naman ako,” sabi ko, sabay paalam. “Akyat na ako, may isusulat lang ako.”
“Huy, baka naman i-blog mo ako ha!” habol ni CJ.
“Oo, ibo-blog nga kita,” sagot ko, ayaw ko kasing magsinungaling.
“Sige, basta palitan mo lang pangalan ko.”
Natawa ako, pero tawang di nakaibsan ng naramdaman kong lungkot.
Naisip ko yung girlfriend. 19 years old lang. Hindi niya alam na ang boyfriend niya, may ibang lalake.
Bakla ako, oo, at naniniwala akong isa akong mabuting tao. Ayaw na ayaw kong manloko, at nalulungkot ako pag nakakakita ako ng mga taong nanloloko, o niloloko. Alam ko na takot lang si CJ. Pero nakakalungkot pa rin. Sana, ma-realize ni CJ na hindi niya kailangang gumamit ng cover. Na hindi niya kailangan manakit para maiwasang masaktan.
Monday, June 13, 2011
REGRETS OF THE DYING
It’s Sunday, a downtime for many of us, a perfect opportunity to be more reflective than usual. Here’s a nice article to kickstart your muni-muni moments. (Written by Bronnie Ware.)
* * *
For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.
People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.
When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:
1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.
2. I wish I didn’t work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.
By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.
We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.
It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called ‘comfort’ of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.
When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.
Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Monday, December 6, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Novena in Urgent Need To The Infant Jesus of Prague
(To be said at the same time for nine consecutive hours, or for nine days)
O JESUS, who have said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted.
Mention your request
O JESUS, "All that you ask of the Father in my Name, he will grant you," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask the Father in your Name that my prayer be granted.
Mention your request.
O JESUS, who have said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.
Mention your request.
O JESUS, who have said, "Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened to you," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy mother, I knock, I seek, I ask that my prayer be granted.
Mention your request
O JESUS, "All that you ask of the Father in my Name, he will grant you," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy Mother, I humbly and urgently ask the Father in your Name that my prayer be granted.
Mention your request.
O JESUS, who have said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass," through the intercession of Mary, your most holy Mother, I feel confident that my prayer will be granted.
Mention your request.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Love, my Love, he’s still out there.
I can still feel, my Love, I can still feel. Those tears I just shed are proof that this heart of mine is still capable of loving. These past days I’ve been noticing how I was repeatedly telling myself that I’m exhausted. It’s as if every fiber of my beating heart is but a pulp of dry straw, and at any moment, will snap into powdery bits. Exhausted to the point of giving up on this quest for love.
Standing on the verge of hopelessness, that abyss not unfamiliar to a lot of people like us, I remind myself, Love, my Love, she’s still out there.
And suddenly, I thought, perhaps you, my Love, are exhausted too. Exhausted because for sure, for some time, you’ve also been looking for me. For sure, you are also getting impatient as the wait gets longer, and lonelier. Perhaps, you too, are standing on the same verge of hopelessness, worn out, contemplating on jumping over to that dark, damp abyss of jadedness.
No my Love, don’t. I am here. We just haven’t met yet. Or, maybe we have, but that we haven’t realized the Grand Destiny we’re meant to live, together, as life partners. But once we do, once you recognize it’s me, once I recognize it’s you, my Love, I shall lay your head on my lap. Tell you, before anything else, to rest and regain your strength. Recharge, and be at your very best. Because our journey together will be long, arduous, maybe even more exhausting, yet because I know we’re traveling together, it shall be, I promise to make it, well worth every little f*ckin’ waiting moment we spent looking for each other.
Standing on the verge of hopelessness, that abyss not unfamiliar to a lot of people like us, I remind myself, Love, my Love, she’s still out there.
And suddenly, I thought, perhaps you, my Love, are exhausted too. Exhausted because for sure, for some time, you’ve also been looking for me. For sure, you are also getting impatient as the wait gets longer, and lonelier. Perhaps, you too, are standing on the same verge of hopelessness, worn out, contemplating on jumping over to that dark, damp abyss of jadedness.
No my Love, don’t. I am here. We just haven’t met yet. Or, maybe we have, but that we haven’t realized the Grand Destiny we’re meant to live, together, as life partners. But once we do, once you recognize it’s me, once I recognize it’s you, my Love, I shall lay your head on my lap. Tell you, before anything else, to rest and regain your strength. Recharge, and be at your very best. Because our journey together will be long, arduous, maybe even more exhausting, yet because I know we’re traveling together, it shall be, I promise to make it, well worth every little f*ckin’ waiting moment we spent looking for each other.
Friday, January 15, 2010
My Feelings And Emotions
I notice that whenever I feel bad, it’s mostly because I am not aligned with my true self.
Today, I’ve been feeling quite antsy, thinking of this and that, what would this person say if I do this, or that; would he think I’m weird, or wacky, or wobbly inside my head? I feel that there is a strong connection between my general feeling (an emotion, like mad or glad, afraid or sad) and my alignment with who I truly am. More often than not I find myself joyous when I am in my most aligned state — when I am most relaxed, when I am surrounded by people who accept me for who I am, warts and all, when I myself accept whoever I want to be at that moment whether or not it is consistent with the self-image I conjure in my head. On the other hand, I feel uncomfortable, a general tinge of unease, when I resist, when I stress over things I know I have no control over, when I am not true to myself.
Little by little, I notice that I am beginning to trust more my feelings and emotions. I have always believed that my intellect, my reasoning, my logical self is my best friend, one of my strongest suit. But without discounting its importance, I have started to notice that my feelings, my emotions have always been a strong ally as well. Bad news is that I’ve never really honored it as much as it deserves.
Now I’m wondering, how could I be more in touch with my feelings? How can I give it more prominence in the way I make decisions, and in the way I relate to people? How can I elevate it at least to a stature equal if not above that of my reasoning powers?
Would any of you have ideas? Have you encountered such thoughts as well?
Today, I’ve been feeling quite antsy, thinking of this and that, what would this person say if I do this, or that; would he think I’m weird, or wacky, or wobbly inside my head? I feel that there is a strong connection between my general feeling (an emotion, like mad or glad, afraid or sad) and my alignment with who I truly am. More often than not I find myself joyous when I am in my most aligned state — when I am most relaxed, when I am surrounded by people who accept me for who I am, warts and all, when I myself accept whoever I want to be at that moment whether or not it is consistent with the self-image I conjure in my head. On the other hand, I feel uncomfortable, a general tinge of unease, when I resist, when I stress over things I know I have no control over, when I am not true to myself.
Little by little, I notice that I am beginning to trust more my feelings and emotions. I have always believed that my intellect, my reasoning, my logical self is my best friend, one of my strongest suit. But without discounting its importance, I have started to notice that my feelings, my emotions have always been a strong ally as well. Bad news is that I’ve never really honored it as much as it deserves.
Now I’m wondering, how could I be more in touch with my feelings? How can I give it more prominence in the way I make decisions, and in the way I relate to people? How can I elevate it at least to a stature equal if not above that of my reasoning powers?
Would any of you have ideas? Have you encountered such thoughts as well?
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Expression lang po!
Sana maipinta ng isang litrato ang buong katauhan ko
para maipakita ko….
higit sa anu pa man
ang taglay kong katangian…
sana mapakita nito ang tunay na nararamdaman
pati na rin ang kaya nitong gawin para sa ‘yo…
sana masabi nito na tunay akong
nagmamahal…
nagbibigay…
at nagpapatawad…
sana’y maipamulat nito na kaya din nyang
masaktan…
lumuha…
at mabigo…
Sana habang pinagmamasdan mo…
maramdaman mo na umaasa ako at naghihintay
ng pagbabago
ng pangako
ng pagmamahal na galing sa ‘yo
Kung magkagayunman…. Di ko na kailangang sabihing… totoong tao ako….
Seryoso ako kung seryoso ka...
Mamahalin kita kung mamahalin mo din ako...
kung libog lang yan... mmm... aaahhh... sige na nga... pwede na din...
Kung matapos mong malasahan ang lahat ng kalibugan sa mundo...
matapos kang mabigo sa lahat ng inaasam mong relasyon....
at kung sa palagay mong pagod ka na...
at nagtatanong kung meron pa ba?
pahinga ka na... sasamahan kita....
hindi ako nangangako ng magandang paglalakbay....
"I cant change the direction of the wind but I can always adjust my sail to always meet my destination"
magtulungan tayo...
09302291176 - smart (message me with your age sex location and your real name 2 save your number)
para maipakita ko….
higit sa anu pa man
ang taglay kong katangian…
sana mapakita nito ang tunay na nararamdaman
pati na rin ang kaya nitong gawin para sa ‘yo…
sana masabi nito na tunay akong
nagmamahal…
nagbibigay…
at nagpapatawad…
sana’y maipamulat nito na kaya din nyang
masaktan…
lumuha…
at mabigo…
Sana habang pinagmamasdan mo…
maramdaman mo na umaasa ako at naghihintay
ng pagbabago
ng pangako
ng pagmamahal na galing sa ‘yo
Kung magkagayunman…. Di ko na kailangang sabihing… totoong tao ako….
Seryoso ako kung seryoso ka...
Mamahalin kita kung mamahalin mo din ako...
kung libog lang yan... mmm... aaahhh... sige na nga... pwede na din...
Kung matapos mong malasahan ang lahat ng kalibugan sa mundo...
matapos kang mabigo sa lahat ng inaasam mong relasyon....
at kung sa palagay mong pagod ka na...
at nagtatanong kung meron pa ba?
pahinga ka na... sasamahan kita....
hindi ako nangangako ng magandang paglalakbay....
"I cant change the direction of the wind but I can always adjust my sail to always meet my destination"
magtulungan tayo...
09302291176 - smart (message me with your age sex location and your real name 2 save your number)
Friday, January 1, 2010
How to make your wish come true - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
How to make your wish come true - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
To make your wish come true, visit http://www.gogeni.com and make a wish.
To make your wish come true, visit http://www.gogeni.com and make a wish.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
The hero this country badly needs
CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida
December 19, 2009, 9:51am
If Efren Peñaflorida were to suddenly change in the coming months, it would be completely understandable.
After all, he’s been rubbing elbows with the likes of Anderson Cooper, Eva Mendes, Carrie Underwood and all manner of Hollywood celebrities, all while his volunteer work is recognized by an international news organization like CNN. Other men have changed for less.
But what is completely encouraging to see is that Efren is still very much the same person that he was before all the acclaim and the recognition started coming in, if a little busier than he used to be. He still teaches at a small private school in Cavite City, and even has to deliver softdrinks just to make a little money on the side. And he’s certainly just as prone to be the victim of pickpockets like everybody else!
Nevertheless, that one untoward incident which happened recently at the airport (which was even caught by the CNN cameras!) hasn’t changed Efren’s optimistic view about the country’s chances, who looks to the young people he works with for inspiration to go on.
“Naniniwala ako na may pag-asa ang Pilipinas, dahil ‘yung mga bata sa likod ng Kariton Klasrum, nakikita mo ‘yung passion nila para magbigay ng kanilang contribution, ng kanilang ambag sa society natin, even sa small things. Dun kami naniniwala, na even small things become significant kapag pinagsama-sama natin, malaking impact sa society natin,” he says.
He didn’t always feel that way, though. The son of a laundrywoman and a driver, Efren experienced being bullied and beaten up by local gang members in his province of Cavite. Things got so bad that Efren had considered leaving school and getting back at his bullies, and he would have done just that if it were not for a fortunate encounter with his mentor, Bon Manalaysay.
“Nung high school ako, disinterested ako kasi nga ‘yung mga pambu-bully, gusto ko na lang nun, gumanti, rumesbak,” he recalls. “Pero na-meet ko ‘yung mentor ko, na-involve ako dun sa mga programs niya. From there, he trained us na maging part nung kanyang street education. Naging volunteer street educators kami.”
That involvement would then take a life of its own. Efren would establish the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) in 1997 with only 20 members, and from there the rest is history. The DTC would grow to more than 2,000 members over the years, be recognized by such organizations such as the Gawad Geny Lopez Bayaning Filipino Awards, the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards Foundation, and the Outstanding Volunteer Award from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the United Nations Volunteer Program (UNVP).
The CNN Hero Award, the latest accolade given to DTC, has only inspired him to do more. Ninety percent of the prize money he will be receiving from CNN will be going to the DTC’s plans to build a Center for Learning, while the remaining 10 percent is earmarked for a church.
In this 60 Minutes conversation, Efren Peñaflorida talks about how his life has changed since being named a hero, and how he tries to remain the same young man who just wanted to change the world even in his small way.
“Me kanya kanya naman po tayong potential para ikarangal at iaangat ‘yung dangal ng lahi natin. Bawat isa sa atin ay may kanya-kanyang potential na puwede nating gamitin. Ang encouragement ko sa lahat, palagi, sa mga Pilipino na nakakausap ko, is to unleash the hero in us,” he proudly declares. (Ronald S. Lim)
STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES (SCB): How did the CNN Hero of the Year award change you personally and your group Dynamic Teen Company (DTC)?
