Friday, March 22, 2013

9-Year-Old VOHCS Child Finishes Preschool

Ryan Gayo (center, second line) graduates with brothers Roy (leftmost), Rene (second from left), and Jeran (fourth from left) from
VOHCS Iloilo in March. Behind the VOHCS children are their teachers and VOHCS Principal Cristina Gellor (second from left, third line).
“My dream is to finish school so I will be able to support my family someday,”  declares nine-year-old Ryan Gayo in Ilonggo. A Visions of Hope Christian School (VOHCS) student from Sitio Ilaya, Tabuc-suba, Jaro, Iloilo, Ryan finished a year of preschool education in March, along with three younger brothers.

VOHCS teachers in Iloilo first met Ryan and his brothers – Jeran, 7, Rene, 6, and Roy, 5 – when they surveyed the community for potential students in mid-2012. Asked if they would like to go to school, the brothers, with sun-burnt skin and bald heads, hesitated. After a minute, Rene said aloud what they were thinking, “We don’t have slippers to wear to school.”

Ryan has eight younger living siblings; three others passed away because of poor health. Sickly himself, Ryan lives with his family in a bamboo house by the river. His father is a pandesal vendor, and his mother washes laundry for a living. His mother only bathes them every two weeks and shaves their heads to save on soap. The family does not even have a toilet. Ryan quit school in the middle of first grade, preferring to go scavenging with his brothers to help out. He got bullied in school, anyway, he says.

Ryan’s parents agreed to send the brothers to VOHCS after they were assured that slippers and school uniforms could be sourced from donors. Teachers raised funds and bought slippers, school shoes, and socks for the Gayo boys and 20 other preschool children. They also bought second hand clothes, and some CCT micro-entrepreneurs donated clothes for the brothers.

The boys’ father brought them to school on the bicycle he uses when hawking pandesal. At their classroom door the boys would pause to put on their slippers, carefully carried from home. After school, they would hang the slippers on a wall at home as if these were prized treasures.

It is customary for VOHCS children and teachers to share food during recess. Ryan and his brothers seldom had snacks to share except on rare times when their father had pandesal leftover from his morning rounds. No one seemed to mind, though.

Despite their lack, the brothers brought their teachers happiness (and sometimes tears of joy) with their zeal for learning. Ryan would gladly read aloud whenever asked. His brother, Roy, volunteered a lot too.

Today, Ryan does not see his poverty as an obstacle to making himself better. He is certain of two things – poverty is transient, and his heavenly Father is able to meet his earthly needs. Hopefully, he carries these truths as he moves forward in life.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Soccer Team Bags Surprise Win

A team of soccer novices who thought they would only be spectators at a football festival ended up bringing home a trophy.

On March 16, 2013, the CCT Magdalena Soccer Team was all set for a few friendly soccer matches in Los Banos, Laguna but a last minute change brought them to a nearby town for the Calamba Football Festival. Instead of playing, they watched teams from the Laguna Football Association play. But it was not long after the festival organizers gave them a chance to play for free in place of a no-show team.

The CCT Magdalena Soccer Team, also known as the Magdalena Youth Boys Binhi, is composed of 17 former street-dwelling youth housed at the CCT boarding school in Magdalena, Laguna. Its members, aged 13 to 18, are under the care of Visions of Hope Foundation (VOH) and attend the Visions of Hope Christian School (VOHCS). The team has a junior, non-competing counterpart which has seven members aged 8 to 10.

Coached by two German volunteers, the Magdalena boys play soccer every weekday afternoon. In three years of training they had seldom competed against teams their age. 

Early this year, VOH Youth Development Coordinator Dulce Reonico and VOHCS Teacher Fil Jutba touched base with two Laguna Football Association member teams, making way for a friendly match. On March 9, wearing new soccer uniforms from partners in Wholistic Transformation Resource Center and inspired after watching their first ever professional soccer match through the help of Team Socceroo, a football club and academy, the CCT Magdalena Soccer Team won against the University of the Philippines Los Banos Raptors U17! 

A second match was scheduled for March 16, the same day that the Calamba Football Festival was to be held. The Magdalena boys planned to play against the Raptors, and attend the football festival afterward. As they headed to Los Banos, they were advised to instead proceed to Calamba. Little did they know that an opportunity to compete for a title was about to open up. 

The boys competed in eight games from morning until afternoon, and their overall standing sent them to the semi-finals. The crucial game ended with a tie, which was broken with the best-of-three-kicks rule. Much to the boys’ delight, their team emerged as the festival’s third best team! 

Immediately after winning, the Magdalena boys gathered around and kneeled to say a prayer of thanks. The junior team and a group of children from the community prayed with them too. Then, they all shouted “Plenus pectus!” (Full heart!), a slogan adopted from Team Socceroo, and “Glory to God!” 

Before leaving Calamba, the CCT Magdalena Soccer Team received an invitation to join the 2nd Roxas Football Cup on April 20. Various soccer team coaches also gave invitations for tune-ups or friendly matches. The boys celebrated their surprise victory in a small party and are already conditioning themselves for the games lined up.

A member of the CCT Magdalena Soccer Team advances with a kick.  
VOHCS Teacher Fil Jutba serves as the team's head coach during the
Calamba Football Festival.
The team kneels down in prayer after winning third place.
The boys line up in twos to receive their medals.
With the statue of Philippine national hero and Calamba native Dr. Jose Rizal behind them,
members of the CCT Magdalena Soccer Team give a thumbs up after their surprise win.  

Friday, March 8, 2013

Taguig Youth Gains Confidence Through BB

With the Philippine flag behind her, Brigada Bata Taguig
member Carolyn Abella executes the BB salute.
“Natutunan ko na pahalagahan ang aking sarili bilang kabataan...,” (I learned to value myself as a young person….) relates fourteen-year-old Carolyn Abella about her experience as a Senior Squad member of Brigada Bata 2nd Taguig Company in Taguig City, Metro Manila.

Vision of Hope Foundation’s Brigada Bata (BB) is the Filipino version of Boys’ Brigade, an international uniformed Christian youth organization originating from Great Britain. Brigada Bata instills discipline, leadership, entrepreneurship, love for God, and love for country among pupils of Visions of Hope Christian Schools (VOHCS) as well as among poor children in communities being reached by the Center for Community Transformation (CCT).

When she joined BB in April 2011, Carolyn said her respect for her parents was dwindling because of a problem her family was dealing with at that time. She was rebellious and did not know God personally. But because of her BB training, she said she allowed God to enter her heart and change her life. She started reading the Bible, and said her relationship with her parents was restored after BB taught her about obedience. 

She also started serving others. One way is by helping train VOHCS preschool students to perform BB drills. 

“I learned about my worth as a young person through BB,” Carolyn said. Her newfound confidence and the discipline instilled by BB have made her more active in school activities and helped her excel academically. “Gusto ko laging gawin ang pinakamabuti o ‘yong best ko sa lahat ng ginagawa ko bilang isang BB at bilang isang anak ng Diyos.” (I strive to do my best in all I do because I am a Brigada Bata member and a child of God.) Out of 156 BB members in Taguig, Carolyn was one of eight who received a target award on February 16, 2013 for faithfully attending BB meetings in the last two years.