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Winners all! (Left to right) Peter Bucasas (Best Keeper, Boys 14 age
bracket), Angelo Lopez (Champion
Team member, Boys 14), Carlo Frago (Best Defender, Boys 12),
Jed Aguila (Champion Team member,
Boys 14), Gerald Abella (Best Midfielder/ MVP Boys 10), Cydric Moises (Best Defender/ Runner Up Team Silver, Boys 12), Titus Zipeda (MVP/ 3rd Place Team member, Boys 12), Coach Leo Arnaiz, John Rey Leyte (MVP/ Runner Up Team member, Boys 14) and Arsenio de la Cruz (3rd Place Team member, Boys 14). |
Three boys being cared for at the Visions of Hope (VOH) Christian School in Magdalena, Laguna were named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in their respective age brackets at the recently-concluded 2015 Alaska Football Power Camp.
Gerald Abella was MVP for the boys in the age 10 bracket, Titus Zipeda was MVP for those in the age 12 group, and John Rey Leyte was MVP for those in the age 14 bracket. Gerald was also named best midfielder for his age group. Six other boys also received medals. They are among 26 VOH-Magdalena children attending Summer with the Son, a school break program that, among other activities, includes a trip to the Benguet State University in La Trinidad, Benguet to join the football camp. The camp was held from April 9 – 12, 2015.
During the camp’s first four days the children were taught the fundamentals of football and on the last day they played against each other. The other boys who received medals are Peter Bucasas (Best Keeper, Boys 14 age bracket), Angelo Lopez (Champion Team member, Boys 14), Carlo Frago (Best Defender, Boys 12), Jed Aguila (Champion Team member, Boys 14), Cydric Moises (Best Defender/Runner Up Team, Boys 12), and Arsenio de la Cruz (3rd Place Team member, Boys 14).
VOH-Magdalena, is an all-male residential school that shelters street children, abandoned or neglected children, and orphans. VOH Coach Leo Arnaiz said the Summer with the Son program gives the boys “a chance to mix with other boys, socialize and make friends, and see how they can respond and adapt to the world.” It also allows them to focus on God’s purpose for them. 'Son' in the program's name refers to God's Son, Jesus, he added.
“These boys were at one time mistreated and unloved. They didn’t see themselves as persons of value so it didn’t matter to them if they did bad things. One thing this camp did for them is make them see how valuable they are, that they have a purpose in life,” Coach Leo said. He stressed that the first thing the football and character formation program at VOHCS-Magdalena does is find hope, meaning, purpose and value in their lives.
The Visions of Hope Christian School is one of twelve ministries in the Center for Community Transformation (CCT) Group of Ministries. It operates 24 pre-schools in some of the poorest neighborhoods in the Philippines, and three boarding schools. Aside from VOH-Magdalena, it also runs a boarding school in Puypuy, Bay, Laguna which ministers to boys (below age 10) and girls from street dwelling families, and a boarding school in Malungon, Sarangani for children from the B’laan, Tagakaolo, and Kalagan indigenous peoples groups. The boarding schools offer pre-school to sixth grade education.
“The other coaches had nothing but good comments about our boys’ behavior,” said Coach Leo. “They said they are disciplined, don’t complain, are very respectful, and the only ones who ‘make mano’.”
“If Summer with the Son produces good results, I hope it can be a yearly activity,” he added.
The football camp is an annual summer activity sponsored by Alaska Milk Corporation. A total of 420 boys and girls between the ages eight and fourteen from all over Luzon attended this year’s camp. Lala Salili, peer servant for CCT-VOHCS said joining the camp gave the boys a chance to further develop discipline, determination, team work, and sportsmanship, characteristics needed in the real world.
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| The VOH boys with the rest of the football campers and their coaches. |
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| The Summer with the Son program included a tour of some of Baguio's most popular tourist spots and a chance to go strawberry picking in La Trinidad Valley! |