EFREN PEÑAFLORIDA (EP): Our schedule became busier pero tuloy pa din ‘yung every Satuday na Kariton Klasrum (pushcart classroom). There are more media coverages now at medyo nakakawindang sa dami ng volunteers at mga bata na gustong umattend ng klase. Maraming na-encourage na youth, mga galing pa sa Maynila na nagpupunta sa Cavite to see kung ano ‘yung nagawa namin and eventually replicate the concept in their communities. Kung dati nahihirapan kami kumuha ng resources, support, ngayon nag-uunahan na. Blessings are pouring.
SCB: You mentioned that the number of students and volunteers tripled?
EP: Originally, nasa 150-170 lang. Nung nakapasok tayo sa top 10 sa CNN, naging 300 na ang enrollees. After the CNN awarding, almost 500 na! The same with volunteers.
SCB: How do you screen volunteers? How do you know if they are really committed?
EP: Sa reality, ganun talaga, may tinatamad na, may pinanghihinaan ng loob. Pero patuloy namin silang ine-encourage, lalo na ‘yung mga galing sa malayo na ineencourage namin na i-duplicate sa community nila para mas marami kaming maturuang bata. Na duplicate na ito sa Dasmariñas at Bacoor sa Cavite, sa Bacolod. Sa Naga merong inauguration this January. Meron na din sa Kenya, kaya naka focus kami ngayon sa pag train sa mga volunteers para sa mga malayong lugar.
SCB: How many pushcarts does DTC have now?
EP: Five. One is a brand new donation kaya di pa masyadong nagagamit. ‘Yung una at pangalawang
kariton, binili namin, ‘yung pangatlo at pang-apat donation.
SCB: How much does one kariton cost?
EP: Ranging from P30,000 to P50,000, depende sa lamang mga libro, toys, shelves, blackboard, tables and chairs.
SCB: The CNN Hero of the Year award opened up a lot of opportunities. Did it bring any disadvantages?
EP: Marami lang talagang nag-iinvite. Kasi wala naman akong karapatang mag-reklamo di ba? Kasi I owe the Filipinos a lot. It’s my turn naman to say thank you sa mga taong naniwala sa cause. As the representative of DTC, I have to tell our story and inspire.
SCB: You have yet to get your prize money?
EP: Wala pa. Hindi pa nadating.
SCB: How much is it?
EP: $125,000.
SCB: How do you plan to allocate the prize?
EP: Ninety percent will go to DTC to build the Center for Learning. Ten percent will go to a church. The Center will be a dormitory type, may school, bedrooms, as well as the components of the kariton classroom. May center, may literacy classes, may clinic. Meron ding malaking space for parking ng kariton.
SCB: How was the experience of being in Kodak Theater for the CNN Hero of the Year award?
EP: Nakakakaba, exciting, overwhelming. I was there to represent every hard working and intrepid Filipino, ‘yung mga bata na tinutulungan namin at saka ‘yung mga volunteers, dala-dala ko ‘yung mga pangarap nila, at siyempre ang pride ng country natin.
SCB: But if you didn’t win, who would you have wanted to get the award among the other nine?
EP: Brad Blauser is the one giving out wheelchairs to Iranian kids with disability. Siya ‘yung medyo close ko dun eh.
SCB: Who were the panel of judges for the CNN Heroes?
EP: Sina Colin Powell, Shakira, Masi Oka. From top 10, nag-start na ‘yung internet voting for CNN Hero of the Year, viewer’s choice naman.
SCB: Being with these other heroes, what did you learn from them and what are you taking from their projects that you want to implement here?
EP: Maganda ‘yung meron sa rape victims, about child rights. We have a partner called My Rights led by Emmanuel Bagual, siya naman ‘yung one of the top five nominees of the International Children’s Peace Prize ngayon 2009. Partner kami in pushing for child’s rights.
‘Yung Indonesian nominee, meron siyang orphanage, siguro magiging ganun ‘yung konsepto naming dun sa transient house na pinaplano namin, a temporary house for street children, dun sila magstay at the same tme, natuturuan namin sila, nareready namin sila sa pagpasok sa formal school.
SCB: Were you expecting to win? Looking at the profiles of the other nine ‘heroes,’ it cannot be denied that they also did something good.
EP: We were not expecting but we hoped and prayed hard for it. Answered prayer talaga. CNN revealed to us after the awarding na hindi lang mga Filipino ang bumoto, kahit taga ibang bansa din. Doon sa first 28 semi finalists na pumasok sa buong taon, naging 10 lang ang finalists at ‘yung 18 na hindi nakapasok, like from Japan, ginamit ‘yung technology to vote for Efren, for DTC. Madami pa, mga taga Cambodia, merong nag promote sa Facebook.
A week before the awarding daw, alam na nila na kami ‘yung CNN Hero of the Year. Pero nung dumating kami dun, feeling namin “Ba’t ganito malamig ‘yung pakikitungo nila?” Kaya pala ganun...
SCB: They tried to hide it…
EP: Oo, hirap na hirap sila na itago sa amin. Sabi namin dun sa mga producers, “You are great actors.” Kasi wala ‘yung extra treatment, minake-upan nga ako 30 seconds lang. Akala naman namin, dahil Pilipino tayo, parang medyo may discrimination, hindi pala!
SCB: Have you seen improvement among the children you teach?
EP: Oo naman. Marami na ang napagraduate. When we feel they are ready for formal school, we send them. Pinapag-aral na sila ni Kuya Bonn, my mentor. Ang programa namin sa kariton classroom, parang sparkplug to teach them the love for learning. ‘Yun ang gusto naming ibigay at pagkatapos, DepEd na ang bahala.
SCB: Who are these children you teach?
EP: Mga streetchildren, may mga dating maruya vendor na nasa Ericsson company na. Ako mismo pinag-aral din nila ako, produkto din kasi ako ng street education ng mentor ko.
YOUTUBE, OPRAH, AND CNN
SCB: You were just 16 years old when you started. Did you ever see it leading up to this?
EP: Hindi. My mentor Kuya Bonn started street education in 1985 with Club 8586 sa likod ng jeep, sa garahe, sa hagdan ng school, dun siya nagtuturo. Nung high school ko nakilala ang mentor ko, nung panahong rampant ang mga gangs pero dahil gusto kong mag-aral, na-involve ako dun sa mga programs niya. From there, Kuya Bonn trained us na maging part nung kanyang street education and we became volunteer street educators. Nung 1997 tinayo nga namin ‘yung DTC, and eventually,
he gave us full responsibility for it.
SCB: How did the international community come to know about Kariton Klasrum?
EP: Sa meeting ng DTC, nagsabi ang isang volunteer namin, na dating dancer, na napaghihinaan na siya ng loob. Kasi wala naman daw nangyayari kaya tigilan na daw namin.
Pero si Kuya Bonn, hindi basta nag-gigive up. Sabi niya, eh walang pumapansin sa atin dito, walang patutunguhan ‘to, eh anong gusto mong gawin? Sana lang mapansin tayo, makilala, sabi ng volunteer.
Paano ang gagawin natin? Si Arnel Pineda and si Charice Pempengco napansin sa YouTube.
Sabi ni Kuya Bonn, Ef gumawa ka ng audio visual presentation. ‘Yun kasi ang hobby ko. ‘Yung mga outreach namin every Saturday kumukuha ako ng pictures, tapos ivi-video ko. Nag-create ako ng isang AVP. Gumawa ng channel sa YouTube si Kuya Bonn and posted the video.
Then from there, merong nag-send ng link sa kanya from Oprah’s Angel Network. Sabi maganda daw ‘yung program, ikuwento raw ‘yung story, ilagay daw sa isang article. So si Kuya Bonn, ikinuwento niya what’s the story behind the video, ‘yung work ng DTC and he sent it to Oprah. So dun lumabas, nagulat kami! Tuwang-tuwa kami, Oprah’s Angel Network.com nandun ‘yung article ng Dynamic Teen Company!
SCB: And what about CNN?
EP: From Oprah, somebody from CNN iReport sent a link sa YouTube ni Kuya Bonn, sabi i-submit din daw sa CNN. Ini-edit ni Kuya Bonn nang konti, and then submitted it to CNN iReport. From CNN iReport, another link again nag-send, i-send naman sa CNN Heroes kasi ang ganda daw ng istorya.
SCB: Who’s idea is the Kariton Classroom?
EP: Kay Em Bagual, isang mais vendor na naging volunteer.
SCB: And yet you were the one hailed for it…
EP: Kaya nga ‘yung honor na ito is not mine, but Kuya Bonn’s, Emmanuel’s and the whole group. Sila ang mas deserving. ‘Yung mga prinsipyo na sini-share ko sa mga interviews, sa Kodak Theater, those are Kuya Bonn’s principles na tinuturo niya sa amin. Even nga ‘yun quote na ‘to (holding his shirt), siya ang original na nag-quote nito sa amin. Ako lang ang nag-represent.
THE WIND BENEATH THE HERO’S WINGS
SCB: Why not Kuya Bonn then for the nomination?
EP: Kasi he was the one who nominated, the one who told the story of how I co-founded DTC, at naging highlight nga ‘yung Kariton Klasrum. Kay Kuya Bonn ang dilemma since siya ang nagsimula ng street education, at ibinigay sa amin sa DTC which I co-founded, at si Em naman ang nakaisip ng kariton classroom.
Kung si Em daw, kasi 16 years old pa lang siya ngayon, magkaka-problema sa papers, minor, baka mahirapan. That’s why Kuya Bonn decided to tell my story.
SCB: Did you know that Kuya Bonn was going to nominate you?
EP: No, meron na lang tumawag sa akin December of 2008. Sabi, “Hello good evening may I talk to ‘Ifren.’’’ “No, I’m Efren,’’ sabi ko. Akala ko Bisaya. (laughs) “I’m from CNN Heroes, somebody nominated you.’’ Gusto daw nilang magpunta dito sa Philippines para i-shoot daw ‘yung ginagawa
naming outreach program. They came January 2009, from New York, one day silang nag-shoot, and the piece was shown in March.
SCB: Ok lang kay Kuya Bonn?
EP: We tell him, Kuya Bonn, dapat kayo ‘yung nandito eh, dapat kayo ‘yung hero. Ayaw pa niyang magpakilala. Sabi niya – “Kung ikaw ang gagawa ng tama, ng maganda, ng mabuti, hindi mo na ito dapat ipagmayabang dahil natural dapat ‘yun sa tao na gumawa ng mabuti.’’ Ngayon lang siya talaga lumabas kasi may mga taong nagsasabing sila-sila daw ang humubog sa akin at hihingi ng donation. I encouraged Kuya Bonn to come out para makita nila na siya talaga ang nag-train sa amin at kung bakit kami naging ganito.
SCB: Sabi mo produkto ka ng street education, paano nangyari ‘yun?
EP: Sa Club 8586, maganda ‘yung street education nila. Meron sa school, sa hagdan, sa likod, sa jeep, sa ilalim ng puno, tapos meron sa school. Dun ako produkto, sa mga hagdan sa school. ‘Yun ‘yung street literacy niya eh.
SCB: So papano ka napunta dun?
EP: Siya ang pumunta sa amin. Di pa nga ako masyadong interesado nun eh pero siya yung unang lumapit sa akin. Nabu-bully ako sa school at ang gusto ko na lang nun gumanti, rumesbak. (laughs)
SCB: Mga ilang taon ka nun?
EP: First year high school, mga 13, around 1994. Kuya Bonn gave up his work in 1995 dahil nakita niya ‘yung potential sa group namin. Sinabi niya sa amin na imbis na gumanti kayo sa mga tambay diyan, sa mga gangs diyan, ibang ganti ‘yung gamitin ninyo, positive ‘yung iganti ninyo.” So we created ‘yung DTC.
SCB: Papano ka finally na-convince na sumali sa ginagawa ninyo?
EP: Pina-handle niya ako sa iba pang mentor nung second year, eh hindi nag-work. Nakiusap ako kay Kuya Bonn na siya na lang ang mag-mentor sa akin nung third year ako. Ang kulit, kulit ko nga nun eh, tinataboy na nga niya ako nun eh, sabi sa iba ka na lang, pero sabi ko, puwede bang kayo na lang po ang magturo sa akin?
SCB: And he started you off in this kind of volunteerism…
EP: He involved us sa mga ginagawa niya, pati nga nung 1996, dinala niya ako sa 10th anniversary ng EDSA revolution, ipinakita niya sa akin ‘yung mga leaders na dapat kong tularan. Dinala niya ako sa may sementeryo, sa jail, kasi meron din siyang street literacy doon. Ipinakita niya sa akin na kung ikaw ay titigil sa pag-aaral, eto ang mangyayari sa iyo, either mapupunta ka sa sementeryo or makukulong ka.
