Big Brother Big Sister: Marinduque Island Donation

The Big Brother Big Sister is asking your help in making another project a reality.

This year BBBS is going to Boac, Marinduque Province on May 7-8, 2011

The group is asking for volunteers and donations of only Php 300.00 or roughly $ 7.00 to support a child's education supply needs for one year. The school pack contains 1 knapsack, 7 notebooks, 4 ball-point pens, 4 pencils, writing pads, crayons, sharpener and ruler.

The target for this project is to help 600 kids.

You can help by becoming a volunteer or making a donation.

FOR DONATIONS

PayPal: helpbbbs@gmail.com

Bank Cash/Check Deposit

Payee: MARILET DE GUZMAN

Account Name: MARILET DE GUZMAN

Account No. : 6220111000

Banco de Oro, Sienna-Del Monte Branch

409 Del Monte Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

If deposits will be made from outside the Philippines, just specify the Bank Swift Code: BNORPHMM

Kindly inform BBBS the date and amount of the deposit through helpbbbs@gmail.com or Tina Palestina +09298502790 / Marilet de Guzman +639285032075. Keep the deposit slip for reference. BBBS will issue acknowledgement receipts for all deposits received. Do let us know if you would prefer another way for us to collect the donations.

FOR VOLUNTEERS

Registration fee : P 2000.00 

You may deposit it to the following bank account:

Account Name: SHARON D. R. PONIO

Account No.: 3769-0106-44

Bank: Bank of the Philippine Islands, Pacific Star

Kindly text Sharon at 09178010033 to inform us the date and amount of the deposit and please bring the deposit slip during the pre-climb meeting on April 28 as proof of payment.

Deadline for payment of registration fee is on or before April 13 to confirm your reserved slot. You may also hand over your registration fee at Jaime Velasquez Park, located at Salcedo Village, Makati City. It is bounded by Leviste, Tordesillas, Jaime Velasquez and Toledo Streets. There's a Starbucks Coffee Shop across Leviste St. Meeting place is at the Gazebo inside the park. Text 09175353532 or 09232160378 if you wish to hand over your registration fee instead of depositing thru bank.

Registration fee coverage: bus transportation from Manila to Lucena, ferry from Lucena to Boac, jeep fares for Marinduque inland transportation for 2 days, climb-related fees, ferry from Boac to Lucena, bus from Lucena to Manila, lunch on May 8, wash-up at Marinduque Hotsprings Resort, BBBS Volunteer T-shirt, ID, certificate of participation and sponsorship of one child. 

The travel time is about 6.5 hours to reach Boac. From the jump-off, volunteers will have to carry the school sets and trek through mountainous trails to reach the school. The trek will depend on the individual pace of each volunteer. This will require some level of fitness on the volunteer. Each volunteer is expected to carry at least two school sets, more if they can.

During the distribution, volunteers will be given assignments to facilitate the distribution to the kids. Volunteers have the option of sleeping inside classrooms or to bring their own tents. They will be expected to cook their dinner and breakfast with their assigned groups. It's on a first-come first-serve basis, when the slots are full, succeeding volunteers will still be accepted but on wait-list.

To register as a volunteer, please provide the following information:

Fullname:

Nickname:

Phone Number:

E-mail Address:

Home Address:

Birthdate (year of birth optional)

Blood Type:

Shirt Size (XS-S-M-L-XL-XXL)

Are you a mountaineer?:

In case of emergency:

Contact Person:

Contact Number:

Relationship:

Preferred repacking date (April 17 or 30)

Who do you prefer to be grouped with? (as a guide only, subject to change):

Please take note of the ff. dates:

1. April 28, Thursday, 8 - 11 pm – Orientation for non-mountaineers and Team pre-climb meeting at the Penthouse Flr., Makati Stock Exchange Bldg., Ayala cor. Makati Ave., Makati City. Attendance is a must! No preclimb, no climb! Reserved slots will be given to those on waitlist.

2. April 17 Sunday or April 30, Saturday, 9am - 12nn - repacking of the school supplies. All volunteers joining the trek are expected to help in at least one repacking session. Venue is at 200 Danny Floro St. (formerly Canley Road), Pasig.

For other volunteer information, you may contact:

Sharon Ponio: sharon.ponio@gmail.com or +639178010033

Medi Nazar: nazarmedi@gmail.com or +639493279691

For more info and updates, you may visit

Multiply site: http://bbbs2005.multiply.com

Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150116040394560&set=a.112861849559.93600.648974559#!/profile.php?id=100000805195644

Maia Outreach Program

My friend Rowin Santos and his family established Maia Outreach Program in honor of their late daughter Maia.


Events that this foundation helped are the following(from http://maiaoutreachprogram.i.ph/) 

Our Donation Pooling  

October 5, 2009 

 

 

To all our Dear Good Friends,

Our Donation Pooling for Ondoy victims accumulated to the total amount of Php33,500.00 in cooperation with www.kerygmafamily.com which by now were able cooked more than 500 meals fit for human consumption and distributed in the most greatly affected areas in our country like in Marikina, Montalban and Pateros. 

It Only Takes A Spark - BBBS2010

March 5, 2010 

Tsinelas

April 5, 2009 

On May 10, 2009, Maia Foundation will organize the distribution of free slippers to the poor children, 7 years old and below, from the Parish of the Holy Spirit. These children, who line up with their parents to avail for the inexpensive NFA rice, can be seen walking and travelling without slippers, a basic necessity for all especially for children who are always unmindful of the paths they are walking on. In one particular barangay school, children entering the campuses are seen without slippers going to classes. 

