our hopes and dreams

Test

2008-04-14T17:18:00.000+08:00

These are our avatars for www.teenfad.ph

We've Moved.

2007-02-19T11:45:00.000+08:00

Check out our new blog site: Pangaraps v. 2

Blessing!

2006-11-20T01:43:00.000+08:00

We moved. And as every promising new venture should be started, we began with a blessing.

Father Ted came and blessed our new office space and ourselves as well, imparting words of encouragement and of wisdom. With the state of our country, there's no turning back, he said. And as with everything worth fighting for, the work won't be easy. Six months into operations, we've each had our share of toil and turmoil, and expect more challenges to face.

But in the meantime, we celebrate keeping alive and afloat for almost six months, weathering literal storms, a break-in, a maddening mix of personal and professional matters, and the basic struggle for survival. Thank you to our families, our mentors, volunteers and friends for all the encouragement, support and inspiration.

Father Ted praying for us.

Literally ushering in the blessings.

Camille thoroughly enjoyed the chocolate cake.

Friends from school--where all the craziness and dreaming began.

Rhea and friends who graciously dropped by.

How the evening ended--with the Matutina Cleanup Mission and with Bern honing her toilet-repairing-powers while talking to Archie, as the rest of us fiddled with (and got really stressed over) our newfound wireless freedom. Thank you Jin for the patience.

Photos courtesy of Bern. For more photos, hop on over here.

The Worst Natural Disaster Our Country is Facing

2006-08-31T13:15:00.000+08:00

I got the following from Lette Teodosio's blog.

Donate and Help us Take Action. Every BOOT helps!

Donate Rubber Boots, Rubber Gloves and Masks!
Archie (0919 2253262)
Haydee (0928 2313193)
Lette R. Teodosio (0915.785.4035)

contact us at cleanupoilspill@gmail.com
you can also donate or pledge through projectsunrise.org
get updated through:
www.inq7.net
greenpeace.org
wwf.org.ph

Sunday, August 27, 2006
update on Guimaras oil spill

Dear Friends,

The Visayan Sea Squadron, currently headed by Atty. Antonio Oposa, along with Senator Cayetano, Congressman Acosta and Congressman Roces recently assessed the damage along Guimaras last August 26, 2006. With heavy hearts and tearful eyes, they watch helplessly as oil slick and sludge slowly ate up what was left of the rich marine life that was carefully protected by Guimaras. Recent reports have confirmed that four coastal towns of Iloilo have already felt the effect of the oil contamination, namely Ajuy, Concepcion, Barotac Nuevo and Dumangas. A few more days and it will reach Eastancia and the northern area of Iloilo, where Panay's fishing port is located. It is this alarming rate that more efforts in prevention of its continuing spread is taken.

As i type, the oil spillage slowly encompasses the areas around Guimaras Island and is now moving up towards the north through Guimaras Strait, damaging Panay and Negros in its wake. Families dependent on their fishing livelihood are robbed of their means of living. Our rich seafood is contaminated, and we are slowly but surely killed with health problems resulting from this terrible environmental disaster. With 2 million liters of oil spillage each day leaking out to destroy what is left of our natural resources along in Guimaras, recent reports say it is the worst natural disaster our country is facing.

We encourage fellow filipinos to help out in the cause of preventing its spillage to reach further waters, and as much as possible, clean up the damage done. We appeal to all filipinos to help out and be more aware of the situation. We appeal to members of Congress, the Senate and other government officials to help us by thoroughly investigating this matter and TAKE ACTION.

Idea!s

2006-08-28T00:15:00.000+08:00

Remember that ideals
By Helen Steiner Rice

Remember that ideals
Are like stars up in the sky.
You can never really reach them,
Hanging in heavens high.

But like the mighty mariner
Who sailed the storm-tossed sea,
And used the stars to chart his course
With skill and certainty,
You, too, can chart your course in life
With high ideals and love.

For high ideals are like the stars
That light the sky above.
You can never reach them,
But lift your heart up high
And your life will be as shining
As the stars up in the sky.

so far...