Pinapatulong niya ako, taga-bigay ng sandwich sa mga prisoners. Pero sabi niya, “Alam mo Ef, importante ‘yung ginawa mo, ‘yung role na ginampanan mo eh kasi ‘yung mga nakakulong dito, pakiramdam nila walang dumadalaw sa kanila pero ikaw, ‘yung simpleng act na ginawa mo, malaking bagay ‘yun sa kanila.” Noon kasi, parang galit na ako sa mga prisoners, may prejudice na ako sa kanila na masasamang tao ‘yan, wala nang kinabukasan ‘yan talaga. Pero siya din ‘yung nag-explain sa akin na “Alam mo Ef, hindi ka dapat ganyan kasi marami sa kanila dito, naipit lang, napagbintangan, or talagang na-frame up at marami sa kanila kailangan ng pagmamahal at pang-unawa.” Tapos, wala din akong bilib dun sa mga gangster, hindi na ‘yan magbabago. Kaya ang ginawa niya, hinanap niya ‘yung pinaka-notorious na gang leader sa school namin to recruit him.
SCB: Was he able to find him?
EP: Yes, nag-mentor din siya so unti-unti, ipinakita niya sa akin na magbabago yun. Kasi wala akong bilib talaga eh, dahil siya ‘yung tipong kapag napapaway, basag ang mukha, duguan, ako ang taga-abot ng bulak, si Kuya Bonn ang gumagamot.
Eventually, dahil sa mentoring na ‘yun, nagbago itong gangster na ito. Si Kuya Allan, na nakakuha ng Bayaning Pilipino award nung 2006 sa Gawad Geny Lopez!
BULLIED BUT UNBOWED
SCB: At what age did you realize that you could help without being rich?
EP: Unti-unti, nung na-meet ko ang mentor ko. Noon, talagang makasarili ako (laughs). Hindi nga ako marunong mag-thank you, mag-sorry or makibagay. Pero sa training and mentoring na ginawa sa amin ni Kuya Bonn, unti-unting na-develop sa heart ko ‘yung interest ko sa pag-aaral, na tumulong sa iba. Just because na-introduce niya sa akin yung examples ni Christ, ‘yun ‘yung palagi kapag mentoring session namin, palagi niya ipina-parallel ‘yung sa ginawa ni Christ so kaya ako nai-inspire ako lalo kasi kung si God nga di ba wala din naman siya, di din naman siya well off tapos kinukutya pa siya, tapos di pa siya accepted ng ilang parts ng society niya kaya ganun din ‘yung prinsipyong itinuturo niya.
SCB: What kind of bullying did you experience?
EP: Pinaka-traumatic sa akin ‘yung Grade 6, may dala akong ensaymada at naka-bike lang ako. Pagdaan ko sa madilim na lugar, may lumipad na bato sa harap ko kung saan saan ako tinamaan, tapos nagsipagtakbuhan ‘yung mga tambay. Iniwan ko ‘yung bike sa kalye, itinakbo ko ‘yung project (laughs) kasi kinabukasan ipapasa ‘yung project.
Nung high school, basta ka na lang susuntukin sa likod at hahamunin na makipagsuntukan ka sa kanila, eh ang dami-dami nila, paano naman di ba? Tatakbo ka na lang.
SCB: Pero hindi ka naman napapaaway?
EP: Hindi pero may mga nag-i-invite sa amin na sumali sa mga gang para meron kaming grupo pero buti na lang sa group ako ni Kuya Bonn napasali.
SCB: How does your family see your work with DTC?
EP: Dalawa ang kapatid ko. ‘Yung parents ko, hindi sila bilib dun sa ginagawa ng DTC. Pati teachers, sabi nila baka gang lang yan, itigil na ninyo yan. Pati mga classmates namin, ang sabi, “Pa-making, making a difference pa kayo diyan, walang mangyayari sa inyo diyan tigil na kayo diyan.”
Ano daw pakinabang ang makukuha ko sa pag-volunteer. Pumunta si Kuya Bonn sa bahay namin at kinausap ‘yung parents ko dahil pinapatigil nga ako. Sabi ni Kuya Bonn, “Kami na po ang bahala sa anak ninyo, ipagkakatiwala po ba ninyo sa amin ang anak ninyo, kami na po ang magpapa-aral sa kanya.” So, umoo yung parents ko. (laughs).
SCB: Kasi ganun nung high school di ba, parang nakakahiya or corny kapag sumali sa ganyan…
EP: Oo, totoo ‘yun. Si Kuya Bonn naman, ang sabi sa amin, “Huwag kayong pang-hinaan ng loob kasi, mali ba ‘yung ginagawa ninyo?” Hindi po. “Sapat bang ikahiya yung tama?” Hindi po. So dapat ipagmalaki ninyo ‘yung tama at dapat taas-noo kayo. Hindi na dapat maulit sa inyo ‘yung mga nangyayari sa iba so labanan ninyo sila hindi ‘yung sa pagganti kundi sa pagbuo ng isang grupo na magiging alternative nila at para maging productive at responsible silang mga estudyante.
SCB: So kailan nagbago ‘yung pananaw nila on what you are doing?
EP: Kasi magiging katulong na namin sila eh. Kasama kasi sa mentoring session namin ni Kuya Bonn na isama sila, i-win mo sila, even ‘yung kapatid mo kasi if you want to help other people, kailan mag-start ‘yung pagtulong sa loob ng family mo.
SCB: What do your parents do?
EP: Si Tatay, tricycle driver, si Nanay dating labandera, ngayon nagtitinda.
SCB: Did you have to work just to go to school?
EP: Oo, kasi ‘yung tinitinda naming fish crackers at ‘yung fried miki. Iniluluwas ko ‘yun from Baclaran nung college ako. Dati kuya ko. Nung high school ako, tumutulong sa pagre-repack, sa pag-stapler ng fish crackers. Even ‘yung pagluluto ng miki, ‘yung pagbibilad, ako ‘yun. Nung umalis na si kuya puntang ibang bansa, nagtitinda din ako sa school, extrang baon. So maraming umo-order sa akin ng mga teachers, mga classmates.
SCB: Sa’n ka nag-college and what course?
EP: Cavite State University, Bachelor of Science Secondary Education. ‘Yung una kong course, sa San Sebastian Recoletos de Cavite, Computer Technology, 2000 and 2003, nag-Education na ako.
SCB: Paano mo pinagsabay ‘yan sa pag-aaral mo, lalo na meron ka pang volunteer work?
EP: ‘Yung nga eh. Hindi ko alam, eh (laughs)! Lagi akong nireremind ni Kuya Bonn na ayusin ‘yung schedule. Even ‘yung pagi-ipon. Dapat ‘yung eto itabi mo, ‘yung 20 percent, ibigay mo sa ganyan. Tinuruan niya ako kung paano i-manage ‘yung time, at kung anong meron ka.
SEEING THROUGH MOTIVES
SCB: What about people who extend help to you, especially politicians, do you also screen them and look at what they will do?
EP: We encourage people to help. Politicians are welcome to help, pero siyempre ayaw din namin na gagagamitin lang kami, sumasakay lang sa kariton. We tell them immediately na sana maging malinaw sa inyo na ganito....
SCB: Sino sila? (laughs)
EP: (laughs) ‘Wag na ‘yun.
SCB: So you’ve turned down people who you thought have motives?
EP: Sila ang tumitigil. Kasi magdodonate, papahawakan ang banner, sasabihin project nila. Hindi po namin puwedeng hawakan ‘yang banner ninyo kasi hindi niyo naman project ‘to in the first place. Tapos hindi nila ibibigay ‘yung donation nila.
Minsan may magtatanong, ok lang ba kung magdodonate kami ng tsinelas pero may pangalan ng politiko. Ok lang basta sila ang magbibigay sa mga bata, at hindi ‘yung papahawakin kami ng banner tapos they will tell na project nila, or kami ‘yung magaabot ng gift ninyo.
SCB: Some people say politicians are starting to use you already?
EP: Actually meron nga eh, sa damit malimit eh, ‘pag naka orange daw ako kay (Manny) Villar, ‘pag naka green kay Gibo (Gilbert Teodoro), ‘pag black na may yellow kay Noynoy (Aquino), ‘pag pink kay Bayani (Fernando), ‘pag naka multi-colored Ladlad party list ako. (laughs)
SCB: (laughs) Nahihirapan kang pumili ng kulay ng damit?
EP: Oo. Idinadaan na lang sa paliwanag pero wala naman talaga.
SCB: Do you have to be non-partisan to do what you do?
EP: We encourage people to vote.
SCB: May nag-invite na ba sa ‘yong tumakbo? Anong posisyon?
EP: Madami-dami na rin (laughs). Vice-mayor, mga ganun. Me mga nagsasabi na dapat si Efren ang maging presidente ng bansa, pero sa Facebook lang ‘yun. Pero wala pa naman seryoso.
SCB: After nung nag-guest ka sa The Buzz, marami ang nagsabi sa Facebook na “Efren, huwag ka paggamit sa mga pulitiko!” Nasabihan ka na ba nun in person? What can you say about it?
EP: Kapag may politician na kaharap ako, ang sinasabi ko sa kanila, lahat ng taong may gusto ng puwesto sa bayan natin, ang kapangyarihan ay tungkulin at ang panunungkulan ay ginagawa ng may pagpapakumbaba. Ang totoong paglingkod ay hindi para sa kapakinabangan ng iisa at iilan, kundi pagtugon sa panaghoy ng lipunan.
Wala naman problema kung gusto magpa-picture ng mga pulitiko. Ok. They are Filipinos. Nagkataon lang na politicians sila. Pero hindi ako magtataas ng kamay, hindi ako gagawa ng hand signs. Hindi kami mageendorso. Ang alam ko sa sarili ko, I am not endorsing any political group or individual. Alam ko kung saan ako nakatayo.
A HERO IN ALL OF US
SCB: Kapag sinabi mong hero, it entails a lot. Now that you’re being called a hero, have you become used to it?
EP: Malimit kong sinasabi sa kanila na bawat isa sa atin ay may kabayanihan sa puso. You just have to unleash that hero in you. Kapag sinasabi nila na bayani ako, mas deserving ‘yung mga volunteers, sila Kuya Bonn, sina Em. Sila ‘yung mas deserving na tawaging bayani. Ako kasi, representative lang. Ang encouragement ko sa lahat, palagi, sa mga Pilipino na nakakausap ko, is to unleash the hero in us. Nandun naman sa puso natin, kaso lang naoovercome siya nang sarili nating pag-iimbot at kasakiman. Nawawala ‘yung kabayanihan sa puso natin at puro kasamaan ‘yung lumalabas. Kailangan nating i-unleash ‘yung hero in us.
SCB: Growing up, ano ba ‘yung mga pangarap mo?
EP: Personally, kung mabigyan ng chance na makapasok sa isang reputable school, i-continue ‘yung pag-aaral ko. Sana makapag-masteral ako o makapag-Ph.D. Nung bata ako gusto kong maging engineer.
Gusto kong mapatayo ng magandang bahay ‘yung parents ko, kasi ang liit lang ng bahay namin. Kurtina lang ang divider namin.
SCB: Hanggang ngayon?
EP: Ngayon hindi na, kasi si Kuya nag-abroad, siya ‘yung nagpaayos ng bahay namin. Pero same lupa. Dun lang sa mentoring ni Kuya Bonn ko narealize na more than just buildings ang puwede kong ma-build, kundi ‘yung mga buhay nung mga bata na tinutulungan namin.
SCB: What do you think is lacking in the country’s educational system?
EP: Sa experience namin, simple lang naman. Hindi makapasok ‘yung mga bata kasi walang birth certificate, hindi tinatanggap sa school. Kung nasa school naman, nahihirapan sa pambaon at pamasahe, tapos pagdating sa school pagbabayarin ka ng kung anu-anong ticket. Pagdating ng examination, may bayad ang test paper. Sana ‘yung mga simpleng problemang ganun, masolusyunan.
SCB: Meron ba kayong day job?
EP: Nagtuturo ako every weekdays sa Palmridge School sa Cavite, private school sa Imus, Cavite. Three years na ako nagtuturo ng Math. Last year kasi nagtuturo ako ng Computer, tapos Math, Geometry, Algebra, at Values. Last year, nag-resign ako kasi baka mahirapan ako kapag tinuloy-
tuloy ko ‘to. Hindi nila ako pinakawalan, binigyan nila ako ng once a week na workload. Tinuturo ko na ang ngayon is values education and student council.
Nagdedeliver din ako ng softdrinks, ‘yun ‘yung sideline ko. ‘Yun ‘yung income ko. ‘Yung mga volunteers, nagaaral. ‘Yung iba, first year college na.
SCB: Nanakawan ka sa airport recently just as CNN was following you for filming. How did you feel at that moment?
