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. 

58 VOHCS Teachers ‘Step Up to Excellence’ in Summer Training

Fifty-eight teachers from all 30 Visions of Hope Christian Schools (VOHCS) in the country met for the 2nd CCT-VOHCS Annual Teachers’ Retreat and Equipping on April 21 to 27, 2013 at the Rose of Sharon House of Friendship Boarding School in Bay, Laguna. With the theme, “Step Up to Excellence”, they learned together through teaching and interactive sessions how to offer the best possible Christian education to their students as the new school year approaches.

A vesper worship service on the first night aptly opened the week-long training. The following day, the teachers reported on highlights and challenges met for the school year 2012 to 2013. “It was an encouraging time for many because we were reminded of God’s faithfulness and of our part in a bigger community that builds His kingdom,” one of them said. 

In sessions led by Center for Community Transformation President Ruth Callanta and VOHCS Board Member Edmon Ngo, the teachers were affirmed of their purpose and commitment. Meanwhile, guest expert speakers Bgit Tuico, Anna Alegre, Donna Simpao, Fe Mangahas, Malu Garcia, Leo Arnaiz, Rowena Kakilala, as well as the Right Start team led by Arlene Sy and the MGC New Life Christian Academy team led by its principal, Mrs. Helen Villanueva, introduced new knowledge and skills that would enhance the teachers’ capacities and teaching methods. Prescilla Salili and Christina Gellor, along with the VOH (Visions of Hope Foundation) and VOHCS support teams, also facilitated dialogues on policies and procedures that concerned the teachers. 

A tribute to the teachers, which moved some of them to tears, wrapped up the full yet rich training week. Donned in Filipiniana attire, the VOHCS teachers each walked down a red carpet, received a garland from a VOHCS child, and were honored by the MGC New Life team and VOHCS board members. They left the training venue with improved skills, minds full of new things learned, and, hopefully, hearts ready for another year of service to VOHCS children.

VOHCS teachers work in groups to discuss their teaching exercises.

They also get their hands dirty in outdoor team building activities. 

A group of VOHCS teachers lead one of several teaching demonstrations.

Shown here with VOHCS support staff and mentors from MGC New Life Christian Academy, 58 VOHCS teachers
successfully finish the teachers' training for 2013.   

100 VOHCS Children Drink Milk for 40 Days

Super G child Jizelle Hallera from VOHCS Caloocan
gains healthy weight after the milk program.

Seven-year-old Jizelle Hallera used to be underweight but after forty days of drinking milk every break time at Visions of Hope School (VOHCS) Caloocan, her body mass index (BMI) turned normal. Jizelle, who loves the taste of milk like most of her classmates, became two kilograms heavier and one centimeter taller.

In VOHCS Cabrera, five-year-old Jan Senley Enaje was sluggish but since he started drinking milk, he became active in class and gained weight. Jan’s teacher says he belongs to a very poor family that hardly has anything to eat. He and two of his siblings would sometimes share a sachet of chocolate drink for breakfast, so his teacher gave him one box of milk to take home.

Super G child Jan Senley Enaje from VOHCS Cabrera
becomes active and energetic in class. 

Of the 100 VOHCS children who were part of the milk program, Jizelle and Jan were among those chosen as Super G children because they showed the most progress after Visions of Hope’s Super G…in 40 Days milk program. 

“G” in Super G, which stands for gatas or milk, also means ganado (having a good appetite, active, enthusiastic), galing (great), ganda (beautiful), guwapo (handsome), and other words that describe what the children could become at the end of the program.

Super G was initiated when partner organization Kabisig ng Kalahi donated 226.5 kilograms of chocolate flavored powdered milk in January. The milk was distributed to five areas: Cabrera in Pasay City, San Pedro in Laguna, Payatas in Quezon City, Caloocan City, and General Trias in Cavite. VOHCS teachers in those areas administered Super G between January 28 and March 21.

Parents and children from VOHCS General Trias give a thumbs up for Super G. Twenty-six children from
this school, 25 from VOHCS Caloocan, 22 from VOHCS Payatas, 10 from VOHCS Cabrera,
and 17 from VOHCS San Pedro are part of the VOH's Super G...in 40 Days milk program.
   

The 40th day of the milk program was a Super G moment for most of the VOHCS children, teachers, and parents – it was Super Galing and they were Super Grateful. The children’s body mass indexes as well as their behavior and appearance generally improved. Their stamina and appetite increased and they looked healthier, as observed by their teachers. For a number of children, the milk ration filled gaps in their daily food intake because it served as their breakfast, mid-morning snack, or both.

100 CCT Partners Give Blood

CCT partners take turns in donating blood on March 16. 

Nineteen Center for Community Transformation (CCT) micro-entrepreneurs in Binan, Laguna gave blood on March 16, 2013 to help meet emergency medical needs of CCT community partners. They were stirred after fellow Binan community partner, Emelosa Mitra, diagnosed with acute renal failure and renal anemia last year, received blood just in time to save her life. The Visions of Hope (VOH) Health Team linked Emelosa to the CCT blood bank for the blood transfusion. (Read more about Emelosa here.) 

Nurses Joy (left) and Leigh (right) from the VOH Health Team, and a
PGH medical technologist (center) are all smiles after the 
mass blood donation in Binan.

Just like the CCT Binan partners, 21 year-old nurse Rellymin Joy Calano was also happy to give blood. Joy was a blood recipient when she contracted dengue in high school. Thankful for how her life was saved by the generosity of others, Joy donated blood on March 9 at the CCT support office, along with 27 other donors. 

Joy has been part of the VOH Health Team leading mass blood donations in CCT communities since last year. Joy says she gives pep talks to first-time blood donors because she knows they can feel nervous about having blood drawn. 

The VOH Health Team also held mass blood donations in partnership with the Philippine General Hospital in Muntinlupa City on February 16 and in Taguig City on March 2. A total of 53 persons donated blood at these gatherings. 

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.

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.  

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.