2006-08-26T17:48:00.000+08:00

the idea!ists working hard. (photo taken by Dang Sering)

Indigenous Youth as Instruments of Peace and Development

2006-08-18T15:29:00.000+08:00

Around the world, the youth are connecting—to each other, to their communities, to futures they are empowered to choose. The Make a Connection Project is a collaboration of Nokia’s Community Development Program and the International Youth Foundation. To date, the project has reached 24 countries, changing the lives of over 280,000 youth since the year 2000.

Overseen by Consuelo Foundation here in the Philippines as the Philippine Indigenous Youth Leadership Training Program (PIYLTP), the project is implemented by 13 different organizations in the country for 18 different cultural groups, with a majority of the project sites located in Mindanao. Providing culture-based leadership and life-skills training programs, as well as small start-up funds for livelihood projects, the Make a Connection Project in the Philippines focuses on indigenous youth, recognizing their immense economic and socio-cultural potential.

Through the program, the indigenous youth learn to appreciate their unique culture, and use this awareness of themselves in applying their skills to various positive and productive endeavors. In a study conducted by The Heller School of Management of Brandeis University, ninety-one percent (91%) of the completers of the program have involved themselves in their communities by volunteering for various youth programs, such as the Sangguniang Kabataan, or youth against drugs. The same percentage of completers have also become economically self-reliant, already contributing to household expenditures through the livelihood programs they have learned from and continue up to this day. One hundred percent (100%) of completers say they have re-connected to their indigenous culture, using their own language, and participating in their traditional dances and rituals.

The various gatherings of the different participants of the Make a Connection project have also seen intercultural dialogue and understanding manifest among the different tribes.

All of these are documented in the publication Make a Connection: Nurturing Future Leaders prepared by Consuelo Foundation with the support of Nokia and the International Youth Foundation. The publication chronicles the implementation and results of the Make a Connection Philippine experience, complete with testimonials from the youth themselves. The publication is to be launched today at the Tiara Oriental Hotel in Makati City, in a simple program wherein the indigenous youth, together with representatives from Consuelo Foundation and Nokia will share their learnings.

The photo exhibit designed by Idea!s

Green Two with Melchor, a Higaonon youth.

Pink Five growls into the mic, Yellow Four cheers on and Illac prepares his powerpoint.

Blue Three poses as an indigenous youth.

Idea!ists and Elsa Ravelo, Senior Program Specialist of Consuelo Foundation, and beloved in-charge of the Make a Connection Project in the Philippines.

Newsbean #2

2006-08-17T09:33:00.000+08:00

This one's for Red One's benefit. Our funky office now has a funky signage, thanks to Pink Five's wonderfully devious maneuverings and Red One's equally wonderful connection to Gem Signs. Thank you to Kuya Bong.

Yellow Four in the foreground, with Joy, Johnny Lao and Pink Five in the background. Our office was temporarily converted to tattoo shop one Saturday.

the world is on fire

2006-08-09T13:52:00.000+08:00

from sarah mclachlan's world on fire:

hearts are worn
in these dark ages
you're not alone,
in these stories' pages
the light has fallen
amongst the living and the dying
and I'll try to hold it in
yeah I'll try to hold it in

the world is on fire
it's more than I can handle
i'll tap into the water
try and bring my share
try to bring more, more than I can handle
bring it to the table
bring what I am able...

i am once again moved by individuals who try to make a difference in other people's lives... all the more convinced that i am where i should be, doing what i am doing. let's go idealists!

Jun's Story

2006-08-03T11:08:00.000+08:00

The following is an unedited testimonial of Jun*, a teenager whom as of April 2006 was serving time in the Baguio City Jail. We met him when we visited the jail to document the Juvenile Justice Program of Child and Family Service Philippines. At the time we were there, Jun was like one of the big brothers of the other young inmates. Like any other youth, they were all active and engaging, shy at first, but then eager to express themselves. Like any other youth, their excitement and energy told of lives on the cusp, ready to begin. Like any other youth, they've made mistakes, some more terribly serious than most. But with proper guidance and social support, these kids can begin anew, armed with more grown-up learnings and realizations some of us may never even acquire.