EP: Nakakalungkot kasi kapwa ko Pilipino. Witness pa yung CNN reporter sa affidavit! (laughs) Nakakahiya kasi covered lahat ‘yun. From Hong Kong, kinukunan ako ng video, hanggang pababa, hanggang Justice Hall ng Pasay, hanggang rally sa Ayala. Binigyan kami ng option sa police station not to pursue, kasi maiipit kami sa schedule. But we stuck to the principle that she had to learn her lesson.
SCB: What do you think are the responsibilites that go with the honor that’s been bestowed on you?
EP: Isa sa mga responsibility ko is to encourage ‘yung mga tao sa darating na halalan. Mas intense ngayon kasi malimit kang nakikita sa media at mas lumalawak ang impluensiya mo. I want to use my influence hindi para sa iilang tao lang kundi para sa lahat ng mga kabataan na bantayan ‘yung boto, maging mapagmatyag, at ipagtanggol ‘yung karapatan natin na bumoto.
SCB: What about the Philippines are you proud of and most ashamed of?
EP: Unti-unti talaga eh nauunleash ng mga Filipino ang hero sa puso nila. Ang nakakalungkot ay ang kasakiman at paghihilahan pababa. Pero naniniwala ako na may pag-asa ang Pilipinas, dahil ‘yung mga bata sa likod ng kariton classroom, nakikita mo ‘yung passion nila para magbigay ng kanilang contribution, ng kanilang ambag sa society natin, even sa small things. Dun kami naniniwala, na even small things become significant kapag pinagsama-sama natin, malaking impact sa society natin.
SCB: Are you single?
EP: Yes.
SCB: May nililigawan?
EP: May pinapag-pray.
(Interview by ANGELO G. GARCIA, RONALD S. LIM, INA H. MALIPOT, JASER A. MARASIGAN
and IVY LISA MENDOZA; Photo by JONG CLEMENTE)
December 19, 2009, 9:51am
If Efren Peñaflorida were to suddenly change in the coming months, it would be completely understandable.
After all, he’s been rubbing elbows with the likes of Anderson Cooper, Eva Mendes, Carrie Underwood and all manner of Hollywood celebrities, all while his volunteer work is recognized by an international news organization like CNN. Other men have changed for less.
But what is completely encouraging to see is that Efren is still very much the same person that he was before all the acclaim and the recognition started coming in, if a little busier than he used to be. He still teaches at a small private school in Cavite City, and even has to deliver softdrinks just to make a little money on the side. And he’s certainly just as prone to be the victim of pickpockets like everybody else!
Nevertheless, that one untoward incident which happened recently at the airport (which was even caught by the CNN cameras!) hasn’t changed Efren’s optimistic view about the country’s chances, who looks to the young people he works with for inspiration to go on.
“Naniniwala ako na may pag-asa ang Pilipinas, dahil ‘yung mga bata sa likod ng Kariton Klasrum, nakikita mo ‘yung passion nila para magbigay ng kanilang contribution, ng kanilang ambag sa society natin, even sa small things. Dun kami naniniwala, na even small things become significant kapag pinagsama-sama natin, malaking impact sa society natin,” he says.
He didn’t always feel that way, though. The son of a laundrywoman and a driver, Efren experienced being bullied and beaten up by local gang members in his province of Cavite. Things got so bad that Efren had considered leaving school and getting back at his bullies, and he would have done just that if it were not for a fortunate encounter with his mentor, Bon Manalaysay.
“Nung high school ako, disinterested ako kasi nga ‘yung mga pambu-bully, gusto ko na lang nun, gumanti, rumesbak,” he recalls. “Pero na-meet ko ‘yung mentor ko, na-involve ako dun sa mga programs niya. From there, he trained us na maging part nung kanyang street education. Naging volunteer street educators kami.”
That involvement would then take a life of its own. Efren would establish the Dynamic Teen Company (DTC) in 1997 with only 20 members, and from there the rest is history. The DTC would grow to more than 2,000 members over the years, be recognized by such organizations such as the Gawad Geny Lopez Bayaning Filipino Awards, the Ten Accomplished Youth Organizations (TAYO) Awards Foundation, and the Outstanding Volunteer Award from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the United Nations Volunteer Program (UNVP).
The CNN Hero Award, the latest accolade given to DTC, has only inspired him to do more. Ninety percent of the prize money he will be receiving from CNN will be going to the DTC’s plans to build a Center for Learning, while the remaining 10 percent is earmarked for a church.
In this 60 Minutes conversation, Efren Peñaflorida talks about how his life has changed since being named a hero, and how he tries to remain the same young man who just wanted to change the world even in his small way.
“Me kanya kanya naman po tayong potential para ikarangal at iaangat ‘yung dangal ng lahi natin. Bawat isa sa atin ay may kanya-kanyang potential na puwede nating gamitin. Ang encouragement ko sa lahat, palagi, sa mga Pilipino na nakakausap ko, is to unleash the hero in us,” he proudly declares. (Ronald S. Lim)
STUDENTS AND CAMPUSES (SCB): How did the CNN Hero of the Year award change you personally and your group Dynamic Teen Company (DTC)?
EFREN PEÑAFLORIDA (EP): Our schedule became busier pero tuloy pa din ‘yung every Satuday na Kariton Klasrum (pushcart classroom). There are more media coverages now at medyo nakakawindang sa dami ng volunteers at mga bata na gustong umattend ng klase. Maraming na-encourage na youth, mga galing pa sa Maynila na nagpupunta sa Cavite to see kung ano ‘yung nagawa namin and eventually replicate the concept in their communities. Kung dati nahihirapan kami kumuha ng resources, support, ngayon nag-uunahan na. Blessings are pouring.
SCB: You mentioned that the number of students and volunteers tripled?
EP: Originally, nasa 150-170 lang. Nung nakapasok tayo sa top 10 sa CNN, naging 300 na ang enrollees. After the CNN awarding, almost 500 na! The same with volunteers.
SCB: How do you screen volunteers? How do you know if they are really committed?
EP: Sa reality, ganun talaga, may tinatamad na, may pinanghihinaan ng loob. Pero patuloy namin silang ine-encourage, lalo na ‘yung mga galing sa malayo na ineencourage namin na i-duplicate sa community nila para mas marami kaming maturuang bata. Na duplicate na ito sa Dasmariñas at Bacoor sa Cavite, sa Bacolod. Sa Naga merong inauguration this January. Meron na din sa Kenya, kaya naka focus kami ngayon sa pag train sa mga volunteers para sa mga malayong lugar.
SCB: How many pushcarts does DTC have now?
EP: Five. One is a brand new donation kaya di pa masyadong nagagamit. ‘Yung una at pangalawang
kariton, binili namin, ‘yung pangatlo at pang-apat donation.
SCB: How much does one kariton cost?
EP: Ranging from P30,000 to P50,000, depende sa lamang mga libro, toys, shelves, blackboard, tables and chairs.
SCB: The CNN Hero of the Year award opened up a lot of opportunities. Did it bring any disadvantages?
EP: Marami lang talagang nag-iinvite. Kasi wala naman akong karapatang mag-reklamo di ba? Kasi I owe the Filipinos a lot. It’s my turn naman to say thank you sa mga taong naniwala sa cause. As the representative of DTC, I have to tell our story and inspire.
SCB: You have yet to get your prize money?
EP: Wala pa. Hindi pa nadating.
SCB: How much is it?
EP: $125,000.
SCB: How do you plan to allocate the prize?
EP: Ninety percent will go to DTC to build the Center for Learning. Ten percent will go to a church. The Center will be a dormitory type, may school, bedrooms, as well as the components of the kariton classroom. May center, may literacy classes, may clinic. Meron ding malaking space for parking ng kariton.
SCB: How was the experience of being in Kodak Theater for the CNN Hero of the Year award?
EP: Nakakakaba, exciting, overwhelming. I was there to represent every hard working and intrepid Filipino, ‘yung mga bata na tinutulungan namin at saka ‘yung mga volunteers, dala-dala ko ‘yung mga pangarap nila, at siyempre ang pride ng country natin.
SCB: But if you didn’t win, who would you have wanted to get the award among the other nine?
EP: Brad Blauser is the one giving out wheelchairs to Iranian kids with disability. Siya ‘yung medyo close ko dun eh.
SCB: Who were the panel of judges for the CNN Heroes?
EP: Sina Colin Powell, Shakira, Masi Oka. From top 10, nag-start na ‘yung internet voting for CNN Hero of the Year, viewer’s choice naman.
SCB: Being with these other heroes, what did you learn from them and what are you taking from their projects that you want to implement here?
EP: Maganda ‘yung meron sa rape victims, about child rights. We have a partner called My Rights led by Emmanuel Bagual, siya naman ‘yung one of the top five nominees of the International Children’s Peace Prize ngayon 2009. Partner kami in pushing for child’s rights.
‘Yung Indonesian nominee, meron siyang orphanage, siguro magiging ganun ‘yung konsepto naming dun sa transient house na pinaplano namin, a temporary house for street children, dun sila magstay at the same tme, natuturuan namin sila, nareready namin sila sa pagpasok sa formal school.
SCB: Were you expecting to win? Looking at the profiles of the other nine ‘heroes,’ it cannot be denied that they also did something good.
EP: We were not expecting but we hoped and prayed hard for it. Answered prayer talaga. CNN revealed to us after the awarding na hindi lang mga Filipino ang bumoto, kahit taga ibang bansa din. Doon sa first 28 semi finalists na pumasok sa buong taon, naging 10 lang ang finalists at ‘yung 18 na hindi nakapasok, like from Japan, ginamit ‘yung technology to vote for Efren, for DTC. Madami pa, mga taga Cambodia, merong nag promote sa Facebook.
A week before the awarding daw, alam na nila na kami ‘yung CNN Hero of the Year. Pero nung dumating kami dun, feeling namin “Ba’t ganito malamig ‘yung pakikitungo nila?” Kaya pala ganun...
SCB: They tried to hide it…
EP: Oo, hirap na hirap sila na itago sa amin. Sabi namin dun sa mga producers, “You are great actors.” Kasi wala ‘yung extra treatment, minake-upan nga ako 30 seconds lang. Akala naman namin, dahil Pilipino tayo, parang medyo may discrimination, hindi pala!
SCB: Have you seen improvement among the children you teach?
EP: Oo naman. Marami na ang napagraduate. When we feel they are ready for formal school, we send them. Pinapag-aral na sila ni Kuya Bonn, my mentor. Ang programa namin sa kariton classroom, parang sparkplug to teach them the love for learning. ‘Yun ang gusto naming ibigay at pagkatapos, DepEd na ang bahala.
SCB: Who are these children you teach?
EP: Mga streetchildren, may mga dating maruya vendor na nasa Ericsson company na. Ako mismo pinag-aral din nila ako, produkto din kasi ako ng street education ng mentor ko.
YOUTUBE, OPRAH, AND CNN
SCB: You were just 16 years old when you started. Did you ever see it leading up to this?
EP: Hindi. My mentor Kuya Bonn started street education in 1985 with Club 8586 sa likod ng jeep, sa garahe, sa hagdan ng school, dun siya nagtuturo. Nung high school ko nakilala ang mentor ko, nung panahong rampant ang mga gangs pero dahil gusto kong mag-aral, na-involve ako dun sa mga programs niya. From there, Kuya Bonn trained us na maging part nung kanyang street education and we became volunteer street educators. Nung 1997 tinayo nga namin ‘yung DTC, and eventually,
he gave us full responsibility for it.
SCB: How did the international community come to know about Kariton Klasrum?
EP: Sa meeting ng DTC, nagsabi ang isang volunteer namin, na dating dancer, na napaghihinaan na siya ng loob. Kasi wala naman daw nangyayari kaya tigilan na daw namin.
Pero si Kuya Bonn, hindi basta nag-gigive up. Sabi niya, eh walang pumapansin sa atin dito, walang patutunguhan ‘to, eh anong gusto mong gawin? Sana lang mapansin tayo, makilala, sabi ng volunteer.
Paano ang gagawin natin? Si Arnel Pineda and si Charice Pempengco napansin sa YouTube.
Sabi ni Kuya Bonn, Ef gumawa ka ng audio visual presentation. ‘Yun kasi ang hobby ko. ‘Yung mga outreach namin every Saturday kumukuha ako ng pictures, tapos ivi-video ko. Nag-create ako ng isang AVP. Gumawa ng channel sa YouTube si Kuya Bonn and posted the video.
Then from there, merong nag-send ng link sa kanya from Oprah’s Angel Network. Sabi maganda daw ‘yung program, ikuwento raw ‘yung story, ilagay daw sa isang article. So si Kuya Bonn, ikinuwento niya what’s the story behind the video, ‘yung work ng DTC and he sent it to Oprah. So dun lumabas, nagulat kami! Tuwang-tuwa kami, Oprah’s Angel Network.com nandun ‘yung article ng Dynamic Teen Company!