Each pair of rubber slippers cost roughly 20 Php and we aim to distribute 500 pairs. 

From Above, Through Us, To Them

May 15, 2009

Last Sunday, May 10, the Tsinelas Project of Maia Foundation and the parish of Holy Spirit went smoothly as organized. Poor children whose parents are NFA rice buyers lined up to receive their new pair of rubber slippers after the celebration of the Sunday mass by our parish priest Rev. Fr. Mike Paez. And because of the kind generosity of those who supported this project, we were able to add a light merienda snack of tetra-packed juice and enseimada bread to the delight of each child as well.
 

Prior to this day, we were able to distribute nearly 200 tsinelas claim stubs representing nearly 250 children beneficiaries within the 2 week preparations. On that day, about 75% of those claims stubs were handed over while the remaining 25% are still allowed to claim their tsinelas when their parents purchase their weekly NFA rice subsidy. Any unclaimed slippers will be distributed to other poor children living near the abandoned railroad tracks of Malolos.

A very nice blog post/letter  shares a parents love for their daughter. Read and be inspired.

A Time To Remember

October 30, 2009

To our everdearest Maia,

Kumusta ka na anak?

I would have wanted to talk to you in simple, even baby language until I realized that you are now an angel in Heaven. This simply means that for the past year, you have been growing in great wisdom and knowledge more than I can ever gain in my entire lifetime so I might as well converse to you as an adult. Having said that, I hope you understand me, on the contrary, if ever I sounded shallow and incoherent in our letter for you.

Time does fly or does it?

Well, I guess it all depends on which side I am speaking of. Because from where we are now, it has only been a year.

But from where you are looking down, time is unheard of since eternity need not be measured.

An hour there could be a hypothetical million years here on earth.

Speaking of “time”, did you know already that when I was in high-school we were assigned to research and report about one particular Old Testament book and our priest-instructor assigned to me – Qoheleth or Ecclesiastes as we commonly know. And from reading and reporting that book, one paragraph that really stayed, henceforward, in my mind was that of Chapter 3 verses 1 to 8.

It read,

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.

A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

For the past year, these verses were closely true in our hearts.

For there was a time when time itself was on our side. 

Our family was complete.

Your mommy, Kuya Zek, you and I.

We were so happy then that time seemed to have stood still and that we could run out of hard disk and DVD-Rs to record our memorable moments. Each step of the way, you and kuya Zek find something interesting to muse and wonder abou which your mommy and I are simply more than willing to explain. Everyday is discovery day for all of us.

But time can only withhold for long the unseen and abrupt change that was ordained to our family. And with it came the most intense heartbreak your mother and I could ever feel. We prayed, pleaded and wailed for time to slow down so we can bring you to the hospital yet every second was like an hour and those few minutes that passed were like forever to reach. As I sat inside the taxi, embracing you tightly as I cried, I was hoping against all hope that our expected miracle was going to happen, that against all odds, you will come out just fine from that critical situation.

In the end, we still lost you and we were ushered into a new time – to mourn and grieve.

Yes, it has been a year and I just wanted to let you know once again that we, your mom, kuya Zek and I, miss you so much.  That goes to say not just today but every single day. Your kuya Zek, out of the blue and thinking that Heaven is just a car-drive away, always pops up his idea of visiting you. He misses playing, sleeping, eating, running, watching TV and praying with you. Oh, do you remember the times when he annoys you? I bet you understand now that most of those time, he just wanted to swing back your attention to him whenever you started to play on your own. You were always his best buddy.

Reasonably so, your mommy hurts more deeply and more often among us. Eight months inside her and close to two years of enjoying your presence is really a short time for someone who loves you unconditionally. She sometimes still feel that she could have done more to avert what happened so I have to remind her often as well that, in life and death, only the Lord’s will matters. We can only seek the meaning and purpose of it. We can only trust Him despite the absence of full understanding. Please keep on praying for her in this regard.

As for me, you will always be my little, smart, cute, gifted, talented, sweet and lovable girl. I am pretty sure that you now know the times I stared at your sleep while daydreaming of how you will grow up to be a very beautiful and pious woman. I used to think about my future plans how to handle your growing years, your schooling days, your adolescence and pimple-boy-crushes teenage years, your university days, your dating years, and up to your wedding ceremony (Yup, I made this personal deadline of direct guidance on you because I also believe that after marriage, you have to be on your own in all your decision making. Well unless, of course, you or your future husband would come to me for advice which is technically not under the “paternal intrusion” category of your married life). Now, the sad reality is, I need to put them all into a secluded and dusty corner of my heart called “cherished dreams that can’t happen anymore” in order for me to keep my focus in loving your mother and kuya Zek while getting inspiration from the other corner where “the ways the Lord has always wanted our family to go forth” is located. Our Maia Outreach Programs is one of those fruits that we promise to take care of. Please always pray for us also in this regard.

As it is now, time beckons us to keep moving on with occasional sadness yet full of hope and loving graces. Your mommy, kuya Zek and I are all looking forward to meeting and being with you one day in Heaven. That final reunion is the one thing that time can never ever take away from us.

We love you.

Hugs and kisses,

Daddy, Mommy and Kuya Zek

PS. By the way, do you angels really play skips and hops on the clouds during your playtime? I asked because during our last plane trips I often wonder, while looking out the window, if there is any chance I can catch a glimpse of you with all the other angels. How happy would I be at that sight (See, I told you even grown-ups can still make silly and amusing questions. Love you.).