I grew up with my grandparents as my parents got estranged when I was only 5 yrs old. I was made to live with my grandparents as my mom cared for her family.

In my younger years, I did not bother to ask about my dad. I remember when I was 13, grandfather took me to his work at the construction site where I got exposed to construction works and learned fast. Soon I began to earn my own money through working as an errand boy and doing menial jobs at the construction site. Then I got lonely and realized I missed my dad so much so I asked my grandfather about him, that I wanted to see him and find out how he had been since he left us. I easily found him and I was able to meet his new family. My frustration worsened and I got so disappointed at finding him with his own family and that left a feeling of rejection for me. Mom too has her own family. I now realized I belong to no one—not among them. “Where do I belong now?” This question haunted from then on. I began to rebel and started to drink and take drugs. I purposedly ruined my life. The rejection I felt led me to seek refuge from my friends until I joined a fraternity and embraced the activities of gang-life. My happiness was tremendous! It was overwhelming. I felt I belonged so dearly to friends who treated me as their brother and I enjoyed my life. Hence, I forgot I had mom and dad, I left my grandparents’ home and went along with my “brothers” wherever they took me. Going home became a rare event and only when I needed to change my clothes, which happened twice a month. Grandma oftentimes found me drunk and smoking cigarettes, yet she keeps on reminding me how alcohol, cigarettes and my other activities would ruin my life. I defend her and we quarrel as I rebelled more. This went on and on until I figured in an incident that involved me and two of my closest brothers in the fraternity. This has become my life’s turning point and has spelled this change that now has made me turn to God.

One night as my fraternity brothers and I got drank and we were in public park a rowdy group came looking for trouble. Recognizing them, I recalled that we had an encounter before with them. It is their grudge that brought them to where we were. All hell broke loose! Riot! As we were drunk and taken drugs too, we armed ourselves with deadly weapons. I held a knife in my hand as one of our enemies fell to his death. I can’t be responsible for his life! It happened so fast! Our enemies knew who we were so we ran for safety and cover. Hiding for four (4) days proved futile. I was sleepless for all those four nights as well as with my two “brothers”. We talked about giving in ourselves to the authorities. We did and now we are in jail and fighting this cruel and tediously boring court battle.

We suddenly found ourselves attending Christian services and fellowships while in detention. We listen intently to the preaching and absorb the message through Bible scriptures. There was an invitation about accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior and being reborn, we went to the front and cried our hearts out. Then we realized the wrong we have done, as we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.

From then on I have felt so light. My heart’s burden has been eased and my sleepless nights were gone. Praising and worshipping God has become my new way of life. Now I have a deeper understanding of what happened to my life and this happy disposition now. The bitterness and my bickering about the rejection I felt over the years has turned to love for my parents, as I have slowly now accepted my status in life. I know what I want now and how I should go about it. God has taught me all these and as I learned more about Him my love for mom and dad brings me this great longing for them and for my new brothers and sisters. I have come to know God better and keep in mind and heart that He died on the cross to save me from my sins. Having known this made me happier ever!

Chapel works and services become my favorite activity in the jail since I have been leading the praise and worship during our services. My life is complete at having learned to do all these for God. It is so ironic that I have come to know God here in jail. I also know who I am now and why I must go on living despite my loneliness for my family. My life is in God’s hands and my desire to change is what keeps me going on. I have this firm resolve and determination to offer all that I am to God and will do all I can for Him because my life is His. He has given me strength to face a new life and I know that He has forgiven me as I have likewise forgiven my dad. All blame is gone and love prevails in me. My prayers include my parents and all my relatives, the persons I have hurt, and I continuously plead to dear God to grant my prayers for my dad so that he too will come to know God and accept Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior like I did. Now, I realized that the real life starts when we committed our lives to Jesus Christ.