SCB: And what about CNN?
EP: From Oprah, somebody from CNN iReport sent a link sa YouTube ni Kuya Bonn, sabi i-submit din daw sa CNN. Ini-edit ni Kuya Bonn nang konti, and then submitted it to CNN iReport. From CNN iReport, another link again nag-send, i-send naman sa CNN Heroes kasi ang ganda daw ng istorya.
SCB: Who’s idea is the Kariton Classroom?
EP: Kay Em Bagual, isang mais vendor na naging volunteer.
SCB: And yet you were the one hailed for it…
EP: Kaya nga ‘yung honor na ito is not mine, but Kuya Bonn’s, Emmanuel’s and the whole group. Sila ang mas deserving. ‘Yung mga prinsipyo na sini-share ko sa mga interviews, sa Kodak Theater, those are Kuya Bonn’s principles na tinuturo niya sa amin. Even nga ‘yun quote na ‘to (holding his shirt), siya ang original na nag-quote nito sa amin. Ako lang ang nag-represent.
THE WIND BENEATH THE HERO’S WINGS
SCB: Why not Kuya Bonn then for the nomination?
EP: Kasi he was the one who nominated, the one who told the story of how I co-founded DTC, at naging highlight nga ‘yung Kariton Klasrum. Kay Kuya Bonn ang dilemma since siya ang nagsimula ng street education, at ibinigay sa amin sa DTC which I co-founded, at si Em naman ang nakaisip ng kariton classroom.
Kung si Em daw, kasi 16 years old pa lang siya ngayon, magkaka-problema sa papers, minor, baka mahirapan. That’s why Kuya Bonn decided to tell my story.
SCB: Did you know that Kuya Bonn was going to nominate you?
EP: No, meron na lang tumawag sa akin December of 2008. Sabi, “Hello good evening may I talk to ‘Ifren.’’’ “No, I’m Efren,’’ sabi ko. Akala ko Bisaya. (laughs) “I’m from CNN Heroes, somebody nominated you.’’ Gusto daw nilang magpunta dito sa Philippines para i-shoot daw ‘yung ginagawa
naming outreach program. They came January 2009, from New York, one day silang nag-shoot, and the piece was shown in March.
SCB: Ok lang kay Kuya Bonn?
EP: We tell him, Kuya Bonn, dapat kayo ‘yung nandito eh, dapat kayo ‘yung hero. Ayaw pa niyang magpakilala. Sabi niya – “Kung ikaw ang gagawa ng tama, ng maganda, ng mabuti, hindi mo na ito dapat ipagmayabang dahil natural dapat ‘yun sa tao na gumawa ng mabuti.’’ Ngayon lang siya talaga lumabas kasi may mga taong nagsasabing sila-sila daw ang humubog sa akin at hihingi ng donation. I encouraged Kuya Bonn to come out para makita nila na siya talaga ang nag-train sa amin at kung bakit kami naging ganito.
SCB: Sabi mo produkto ka ng street education, paano nangyari ‘yun?
EP: Sa Club 8586, maganda ‘yung street education nila. Meron sa school, sa hagdan, sa likod, sa jeep, sa ilalim ng puno, tapos meron sa school. Dun ako produkto, sa mga hagdan sa school. ‘Yun ‘yung street literacy niya eh.
SCB: So papano ka napunta dun?
EP: Siya ang pumunta sa amin. Di pa nga ako masyadong interesado nun eh pero siya yung unang lumapit sa akin. Nabu-bully ako sa school at ang gusto ko na lang nun gumanti, rumesbak. (laughs)
SCB: Mga ilang taon ka nun?
EP: First year high school, mga 13, around 1994. Kuya Bonn gave up his work in 1995 dahil nakita niya ‘yung potential sa group namin. Sinabi niya sa amin na imbis na gumanti kayo sa mga tambay diyan, sa mga gangs diyan, ibang ganti ‘yung gamitin ninyo, positive ‘yung iganti ninyo.” So we created ‘yung DTC.
SCB: Papano ka finally na-convince na sumali sa ginagawa ninyo?
EP: Pina-handle niya ako sa iba pang mentor nung second year, eh hindi nag-work. Nakiusap ako kay Kuya Bonn na siya na lang ang mag-mentor sa akin nung third year ako. Ang kulit, kulit ko nga nun eh, tinataboy na nga niya ako nun eh, sabi sa iba ka na lang, pero sabi ko, puwede bang kayo na lang po ang magturo sa akin?
SCB: And he started you off in this kind of volunteerism…
EP: He involved us sa mga ginagawa niya, pati nga nung 1996, dinala niya ako sa 10th anniversary ng EDSA revolution, ipinakita niya sa akin ‘yung mga leaders na dapat kong tularan. Dinala niya ako sa may sementeryo, sa jail, kasi meron din siyang street literacy doon. Ipinakita niya sa akin na kung ikaw ay titigil sa pag-aaral, eto ang mangyayari sa iyo, either mapupunta ka sa sementeryo or makukulong ka.
Pinapatulong niya ako, taga-bigay ng sandwich sa mga prisoners. Pero sabi niya, “Alam mo Ef, importante ‘yung ginawa mo, ‘yung role na ginampanan mo eh kasi ‘yung mga nakakulong dito, pakiramdam nila walang dumadalaw sa kanila pero ikaw, ‘yung simpleng act na ginawa mo, malaking bagay ‘yun sa kanila.” Noon kasi, parang galit na ako sa mga prisoners, may prejudice na ako sa kanila na masasamang tao ‘yan, wala nang kinabukasan ‘yan talaga. Pero siya din ‘yung nag-explain sa akin na “Alam mo Ef, hindi ka dapat ganyan kasi marami sa kanila dito, naipit lang, napagbintangan, or talagang na-frame up at marami sa kanila kailangan ng pagmamahal at pang-unawa.” Tapos, wala din akong bilib dun sa mga gangster, hindi na ‘yan magbabago. Kaya ang ginawa niya, hinanap niya ‘yung pinaka-notorious na gang leader sa school namin to recruit him.
SCB: Was he able to find him?
EP: Yes, nag-mentor din siya so unti-unti, ipinakita niya sa akin na magbabago yun. Kasi wala akong bilib talaga eh, dahil siya ‘yung tipong kapag napapaway, basag ang mukha, duguan, ako ang taga-abot ng bulak, si Kuya Bonn ang gumagamot.
Eventually, dahil sa mentoring na ‘yun, nagbago itong gangster na ito. Si Kuya Allan, na nakakuha ng Bayaning Pilipino award nung 2006 sa Gawad Geny Lopez!
BULLIED BUT UNBOWED
SCB: At what age did you realize that you could help without being rich?
EP: Unti-unti, nung na-meet ko ang mentor ko. Noon, talagang makasarili ako (laughs). Hindi nga ako marunong mag-thank you, mag-sorry or makibagay. Pero sa training and mentoring na ginawa sa amin ni Kuya Bonn, unti-unting na-develop sa heart ko ‘yung interest ko sa pag-aaral, na tumulong sa iba. Just because na-introduce niya sa akin yung examples ni Christ, ‘yun ‘yung palagi kapag mentoring session namin, palagi niya ipina-parallel ‘yung sa ginawa ni Christ so kaya ako nai-inspire ako lalo kasi kung si God nga di ba wala din naman siya, di din naman siya well off tapos kinukutya pa siya, tapos di pa siya accepted ng ilang parts ng society niya kaya ganun din ‘yung prinsipyong itinuturo niya.
SCB: What kind of bullying did you experience?
EP: Pinaka-traumatic sa akin ‘yung Grade 6, may dala akong ensaymada at naka-bike lang ako. Pagdaan ko sa madilim na lugar, may lumipad na bato sa harap ko kung saan saan ako tinamaan, tapos nagsipagtakbuhan ‘yung mga tambay. Iniwan ko ‘yung bike sa kalye, itinakbo ko ‘yung project (laughs) kasi kinabukasan ipapasa ‘yung project.
Nung high school, basta ka na lang susuntukin sa likod at hahamunin na makipagsuntukan ka sa kanila, eh ang dami-dami nila, paano naman di ba? Tatakbo ka na lang.
SCB: Pero hindi ka naman napapaaway?
EP: Hindi pero may mga nag-i-invite sa amin na sumali sa mga gang para meron kaming grupo pero buti na lang sa group ako ni Kuya Bonn napasali.
SCB: How does your family see your work with DTC?
EP: Dalawa ang kapatid ko. ‘Yung parents ko, hindi sila bilib dun sa ginagawa ng DTC. Pati teachers, sabi nila baka gang lang yan, itigil na ninyo yan. Pati mga classmates namin, ang sabi, “Pa-making, making a difference pa kayo diyan, walang mangyayari sa inyo diyan tigil na kayo diyan.”
Ano daw pakinabang ang makukuha ko sa pag-volunteer. Pumunta si Kuya Bonn sa bahay namin at kinausap ‘yung parents ko dahil pinapatigil nga ako. Sabi ni Kuya Bonn, “Kami na po ang bahala sa anak ninyo, ipagkakatiwala po ba ninyo sa amin ang anak ninyo, kami na po ang magpapa-aral sa kanya.” So, umoo yung parents ko. (laughs).
SCB: Kasi ganun nung high school di ba, parang nakakahiya or corny kapag sumali sa ganyan…
EP: Oo, totoo ‘yun. Si Kuya Bonn naman, ang sabi sa amin, “Huwag kayong pang-hinaan ng loob kasi, mali ba ‘yung ginagawa ninyo?” Hindi po. “Sapat bang ikahiya yung tama?” Hindi po. So dapat ipagmalaki ninyo ‘yung tama at dapat taas-noo kayo. Hindi na dapat maulit sa inyo ‘yung mga nangyayari sa iba so labanan ninyo sila hindi ‘yung sa pagganti kundi sa pagbuo ng isang grupo na magiging alternative nila at para maging productive at responsible silang mga estudyante.
SCB: So kailan nagbago ‘yung pananaw nila on what you are doing?
EP: Kasi magiging katulong na namin sila eh. Kasama kasi sa mentoring session namin ni Kuya Bonn na isama sila, i-win mo sila, even ‘yung kapatid mo kasi if you want to help other people, kailan mag-start ‘yung pagtulong sa loob ng family mo.
SCB: What do your parents do?
EP: Si Tatay, tricycle driver, si Nanay dating labandera, ngayon nagtitinda.
SCB: Did you have to work just to go to school?
EP: Oo, kasi ‘yung tinitinda naming fish crackers at ‘yung fried miki. Iniluluwas ko ‘yun from Baclaran nung college ako. Dati kuya ko. Nung high school ako, tumutulong sa pagre-repack, sa pag-stapler ng fish crackers. Even ‘yung pagluluto ng miki, ‘yung pagbibilad, ako ‘yun. Nung umalis na si kuya puntang ibang bansa, nagtitinda din ako sa school, extrang baon. So maraming umo-order sa akin ng mga teachers, mga classmates.
SCB: Sa’n ka nag-college and what course?
EP: Cavite State University, Bachelor of Science Secondary Education. ‘Yung una kong course, sa San Sebastian Recoletos de Cavite, Computer Technology, 2000 and 2003, nag-Education na ako.
SCB: Paano mo pinagsabay ‘yan sa pag-aaral mo, lalo na meron ka pang volunteer work?
EP: ‘Yung nga eh. Hindi ko alam, eh (laughs)! Lagi akong nireremind ni Kuya Bonn na ayusin ‘yung schedule. Even ‘yung pagi-ipon. Dapat ‘yung eto itabi mo, ‘yung 20 percent, ibigay mo sa ganyan. Tinuruan niya ako kung paano i-manage ‘yung time, at kung anong meron ka.
SEEING THROUGH MOTIVES
SCB: What about people who extend help to you, especially politicians, do you also screen them and look at what they will do?
EP: We encourage people to help. Politicians are welcome to help, pero siyempre ayaw din namin na gagagamitin lang kami, sumasakay lang sa kariton. We tell them immediately na sana maging malinaw sa inyo na ganito....
SCB: Sino sila? (laughs)
EP: (laughs) ‘Wag na ‘yun.
SCB: So you’ve turned down people who you thought have motives?
EP: Sila ang tumitigil. Kasi magdodonate, papahawakan ang banner, sasabihin project nila. Hindi po namin puwedeng hawakan ‘yang banner ninyo kasi hindi niyo naman project ‘to in the first place. Tapos hindi nila ibibigay ‘yung donation nila.
Minsan may magtatanong, ok lang ba kung magdodonate kami ng tsinelas pero may pangalan ng politiko. Ok lang basta sila ang magbibigay sa mga bata, at hindi ‘yung papahawakin kami ng banner tapos they will tell na project nila, or kami ‘yung magaabot ng gift ninyo.
SCB: Some people say politicians are starting to use you already?
