VOH Child Wins at Swimming Meet

“I was determined to give it my all and I succeeded,” says Visions of Hope (VOH) child Angelica Zafe, 15, in Filipino describing her swimming victory at the 2nd Nikki Coseteng Motivational Splash. “Unlike a few others who stopped in the middle of their laps because they thought they were losing, I kept going.” 

Angelica placed third in the extra heat of the 50 meter freestyle for girls and bagged second place in the final round of the same category. The meet, held at Diliman Preparatory School on May 12, 2013, was organized by the Philippine Swimming League (PSL) and was a gathering of more than 400 PSL-trained beginner teams from different parts of the country.

Angelica Zafe (in black shirt) celebrates with other members of the
Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Swimming Team.
Others  from CCT-VOH who won in the extra heat round were 
John Mark Torres, Jervie Magat, Rico Meras, John Paulo Caparas, 
and Jennylou Lumbang.  

Her interest in swimming, Angelica says, began while growing up in the densely populated district of Tondo in Manila where she used to sneak out of the house to swim with friends.

Angelica and sister Angelina have been in the care of VOH for over a year now. Their father, a janitor, and their mother, who does occasional domestic jobs, did not earn enough to provide for the family. Though the Zafe siblings were able to go to school, they constantly worried about not being able to submit school projects. Starting late 2011, the family resorted to collecting recyclable waste from the street. But still, that was not enough. They were evicted from their rented house, and the siblings had to drop out of school.

Tears well up in Angelica’s eyes as she describes four months of living in Luneta Park. Flattened cardboard boxes served as their bed. A thin plastic mat under these kept water from seeping through. When it rained they would sit close with their few belongings between them, holding another plastic sheet over their heads. “At night I would try to stay awake as long as I could to keep watch,” Angelica says.

Looking back, Angelica realizes how precious a full night of sleep is, something she is able to experience at VOH Rose of Sharon House of Friendship (ROS) in Bay, Laguna. She is thankful for food that is more than enough as well. In the eighth grade at nearby Masaya National High School now, she has grown healthier and fit for sports training.

From April 1 to May 12 this year, Angelica and other VOH children were trained by PSL coaches. The crude strokes she learned when she was younger were corrected and made suitable for competition. “Swimming for three and a half hours five days a week was not easy,” she says, “But all the hard work paid off when I joined the swimming event.”

Angelica looks forward to more swimming training at ROS. She also wants to try out for her school’s swim team soon.

A coach from PSL closely checks VOH children's strokes. 

VOH children learn to swim laps in ROS's six-lane pool.

The CCT Swimming Team warms up before competing at the
2nd Nikki Coseteng Motivational Splash.

VOH-PSC Sports Training Becomes A Community Affair

The Visions of Hope Foundation (VOH), in partnership with the Philippine Sports Commission’s (PSC) Women in Sports Program, hosted a free three-day sports training in May. The training was primarily intended for the CCT-VOH Rose of Sharon House of Friendship Boarding School in Laguna but an invitation was extended to children in the community, and 120 boys and girls from Puypuy also joined the sports clinics.

The VOH boarding school, located in Brgy. Puypuy, Bay, ministers to children who used to be street dwellers. Out of about fifty children who are housed in the facility, 32 boys and girls who are between the ages of six and seventeen joined the sports training.

PSC Commissioner and former swimming Olympian Gillian Akiko Thomson-Guevarra sent some of PSC's best coaches to give the Puypuy children quality training. Coach Gregory Colmenares led swim classes attended by 41 children, 62 children learned badminton from Coach Dennis Orense, Coach Roy Cortel taught 11 children table tennis, and Coach Jarod Hubalde instructed 38 children on the basics of volleyball. 

The parents from the community were at first hesitant to enroll their children because some of them thought that the boarding school was scouting for students. However, when they learned about VOH’s work and PSC’s community programs, they were happy to let their children sign up, and the sports training became a community affair. VOH children made new friends with their Puypuy neighbors as they learned a new sport together and shared meals in the shade of trees on-campus. Several parents volunteered in keeping the children in order while the sports clinics were ongoing. Barangay officials also pitched in by allowing the use of the Puypuy covered court for the volleyball activities.

The PSC coaches said that several children showed much potential. They gave VOH volleyball and nets, table tennis rackets, and badminton sets so that the children can continue practicing their chosen sport. The campus has a 25-meter long pool where the swimmers can continue to train.

Lala Salili, VOH executive director, said, "Thank God for sports and that through classes like these the children can learn physical self-discipline, find out what it means to work with a team, and develop socially and emotionally."

The sports training was held on May 7 to 9, 2013.

To read a related story on PSC’s Women in Sports Program, click here: http://www.web.psc.gov.ph/index.php/9-news/68-women-in-sports-sa-naga.

Coach Jarod leads the volleyball clinic in Brgy. Puypuy's covered court.

Girls each get to try serving the ball.

Children practice their strokes before plunging into the pool.  

Parents and children from VOH and Puypuy community share meals and stories during lunch.