*Jun is not his real name.

Photo Me

2006-08-01T07:47:00.000+08:00

Child and Family Service Philippines turns 19 this year. Having served Baguio (a city in the northern part of Luzon) and neighboring areas for almost two decades, CFSPI continues its commitment to children, youth, families and communities. Through caring, healing and teaching (CFSPI's anniversary theme), they have reached out to offer programs such as protective social services, youth leadership and early child development training among others, touching lives and giving hope.

A few months ago, the Idea!ists were engaged to document their programs in preparation for the production of their annual report. With photographers extraordinaire Bernice de Leon and Marc San Valentin, we trooped up north for three days of shutterbugging (and interviewing for me). The result: almost 4 gig of photos and a full IC recorder of interviews.

For an organization that relies on a steady communication stream with several stakeholders, great photographs are incredibly important. A good stock of well-composed, high-resolution photographs in documentation reports and communication materials is absolutely indispensable. Great visuals make compelling cases. They bring personalities, faces and emotion to development work, and literally provide a view of an organization's progress and circumstances. They make the advocacies and social issues real. Photos tell stories in themselves and can relay what words and numbers sometimes cannot.

For children's organizations, there is always the challenge of standing out among the cute sea of faces that drive people to coo and indulge the tugs at their heartstrings to help. Thoughtfully composed images help. I'll post more from that trip in later entries.

Marc and Bernice in action, padding in bare feet while photographing a sleeping baby in the next room. Earlier photo of kid playing with building blocks by Marc San Valentin.

Ah, starting early. Baby boy takes to Bernice's camera.

Newsbeans #1

2006-07-20T12:27:00.000+08:00

Red One a.k.a. Rhea flies to the US leaving her red chair behind. We miss you!

Pink Five a.k.a. Dan edges closer to the mid-twenties. Happy birthday! That's him clear in the picture below (I just haaad to post it). The Idea!ists in their happy-silly moments.

Ever Tried a Poached Pear?

2006-07-16T23:13:00.000+08:00

Sugar-powered Idea!ists have. Thanks to Joy's gift of a jar of jellybeans, the Idea!ists (save for Pink Five who detests the confection) have been munching on 49 flavors. In between drafting proposals, designing communications materials, sifting through donated office staples and running to and from the closest internet cafe that allows laptop docking, we have been analyzing the complex flavors and combinations of these delightfully colored candies.

We are definitely going to beat the jar's expiration date.

Take the plunge!

2006-07-16T22:45:00.000+08:00

Tampisaw
ISO Compound, Ateneo de Manila
Quezon City, Philippines
July 21,2006 | 7 PM

In celebration of 3 years of the Coral Reef Chamopons project, the ISO will hold a benefit concert entitled, Tampisaw, to raise funds and promote awareness on the need to protect coral reefs and on fisheries development in the country. Tampisaw means "to play in the water".

On a deeper level, it is an invitation to the urban youth to "take the plunge" into the alarming situation of our fishing grounds. This is the theme of the ISO's current efforts to protect the marine resources for future generations. Proceeds from Tampisaw will assist "Bantay Dagat" efforts of ISO's partner organizations in Lamon and San Miguel Bays.

The bands that will be featured in this event are: Akafellas, Bloomfields, Flash Mob, Formula Juan, Join the Club, Kapatid, Kiko Machine, Lampara, Out of Body Special, Severo, Subscapular, UrbanDub.

Tampisaw is being sponsored by SEAIR which will be giving away 2 round-trip tickets to Boracay to be raffled in the event, Kublai's Fresh Grill Restaurant which will be giving a 25% discount to ticket holders at their fresh grill (mongolian barbecue) and by Unilever.

Tickets are priced at Php150. For ticket reservations, contact Kenneth Magadia at 426-6001 local 4887.

The above text was taken from a Friendster post from Ave Mejia.

CSR Week 2006

2006-07-03T19:05:00.000+08:00

Check out Corporate Social Responsibility Week 2006 organized by the League of Corporate Foundations.