EP: Actually meron nga eh, sa damit malimit eh, ‘pag naka orange daw ako kay (Manny) Villar, ‘pag naka green kay Gibo (Gilbert Teodoro), ‘pag black na may yellow kay Noynoy (Aquino), ‘pag pink kay Bayani (Fernando), ‘pag naka multi-colored Ladlad party list ako. (laughs)
SCB: (laughs) Nahihirapan kang pumili ng kulay ng damit?
EP: Oo. Idinadaan na lang sa paliwanag pero wala naman talaga.
SCB: Do you have to be non-partisan to do what you do?
EP: We encourage people to vote.
SCB: May nag-invite na ba sa ‘yong tumakbo? Anong posisyon?
EP: Madami-dami na rin (laughs). Vice-mayor, mga ganun. Me mga nagsasabi na dapat si Efren ang maging presidente ng bansa, pero sa Facebook lang ‘yun. Pero wala pa naman seryoso.
SCB: After nung nag-guest ka sa The Buzz, marami ang nagsabi sa Facebook na “Efren, huwag ka paggamit sa mga pulitiko!” Nasabihan ka na ba nun in person? What can you say about it?
EP: Kapag may politician na kaharap ako, ang sinasabi ko sa kanila, lahat ng taong may gusto ng puwesto sa bayan natin, ang kapangyarihan ay tungkulin at ang panunungkulan ay ginagawa ng may pagpapakumbaba. Ang totoong paglingkod ay hindi para sa kapakinabangan ng iisa at iilan, kundi pagtugon sa panaghoy ng lipunan.
Wala naman problema kung gusto magpa-picture ng mga pulitiko. Ok. They are Filipinos. Nagkataon lang na politicians sila. Pero hindi ako magtataas ng kamay, hindi ako gagawa ng hand signs. Hindi kami mageendorso. Ang alam ko sa sarili ko, I am not endorsing any political group or individual. Alam ko kung saan ako nakatayo.
A HERO IN ALL OF US
SCB: Kapag sinabi mong hero, it entails a lot. Now that you’re being called a hero, have you become used to it?
EP: Malimit kong sinasabi sa kanila na bawat isa sa atin ay may kabayanihan sa puso. You just have to unleash that hero in you. Kapag sinasabi nila na bayani ako, mas deserving ‘yung mga volunteers, sila Kuya Bonn, sina Em. Sila ‘yung mas deserving na tawaging bayani. Ako kasi, representative lang. Ang encouragement ko sa lahat, palagi, sa mga Pilipino na nakakausap ko, is to unleash the hero in us. Nandun naman sa puso natin, kaso lang naoovercome siya nang sarili nating pag-iimbot at kasakiman. Nawawala ‘yung kabayanihan sa puso natin at puro kasamaan ‘yung lumalabas. Kailangan nating i-unleash ‘yung hero in us.
SCB: Growing up, ano ba ‘yung mga pangarap mo?
EP: Personally, kung mabigyan ng chance na makapasok sa isang reputable school, i-continue ‘yung pag-aaral ko. Sana makapag-masteral ako o makapag-Ph.D. Nung bata ako gusto kong maging engineer.
Gusto kong mapatayo ng magandang bahay ‘yung parents ko, kasi ang liit lang ng bahay namin. Kurtina lang ang divider namin.
SCB: Hanggang ngayon?
EP: Ngayon hindi na, kasi si Kuya nag-abroad, siya ‘yung nagpaayos ng bahay namin. Pero same lupa. Dun lang sa mentoring ni Kuya Bonn ko narealize na more than just buildings ang puwede kong ma-build, kundi ‘yung mga buhay nung mga bata na tinutulungan namin.
SCB: What do you think is lacking in the country’s educational system?
EP: Sa experience namin, simple lang naman. Hindi makapasok ‘yung mga bata kasi walang birth certificate, hindi tinatanggap sa school. Kung nasa school naman, nahihirapan sa pambaon at pamasahe, tapos pagdating sa school pagbabayarin ka ng kung anu-anong ticket. Pagdating ng examination, may bayad ang test paper. Sana ‘yung mga simpleng problemang ganun, masolusyunan.
SCB: Meron ba kayong day job?
EP: Nagtuturo ako every weekdays sa Palmridge School sa Cavite, private school sa Imus, Cavite. Three years na ako nagtuturo ng Math. Last year kasi nagtuturo ako ng Computer, tapos Math, Geometry, Algebra, at Values. Last year, nag-resign ako kasi baka mahirapan ako kapag tinuloy-
tuloy ko ‘to. Hindi nila ako pinakawalan, binigyan nila ako ng once a week na workload. Tinuturo ko na ang ngayon is values education and student council.
Nagdedeliver din ako ng softdrinks, ‘yun ‘yung sideline ko. ‘Yun ‘yung income ko. ‘Yung mga volunteers, nagaaral. ‘Yung iba, first year college na.
SCB: Nanakawan ka sa airport recently just as CNN was following you for filming. How did you feel at that moment?
EP: Nakakalungkot kasi kapwa ko Pilipino. Witness pa yung CNN reporter sa affidavit! (laughs) Nakakahiya kasi covered lahat ‘yun. From Hong Kong, kinukunan ako ng video, hanggang pababa, hanggang Justice Hall ng Pasay, hanggang rally sa Ayala. Binigyan kami ng option sa police station not to pursue, kasi maiipit kami sa schedule. But we stuck to the principle that she had to learn her lesson.
SCB: What do you think are the responsibilites that go with the honor that’s been bestowed on you?
EP: Isa sa mga responsibility ko is to encourage ‘yung mga tao sa darating na halalan. Mas intense ngayon kasi malimit kang nakikita sa media at mas lumalawak ang impluensiya mo. I want to use my influence hindi para sa iilang tao lang kundi para sa lahat ng mga kabataan na bantayan ‘yung boto, maging mapagmatyag, at ipagtanggol ‘yung karapatan natin na bumoto.
SCB: What about the Philippines are you proud of and most ashamed of?
EP: Unti-unti talaga eh nauunleash ng mga Filipino ang hero sa puso nila. Ang nakakalungkot ay ang kasakiman at paghihilahan pababa. Pero naniniwala ako na may pag-asa ang Pilipinas, dahil ‘yung mga bata sa likod ng kariton classroom, nakikita mo ‘yung passion nila para magbigay ng kanilang contribution, ng kanilang ambag sa society natin, even sa small things. Dun kami naniniwala, na even small things become significant kapag pinagsama-sama natin, malaking impact sa society natin.
SCB: Are you single?
EP: Yes.
SCB: May nililigawan?
EP: May pinapag-pray.
(Interview by ANGELO G. GARCIA, RONALD S. LIM, INA H. MALIPOT, JASER A. MARASIGAN
and IVY LISA MENDOZA; Photo by JONG CLEMENTE)
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Smoke Coming Down
Today, the Maker was not feeling too good. This morning he quit smoking. The expected symptoms of nicotine withdrawal were strong with him. And he had to match the urge to smoke with the strength of his resolve. He knew it would not be enough. And so he willed himself to contemplate the fear of death. If there was one thing he knew with a certainty it was that the smoking would kill him, sooner or later. He could feel it killing him every time he lighted up.
The Maker expected a storm coming. He worried especially if he would still be able to write well. His writing environment had always contained these elements: computer, cup of coffee, ash tray, lighter and pack of cigarettes. Now, he had only the computer. He would try a cup of coffee if only he were not sure this would lead him to surrender to at least a stick. And then he would tumble from then on. And so he had just the computer and a kind of emptiness inside him. Not only that, he began to worry if he was following the right track with this series. Clearly, he was feeling a strong bout of anxiety. He felt a vulnerability he had not felt in a long time. He longed for the old times.
"Don't think like that. Now is a good time to look on the bright side of things," Christina said, trying to placate the Maker and ease his obvious nervousness. She steered him to the nearest sofa. She knew this was a time when touch would count more than words and so she held him close to her resting his head on her single good breast. The Maker felt immediately better. In fact, he felt so good he began to feel excited. He had rested his right hand on the softness of Christina's mid-section. Now it began a gentle if slow descent. She began to enjoy it. It took some effort for her finally to cross her legs. "I think you are more in need of a friend than a lover" was what she said.
"Let's talk instead about smoking. Why would people actually risk their lives for it? Is it really that good?"
Christina and the Maker began deconstructing the act of smoking between themselves. Smoking is rolled tobacco lighted up then ingested by breathing. The smoke ingested is a cocktail of poison. Which was why you threw up the first time you smoked a whole stick. "How did you ever begin smoking?" Christina asked.
The Maker recalled a happy time decades ago when he played chaperone to his older sisters. Back then, everyone smoked. Them and their boyfriends, parents, brothers, sisters, uncles; smoke was everywhere. They knew it was cancerous but this was a careless time, everyone was in the prime of health. Death was something you worried about far, far into the future. We were invincible. The Maker turned to Christina and smiled. "I guess the future caught up with us."
"But what is it about smoking that gets you?" Christina asked, obviously persistent. The Maker was silent for a time until finally he blurted out, "Hollywood." All the old stars smoked: Eastwood, Sinatra, Bette Davis, Taylor, Burton, etc, even Castro and Che. We should not be surprised to find the Tobacco companies actually paid these stars to smoke on screen. It’s hard not to smoke if all our "idols" smoked.
"But what of the actual pleasure of smoking. Is it real? What are its constructs?"
The Maker recalled the actual feeling of smoke passing through his throat and into the lungs. He had to admit a nostalgia for that sensation now but still he wondered if that sensation was by itself actually pleasurable. Clearly, if at all pleasurable, it should not feel better or even equal to the pleasure he felt from Christina's fingers scratching the dandruff from his scalp. The pleasure of Christina's touch is logical. It could be translated into sex and/or love. "But smoking? What does it translate to?"
Finally the long silence. Seated together on the sofa, both fell into each other's bodies and felt the momentary sense of endless peacefulness that in time would yield to muscular discomfort or even a crick in the neck. But for now there was only the sense of being comfortably together. Finally, It is was Christina who said this: "Danger, excitement, adventure, time. Entropy. Decay. Death"
"We all deal with it in our own way. I truly hope you will get there. Quit."
The Maker expected a storm coming. He worried especially if he would still be able to write well. His writing environment had always contained these elements: computer, cup of coffee, ash tray, lighter and pack of cigarettes. Now, he had only the computer. He would try a cup of coffee if only he were not sure this would lead him to surrender to at least a stick. And then he would tumble from then on. And so he had just the computer and a kind of emptiness inside him. Not only that, he began to worry if he was following the right track with this series. Clearly, he was feeling a strong bout of anxiety. He felt a vulnerability he had not felt in a long time. He longed for the old times.
"Don't think like that. Now is a good time to look on the bright side of things," Christina said, trying to placate the Maker and ease his obvious nervousness. She steered him to the nearest sofa. She knew this was a time when touch would count more than words and so she held him close to her resting his head on her single good breast. The Maker felt immediately better. In fact, he felt so good he began to feel excited. He had rested his right hand on the softness of Christina's mid-section. Now it began a gentle if slow descent. She began to enjoy it. It took some effort for her finally to cross her legs. "I think you are more in need of a friend than a lover" was what she said.
"Let's talk instead about smoking. Why would people actually risk their lives for it? Is it really that good?"
Christina and the Maker began deconstructing the act of smoking between themselves. Smoking is rolled tobacco lighted up then ingested by breathing. The smoke ingested is a cocktail of poison. Which was why you threw up the first time you smoked a whole stick. "How did you ever begin smoking?" Christina asked.
The Maker recalled a happy time decades ago when he played chaperone to his older sisters. Back then, everyone smoked. Them and their boyfriends, parents, brothers, sisters, uncles; smoke was everywhere. They knew it was cancerous but this was a careless time, everyone was in the prime of health. Death was something you worried about far, far into the future. We were invincible. The Maker turned to Christina and smiled. "I guess the future caught up with us."
"But what is it about smoking that gets you?" Christina asked, obviously persistent. The Maker was silent for a time until finally he blurted out, "Hollywood." All the old stars smoked: Eastwood, Sinatra, Bette Davis, Taylor, Burton, etc, even Castro and Che. We should not be surprised to find the Tobacco companies actually paid these stars to smoke on screen. It’s hard not to smoke if all our "idols" smoked.
"But what of the actual pleasure of smoking. Is it real? What are its constructs?"
The Maker recalled the actual feeling of smoke passing through his throat and into the lungs. He had to admit a nostalgia for that sensation now but still he wondered if that sensation was by itself actually pleasurable. Clearly, if at all pleasurable, it should not feel better or even equal to the pleasure he felt from Christina's fingers scratching the dandruff from his scalp. The pleasure of Christina's touch is logical. It could be translated into sex and/or love. "But smoking? What does it translate to?"
Finally the long silence. Seated together on the sofa, both fell into each other's bodies and felt the momentary sense of endless peacefulness that in time would yield to muscular discomfort or even a crick in the neck. But for now there was only the sense of being comfortably together. Finally, It is was Christina who said this: "Danger, excitement, adventure, time. Entropy. Decay. Death"
"We all deal with it in our own way. I truly hope you will get there. Quit."
Does CT scan cause cancer?
COMPUTERIZED Tomography (CT) Scans is one of the greatest advances in medicine in the last century which expedites early diagnosis with more precision and accuracy, not readily possible before its introduction.
However, whenever a test involves x-rays, concerns about radiation exposure and the risks it poses are seriously monitored and researched by the medical community. Besides the usual evaluation of the cost-benefit equation, the risk-benefit ratio is likewise evaluated on an on-going basis, no matter how good the test is. All in the name of quality medical care and safety.
Recent alarming studies, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine December 14, 2009, stated that radiation from CT scans “may cause cancer decades later,” estimating “about 29,000 future malignancies would occur in the US because of CT scans done in 2007.”
CT scans are done for the head, chest, heart, blood vessels, abdominal organs, soft tissues and bones, etc. If the strict medical indication for CT scan is followed to the letter, there will be a lot less CT scans done around the globe. Patients’ demand for a CT scan, if without medical justification, should be ignored by the physician, for their own safety.
The radiation a CT scan delivers is equivalent to about 100 to 200 times those of conventional chest X-ray. If your doctor says “we will do 100 to 200 chest X-rays on you today,” you will surely be stunned and question its safety, if not refuse altogether. But
practically everybody accepts (some even insist to have) CT scan without care.
Majority of the predicted CT scan victims of cancer are women and about 33 percent of these cancers are projected to happen to those who were 35 to 54 years of age when they had the CT scan, based on an estimated 72 million CT scans performed in 2007, a triple increase in the number of CT scans since 1993. About 30 percent of CT scans done are deemed unnecessary, not medically justifiable.
“We know that there are great medical benefits to CT scans, but they also involve small risks of cancer because of radiation exposure,” said Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, the lead researcher at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. “For an individual, the risks are small. So if the scan is clinically justified, then the benefits should outweigh the risks,” she added.
The researcher pointed out that “the overall risk for any individual is small and depends on the type of scan given and a person’s age ... A 70-year-old who has a CT scan of the head would have a 1 in 10,000 chance of developing cancer from the test, while a baby who had a chest CT scan would have a 1 in 200 chance.”
Type of cancers
The prediction is that lung cancer, followed by colon cancer and leukemia, will be the most common radiation-related cancer. Fifty percent of those predicted 29,000 people who may develop cancer from CT scan in 2007 will die, according to the study.
This published research also pointed out that if the use of CT scan remains at its present number or higher, “eventually 29,000 cancers every year could be due to past CT scan use.” This translates to about 2 percent of the 1.4 million cancers diagnosed in the United States annually.
“There’s a risk with anything we do, whether it’s taking antibiotics or crossing the street,” stated Donald Frush, chairman of the American College of Radiology’s Pediatric Imaging Commission and chief of the division of pediatric radiology at Duke Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. “We can’t lose what the benefits of CT scanning are. The benefits are that CT scans save tens of thousands of lives each year in the U.S. and really helps the medical community diagnose things. CT is one of the most invaluable medical advancements in the last 100 years,” Dr. Frush added.
One unfortunate mistake that has complicated the CT scan issue is that of a wrongly programmed CT scan which apparently has happened at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where patients undergoing CT scan of the head were reportedly exposed to
excess radiation. This news has directed the spotlight on the risk of radiation from CT scan. In view of this, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on December 7, 2009 issued interim regulations requiring closer monitoring of CT scans after more than 250 cases of exposure to excess radiation were reported since October this year.
Mammography and breast cancer
On another front, a report from the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America “verified that annual mammography screenings may be responsible for causing breast cancer in women predisposed to the disease.”
The study included high-risk women and showed that low-dose mammography radiation “increased these women’s risk of developing breast cancer by 150 percent ...women under 29 who have had at least five mammograms are 2.5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than high-risk women who have never undergone low-dose mammography screenings.”
University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands’ epidemiologist Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide cautions physicians when screening younger women, especially those under age 30. The researcher suggested alternative screening tests like Ultrasounds, MRIs, and heat thermography, where no radiation is involved.
Clearing the air
I realize how much fear and confusion this issue has caused the public. The truth of the matter is even the medical community has been impacted by this. After all, the CT scan has been a very reliable diagnostic tool in the physician’s armamentarium for the benefit of his patients.
The debate on this matter is far from over. More studies are presently being conducted to get a good handle on this problem and determine a solution for it.
In the meantime, one thing is clear: where medically indicated, CT scan, which has saved
hundreds of millions of lives since it was first introduced, is a precious tool in competent hands. Unless a superior and safer substitute comes along, CT scan will be with us for some time in man’s fight against diseases, especially cancer.
As always, I am advising patients to discuss in detail with their attending physicians whatever concerns they may have as far as diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and other details of their condition are concerned.
However, whenever a test involves x-rays, concerns about radiation exposure and the risks it poses are seriously monitored and researched by the medical community. Besides the usual evaluation of the cost-benefit equation, the risk-benefit ratio is likewise evaluated on an on-going basis, no matter how good the test is. All in the name of quality medical care and safety.
Recent alarming studies, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine December 14, 2009, stated that radiation from CT scans “may cause cancer decades later,” estimating “about 29,000 future malignancies would occur in the US because of CT scans done in 2007.”
CT scans are done for the head, chest, heart, blood vessels, abdominal organs, soft tissues and bones, etc. If the strict medical indication for CT scan is followed to the letter, there will be a lot less CT scans done around the globe. Patients’ demand for a CT scan, if without medical justification, should be ignored by the physician, for their own safety.
The radiation a CT scan delivers is equivalent to about 100 to 200 times those of conventional chest X-ray. If your doctor says “we will do 100 to 200 chest X-rays on you today,” you will surely be stunned and question its safety, if not refuse altogether. But
practically everybody accepts (some even insist to have) CT scan without care.
Majority of the predicted CT scan victims of cancer are women and about 33 percent of these cancers are projected to happen to those who were 35 to 54 years of age when they had the CT scan, based on an estimated 72 million CT scans performed in 2007, a triple increase in the number of CT scans since 1993. About 30 percent of CT scans done are deemed unnecessary, not medically justifiable.
“We know that there are great medical benefits to CT scans, but they also involve small risks of cancer because of radiation exposure,” said Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, the lead researcher at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. “For an individual, the risks are small. So if the scan is clinically justified, then the benefits should outweigh the risks,” she added.
The researcher pointed out that “the overall risk for any individual is small and depends on the type of scan given and a person’s age ... A 70-year-old who has a CT scan of the head would have a 1 in 10,000 chance of developing cancer from the test, while a baby who had a chest CT scan would have a 1 in 200 chance.”
Type of cancers
The prediction is that lung cancer, followed by colon cancer and leukemia, will be the most common radiation-related cancer. Fifty percent of those predicted 29,000 people who may develop cancer from CT scan in 2007 will die, according to the study.
This published research also pointed out that if the use of CT scan remains at its present number or higher, “eventually 29,000 cancers every year could be due to past CT scan use.” This translates to about 2 percent of the 1.4 million cancers diagnosed in the United States annually.
“There’s a risk with anything we do, whether it’s taking antibiotics or crossing the street,” stated Donald Frush, chairman of the American College of Radiology’s Pediatric Imaging Commission and chief of the division of pediatric radiology at Duke Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. “We can’t lose what the benefits of CT scanning are. The benefits are that CT scans save tens of thousands of lives each year in the U.S. and really helps the medical community diagnose things. CT is one of the most invaluable medical advancements in the last 100 years,” Dr. Frush added.
One unfortunate mistake that has complicated the CT scan issue is that of a wrongly programmed CT scan which apparently has happened at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, where patients undergoing CT scan of the head were reportedly exposed to
excess radiation. This news has directed the spotlight on the risk of radiation from CT scan. In view of this, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on December 7, 2009 issued interim regulations requiring closer monitoring of CT scans after more than 250 cases of exposure to excess radiation were reported since October this year.
Mammography and breast cancer
On another front, a report from the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America “verified that annual mammography screenings may be responsible for causing breast cancer in women predisposed to the disease.”
The study included high-risk women and showed that low-dose mammography radiation “increased these women’s risk of developing breast cancer by 150 percent ...women under 29 who have had at least five mammograms are 2.5 times more likely to develop breast cancer than high-risk women who have never undergone low-dose mammography screenings.”
University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands’ epidemiologist Marijke C. Jansen-van der Weide cautions physicians when screening younger women, especially those under age 30. The researcher suggested alternative screening tests like Ultrasounds, MRIs, and heat thermography, where no radiation is involved.
Clearing the air
I realize how much fear and confusion this issue has caused the public. The truth of the matter is even the medical community has been impacted by this. After all, the CT scan has been a very reliable diagnostic tool in the physician’s armamentarium for the benefit of his patients.
The debate on this matter is far from over. More studies are presently being conducted to get a good handle on this problem and determine a solution for it.
In the meantime, one thing is clear: where medically indicated, CT scan, which has saved
hundreds of millions of lives since it was first introduced, is a precious tool in competent hands. Unless a superior and safer substitute comes along, CT scan will be with us for some time in man’s fight against diseases, especially cancer.
As always, I am advising patients to discuss in detail with their attending physicians whatever concerns they may have as far as diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and other details of their condition are concerned.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Person I Hated Most
There's a phrase that says "the more you hate the person the more you think of him or her. And the more you think of him or her the more he or she ruins your day.. It's true!
First day of December, 2009, I used to think things that can make my whole month more happier and interesting. And perhaps a preparation also for a brighter new year. I used to get along with things that could make my life more meaningful and be different from the past few years. But as I find and look for these things to happen, I didn't imagine that there are some people wants to turn you and pull you down.
As I write this blog, I want to make things clear, detailed by detailed as far as I could. But I do believe that i was not born to be a writer. So my apology to all the readers, i'm sorry if I can't make you fully understand my writings. It's just that as far as my writing is concern and as far as I could clear these things up in your mind, I will do the best as I can. But I am open to all your comments.
As my title goes..."the person I hated most"... there's this person that I consider as a "curse" in my life. "Curse". I don't know if this is the exact term to be used but everytime I met and think of this person, (she's a woman in particular) my whole day will be getting worst and I feel of having a bad luck all day.
I don't want to describe her personality here in a very exaggerated way, just as I described her as the most exaggerated one I've ever known in my whole life. I find her as a perfectionist, but she can't be as one. Because she can't even make her family complete. She's a separated woman leaving her five kids to her husband. She might be an ideal mother to her children, but if I will be asked, she failed! Don't ask me why. Coz I don't want to explain.
But if you'll ask me why she's the person I hated most, it's not only because I don't like her. There is something in her that perhaps her husband noticed and knew about it and could be the reason why they separated each other.
First day of December, 2009, I used to think things that can make my whole month more happier and interesting. And perhaps a preparation also for a brighter new year. I used to get along with things that could make my life more meaningful and be different from the past few years. But as I find and look for these things to happen, I didn't imagine that there are some people wants to turn you and pull you down.
As I write this blog, I want to make things clear, detailed by detailed as far as I could. But I do believe that i was not born to be a writer. So my apology to all the readers, i'm sorry if I can't make you fully understand my writings. It's just that as far as my writing is concern and as far as I could clear these things up in your mind, I will do the best as I can. But I am open to all your comments.
As my title goes..."the person I hated most"... there's this person that I consider as a "curse" in my life. "Curse". I don't know if this is the exact term to be used but everytime I met and think of this person, (she's a woman in particular) my whole day will be getting worst and I feel of having a bad luck all day.
I don't want to describe her personality here in a very exaggerated way, just as I described her as the most exaggerated one I've ever known in my whole life. I find her as a perfectionist, but she can't be as one. Because she can't even make her family complete. She's a separated woman leaving her five kids to her husband. She might be an ideal mother to her children, but if I will be asked, she failed! Don't ask me why. Coz I don't want to explain.
But if you'll ask me why she's the person I hated most, it's not only because I don't like her. There is something in her that perhaps her husband noticed and knew about it and could be the reason why they separated each other.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
It's Difficult But Rewarding
To believe... when others are doubting
To work... when others are dreaming
To care... when others are neglecting
To give... when others are grasping
To forgive... when others are condemning
To smile... when others are complaining
To praise... when others are criticizing
To build... when others are destroying
To rise... when others are hesitating
To serve... when others are demanding
To persist... when others are quitting
To work... when others are dreaming
To care... when others are neglecting
To give... when others are grasping
To forgive... when others are condemning
To smile... when others are complaining
To praise... when others are criticizing
To build... when others are destroying
To rise... when others are hesitating
To serve... when others are demanding
To persist... when others are quitting
You Can
If you think you are beaten, you are
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you like to win, but you think can't
It is almost certain, you won't
If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise
You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you can ever win a prize!