One RockEd Nation

2006-07-01T19:16:00.000+08:00

Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. -William Butler Yeats

Congratulations to RockEd Philippines on its first year anniversary. RockEd is a ten-year campaign aiming to educate the Filipino youth on the Millennium Development Goals and encourage active participation in the achievement of these through volunteerism. This is done through a social education utilizing the arts (poetry, music) and an advocacy through rock culture. RockEd visits schools and communities, it's artist-volunteers giving workshops, concerts and storytelling to children and youth.

Founded by Gang Badoy together with CP David, Ani Almario, Jaime Garchitorena and Meah Ang See, RockEd has to date, visited schools and communities all over the Philippines, bringing together youth, artists and musicians in a synergy only young energy, rock music and an advocacy for love of country can make.

To bring RockEd to your school or community, check out their website.

Above images taken from the RockEd website.

fixing up

2006-06-30T22:10:00.000+08:00

Reviewing our calendar of activities, our primary objectives for the month of June are getting the legal stuff down (the papers are in the grind, but the mill moves just so), and moving into the office (basically to make client servicing easier--we can coordinate more easily instead of our previous virtual setup). With Blue Three away, and Red One submerged in her work at Children's Hour, Pink Five, Green Two and Yellow Four set up shop.

If Pink Five has his pink chair, then Green Two has her stylish light-olive one (with the table courtesy of Ate Tweet Sering). That's the spruced-up Winston sitting pretty on Dang's workstation.

And Yellow Four painted the table donated by Red One...yellow. Green Two gave the little rattan table donated by Gay Iglesias a little coat of white.

Pink Five and Green Two in an office full of stuff (er well, almost full)! Many, many thanks to Gay Iglesias, whose office we cleaned out yesterday. She recently moved to Thailand to do some great work for the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. Thanks to Red One, we had manongs Orlan, Edward and Bert of Gem Signs around to help us move Gay's things.

In lieu of a whiteboard, the Idea!ists have clear acrylic sheets attached to one of our walls (specifically, one of the walls of the kitchen area--so that we can eat while we meet, hehe).

Pink Five hams up a fear or heights while installing a flying-toy-contraption to the ceiling. Behind him above the acrylic boards is a collage of postcards we put together. Farther still behind is the gray cabinet Gay donated which houses all of our precious books and resource materials.

Once we get our net connection up, it is predicted that no one will leave the office. Harhar.

in the absence of statutory benefits

2006-06-25T19:25:00.000+08:00

In the absence of statutory benefits (while we still get HR, admin and the manual of operations done), it shall be mandated that all Idea!ists take 1000 mg of Vitamin C every day in view of the less-than-ideal weather (though according to a source, ducks are delighted with our rainy season). Lemme go grab a bottle of ascorbic acid at Mercury.

Love with sniffles,
Yellow Four
PS: Bawal magkasakit. Tsk, tsk.

Pink Patrol

2006-06-24T19:23:00.000+08:00

wow! it's been three years since i last posted here in blogger...

anyhoo...hi idea!ists! :) i painted my chair na. :) hahaha. ladies and gentlemen the all new pink patrol cockpit. pink five ready to serve Non-Profits soon...

crazy dreams come in red, green, blue, yellow and pink,
dan

splash

2006-06-23T11:46:00.000+08:00

Construction ongoing for the Idea!s website.

the point of no return

2006-06-22T15:08:00.000+08:00

Incorporation papers are in. Here we go.

of appearances

2006-06-20T23:11:00.000+08:00

Amidst the men and women in dark suits at the buffet breakfast line this morning, was an older gentleman, modestly dressed, in comparison to the other delegates. Wearing rubber shoes, pants and a faded collared shirt, he came in with my boss' boss. When we were introduced, he laughingly reminisced that the last time he was at ADB headquarters was in 1980, "you probably weren't even born," he said. I smiled. He was right.