Life's battle don't always go
To the stronger or faster man
But soon or late
The man who wins is the man who thinks...
He can.
If you think you dare not, you don't
If you like to win, but you think can't
It is almost certain, you won't
If you think you'll lose, you're lost
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow's will
It's all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are
You've got to think high to rise
You've got to be sure of yourself
Before you can ever win a prize!
Life's battle don't always go
To the stronger or faster man
But soon or late
The man who wins is the man who thinks...
He can.
I Shall Not Pass This Way Again
by Joseph A. Torrey
Through this toilsome world, alas!
Once and only once I pass.
If a kindness I may show,
If a good deed I may do,
To my suffering fellow men
Let me do it while I can
Nor delay it, for t'is plain
I shall not pass this way again.
Through this toilsome world, alas!
Once and only once I pass.
If a kindness I may show,
If a good deed I may do,
To my suffering fellow men
Let me do it while I can
Nor delay it, for t'is plain
I shall not pass this way again.
Footprints In The Sand
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
written by Carolyn Joyce Carty
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
written by Carolyn Joyce Carty
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Take Time
This is one of my favorite poem my mother taught me before she died six years ago. I posted this in my room and whenever I read this, or even take a glance on this, I remembered her and I can't keep my tears to fall. I want to share this to all of you and hopefully can give inspiration to all.
Take time to think, it is the source of power
Take time to read, it is the foundation of wisdom
Take time to play, it is the secret of perpetual youth
Take time to be quiet, it is the moment to seek God.
Take time to be aware, it is the opportunity to help others
Take time to work, it is the price of success
Take time to love and to be loved, it is God's greatest gift
Take time laugh, it is the music of the soul
Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness
Take time to look around, it is too short a day to be selfish
Take time to dream, it is what the future is made of
Take time to pray, it is the greatest power on earth....
Take time to think, it is the source of power
Take time to read, it is the foundation of wisdom
Take time to play, it is the secret of perpetual youth
Take time to be quiet, it is the moment to seek God.
Take time to be aware, it is the opportunity to help others
Take time to work, it is the price of success
Take time to love and to be loved, it is God's greatest gift
Take time laugh, it is the music of the soul
Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness
Take time to look around, it is too short a day to be selfish
Take time to dream, it is what the future is made of
Take time to pray, it is the greatest power on earth....
Monday, November 2, 2009
Closed Doors vs. Opened Doors
We need to learn to thank the Lord for closed doors
just as much as we do for open doors. The reason
God closes doors is because He has not prepared
anything over there for us.
If He didn't close the wrong door we would
never find our way to the right door. Even
when we don't realize it, God directs our
paths through the closing and opening of
doors. When one door closes, it forces us to
change our course. Another door closes; it
forces us to change our course yet again.
Then finally, we find the open door and walk
right into our blessing. But instead of
praising God for the closed door (which kept
us out of trouble), we get upset because we
'judge by the appearances. '
And in our own arrogance, or ignorance, we
insist that we know what is right.
We have a very present help in the time of
need who is always standing guard. Because
He walks ahead of us, He can see trouble
down the road and HE sets up road blocks and
detours accordingly.
But through our lack of wisdom we try to
tear down the roadblocks or push aside the
detour signs. Then the minute we get into
trouble, we start crying, 'Lord how could
this happen to me?'
We have got to realize that the closed door
was a blessing. Didn't He say that 'No good
thing will He withhold from them that love
Him?'
If you get terminated from your job - don't
be down, instead thank God for the new
opportunities that will manifest themselves
- it might be a better job, or an
opportunity to go to school.
If that man or woman won't return your call
- it might not be them, it might be the Lord
setting up a roadblock (just let it go).
One time a person had a bank he had been
doing business with for many years tell him
'NO' for a $10,000 loan. The Lord led him to
call another bank. That bank approved a
$40,000 loan for him at a lower interest
rate than his own bank had advertised.
I'm so grateful, for the many times God has
closed doors to me, just to open them in the
most unexpected places. 'The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights
in his way.' (Psalms 37:23)
The Mountain top is glorious, but it is in
the Valley that I will grow!
Always Remember God gives you...
Enough Happiness to keep you Sweet
Enough Trials to keep you Strong
Enough Sorrows to keep you Human
Enough Hope to keep you Happy
Enough Failure to keep you Humble
Enough Success to keep you Eager
Enough Friends to give you Comfort
Enough Wealth to meet your Needs
Enough Enthusiasm to make you look forward
Enough Faith to banish depression, and
Enough Determination to make each day a
better day than the last..
Life must be lived forward but can only be
understood backwards. Commit to the Lord in
whatever you do and your plans will succeed.
(Proverbs 16:3)
If you love God share this and He will
continue to open and close doors for you.
'Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed
in the wrong direction'
just as much as we do for open doors. The reason
God closes doors is because He has not prepared
anything over there for us.
If He didn't close the wrong door we would
never find our way to the right door. Even
when we don't realize it, God directs our
paths through the closing and opening of
doors. When one door closes, it forces us to
change our course. Another door closes; it
forces us to change our course yet again.
Then finally, we find the open door and walk
right into our blessing. But instead of
praising God for the closed door (which kept
us out of trouble), we get upset because we
'judge by the appearances. '
And in our own arrogance, or ignorance, we
insist that we know what is right.
We have a very present help in the time of
need who is always standing guard. Because
He walks ahead of us, He can see trouble
down the road and HE sets up road blocks and
detours accordingly.
But through our lack of wisdom we try to
tear down the roadblocks or push aside the
detour signs. Then the minute we get into
trouble, we start crying, 'Lord how could
this happen to me?'
We have got to realize that the closed door
was a blessing. Didn't He say that 'No good
thing will He withhold from them that love
Him?'
If you get terminated from your job - don't
be down, instead thank God for the new
opportunities that will manifest themselves
- it might be a better job, or an
opportunity to go to school.
If that man or woman won't return your call
- it might not be them, it might be the Lord
setting up a roadblock (just let it go).
One time a person had a bank he had been
doing business with for many years tell him
'NO' for a $10,000 loan. The Lord led him to
call another bank. That bank approved a
$40,000 loan for him at a lower interest
rate than his own bank had advertised.
I'm so grateful, for the many times God has
closed doors to me, just to open them in the
most unexpected places. 'The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights
in his way.' (Psalms 37:23)
The Mountain top is glorious, but it is in
the Valley that I will grow!
Always Remember God gives you...
Enough Happiness to keep you Sweet
Enough Trials to keep you Strong
Enough Sorrows to keep you Human
Enough Hope to keep you Happy
Enough Failure to keep you Humble
Enough Success to keep you Eager
Enough Friends to give you Comfort
Enough Wealth to meet your Needs
Enough Enthusiasm to make you look forward
Enough Faith to banish depression, and
Enough Determination to make each day a
better day than the last..
Life must be lived forward but can only be
understood backwards. Commit to the Lord in
whatever you do and your plans will succeed.
(Proverbs 16:3)
If you love God share this and He will
continue to open and close doors for you.
'Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed
in the wrong direction'
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Paralisadong Paraiso 1
Ito ang munti kong tindahan. Maliit lang siya kaya nga munti, di ba? Pero kahit ganito lang kaliit ang tindahan ko marami naman itong laman na paninda. Pwera bigas, lahat ng mga pangunahing pangangailangan ng tao ay mabibili dito. Gaya ng asin, asukal, posporo, vetsin, mantika, panggatong, at kung anu-ano pa.
Noong una, bago ko naisip magtayo ng ganitong uri ng negosyo akala ko kailangan ng malaking halaga para kapital. Pero kahit limang daan lang puhunan mo kung talagang gusto mong magnegosyo, huwag lang bawal yung mga produkto mo, magagawa mo. Ang mahalaga lang naman doon ay sipag at tiyaga, sabayan lang ng panalangin at pagpupunyagi tiyak makakaraos din. Yun lang ang prinsipyo ko sa buhay. Yun din lang ang hawak ko... noon.
Noon, bago ako nagdesisyon magtayo ng sariling negosyo, kahit dito lang sa bayang kinalakhan ko,wala akong ibang inisip kundi ang makapagtayo ng kahit maliit na espasyo mula sa lupain ng mga kamag-anak ko. NAgpagawa ako ng isang "griller" na piuna-assemble ko ng aking tiyuhin. Dito ko i-aaplay ang natutunan ko sa aking trabaho mula sa lalawigan. Magluluto ako ng l;echon manok.
Kaya nagpakahirap ako at inipon ko ng husto ang bawat sentimong kinita ko sa aking trabaho kahit yun ay barya-barya lang. Wala kasi akong sweldo nun, at ang baryang inipon ko ay mula pa sa allowance na binibigay sa akin araw-araw. Working student ako noon sa isang lechon house. nagtatrabaho sa umaga at nag-aaral sa gabi. At mula sa singkwenta pesos na allowance ko araw-araw, bente pesos niyon ay mapupunta sa aking pinaka-iingatang alkansiya.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
King and Queen of Hearts 2009
this video was taken during the coronation night of "King and Queen of Hearts 2009" as part of fiesta celebration in the town of Dalaguete, Cebu. My cousin Isaiah John Heredia held as 1st runner-up on the said event.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Cellphone VS Bible
Cellphone VS Bible 
wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our
cellphone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?
Oh, and one more thing. ...
Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry
About our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think "where are my priorities?
And no dropped calls!
Doesn't it make you think??
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Ten Commandments of Senior Citizens
1. Let’s face and accept it. We are getting old, or already old.
2. Focus on enjoying people, not in indulging or accumulating material things.
3. Plan and spend what you have saved. You deserved to enjoy it and the few health years. Travel if you can afford it. Don’t leave anything for your children or loved ones to quarrel about. Instead of helping, you can even cause more trouble when you’re gone.
4. Live in here and now. Not in yesterdays and tomorrows. It is only today that you can handle. Yesterdays are gone and tomorrows may not come.
5. Enjoy your grandchildren, but don't be either a fulltime babysitter. You have no moral obligations to take care of them. Don't have any false guilt about this. Your obligation to your children is finished.
6. Accept physical weakness, sickness, and other physical pains. It is all part of the aging process. Enjoy whatever your health can give you.
7. Enjoy what you have right now. Stop worrying and working very hard for what you do not have. If you do not have them, it's too late.
8. Just enjoy life with your spouse, children, grandchildren, and friends. People love for yourself not for what you have. If they love you for what you have, they will just give you misery.
9. Forgive and accept forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others. Enjoy.
10. Befriend death. It's part of life. Don't be afraid of it. It's a beginning of a new and a better life. It's the beginning of the true and real life forever. So prepare yourself, not for death, but for a new life.
2. Focus on enjoying people, not in indulging or accumulating material things.
3. Plan and spend what you have saved. You deserved to enjoy it and the few health years. Travel if you can afford it. Don’t leave anything for your children or loved ones to quarrel about. Instead of helping, you can even cause more trouble when you’re gone.
4. Live in here and now. Not in yesterdays and tomorrows. It is only today that you can handle. Yesterdays are gone and tomorrows may not come.
5. Enjoy your grandchildren, but don't be either a fulltime babysitter. You have no moral obligations to take care of them. Don't have any false guilt about this. Your obligation to your children is finished.
6. Accept physical weakness, sickness, and other physical pains. It is all part of the aging process. Enjoy whatever your health can give you.
7. Enjoy what you have right now. Stop worrying and working very hard for what you do not have. If you do not have them, it's too late.
8. Just enjoy life with your spouse, children, grandchildren, and friends. People love for yourself not for what you have. If they love you for what you have, they will just give you misery.
9. Forgive and accept forgiveness. Forgive yourself and others. Enjoy.
10. Befriend death. It's part of life. Don't be afraid of it. It's a beginning of a new and a better life. It's the beginning of the true and real life forever. So prepare yourself, not for death, but for a new life.
I Want To Be A Saint
I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals. My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won’t give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear.
mydesire To be a saint because I reckon it's really hard. Neverthelss I move my banner forward.... For a person, just someone that I can pray with, who has a strong faith in LOVE. Loves to pray every morning and be grateful in the evening... Regardless of religion
mydesire To be a saint because I reckon it's really hard. Neverthelss I move my banner forward.... For a person, just someone that I can pray with, who has a strong faith in LOVE. Loves to pray every morning and be grateful in the evening... Regardless of religion
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Introducing: My Little Coffee Business
It’s been a month since I did not make any post here. Sorry guys I was just busy preparing my business. But I'm back now and I'm going to introduce to you about my business. This is it.
Wanna taste it? Just contact or leave me a message here.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Two Less Lonely People In The World
This My Own Version Of Air Supply's Two Less Lonely people In The World. It's just for fun and nothing less.
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