I wondered about his attire, and the fact that he wasn't as formally dressed as the other delegates. For one who was dressed in the clothes she slept in (sshhh), it didn't really matter to me. I just found it amusing, coming from a university whose best professors came to class in slippers. Turns out the incognito dude of the day was TL Sankar, energy guru and headmaster to some of India's best and brightest.

Some people transcend image. Don't you just love it when you meet distinguished, wonderfully low-profile people (the delightful aberrations to the norm of powerdressing)?

*****

The coverboy for Clean Energy. Glenn David in silhouette!

The host of the Idea!s planning session in Batangas gamely posed for the camera, and lent his silhouette to the cause of clean energy. Thank you, thank you Glenn! The above image was used as the cover for a couple of the discussion draft reports for ADB's Clean Energy Week. Silhouette image photographed by Dan Matutina and enhanced by Bernice de Leon.

thinking

2006-06-19T09:32:00.000+08:00

It's dangerous, I know. Wahaha. Been giving online publishing a lot of thought lately. After the meeting with the Philippine Federation of the Deaf and the Philippine Deaf Resource Center, I've been thinking about NGOs' lack of resources to publish. The norm is to publish research and data on hardcopy. The thing is, there are oftentimes problems regarding distribution and access. Not to mention the higher production cost of hardcopies. I was thinking of online publishing as a faster and more cost-effective way of getting what you need to say out there. It's always easier to find information online, just ask any college student doing research. Hardcopies may still be produced, but when time is of the essence, online publishing and distributing copies of data on CDs in my opinion, is the best way to go.

Found a bit of research supporting this:

Online or Invisible?
This article refers more to scientific data and journals.

OPA Press Release
This article is a release on how the web rivals television as a form of media, and works as an extension of all other types of media. Thing is, all this information is from the US. Well, we can always pick up something from here. Still, it would be great if we had information of this sort available regionally.

And some helpful links:
Desktop Publishing Info

Cooking up an evil plan. Stay tuned.

before and ongoing

2006-06-17T23:10:00.000+08:00

This is the drab before shot.

This is the ongoing shot, as we're still in the process of putting our stuff together. Note the mental-asylum-white walls. Quite appropriate that the Philippine Mental Health Association is just next door.

This is Teacher Gladys who helped carry Winston (Yelle's PC) to the 4th floor.

And this is how we work. Hahaha. We still haven't gotten our chairs yet. Still scoping nice, colorful, mismatched ones. A kindly neighbor loaned Pink Five a chair, so he wouldn't have to sit on the floor while working. A friendly welcome gesture.

we work hard for the money. and for clean energy.

2006-06-17T10:00:00.000+08:00

Been here since last night. Boy will a lot of people be glad when Clean Energy Week is over.

they had my vote.

2006-06-15T16:48:00.000+08:00

speaking silently, they were heard

2006-06-13T21:52:00.000+08:00

This afternoon Dang and I met with Noemi, Charlie and Giselle, all administrators from the School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS) at the DLS-College of St. Benilde. We encountered their organization while scoping projects at the Panibagong Paraan project exhibition a couple of weeks ago at SM Megamall. We discussed possible partnerships between Idea!s and their institution, seeing as we may be able to collaborate with some of their MultiMedia Arts students and graduates on design projects. This meeting was rather timely, as tomorrow we have a presentation with the Philippine Federation for the Deaf and the Philippine Deaf Resource Center. They have a couple of projects which we might be working on. Wouldn't it be cool if a student from SDEAS worked with us on these materials for the Deaf? Come September, if things go well, we'll have an SDEAS intern. Exciting.

I've posted an article from the DLS-CSB paper on the SDEAS' recent achievement. This is great stuff.

SDEAS Triumphs at Panibagong Paraan Competition

The School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS) does it again.

Its entry, "Youth Entre-ployment Support for the Deaf," was chosen as one of the top winners at the recently concluded 2006 Panibagong Paraan competition. Panibagong Paraan is a prestigious project grant competition organized by World Bank, in collaboration with local and international development partners. The project proposal will be implemented within a one-year period using PhP 1 million grant from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) - Philippines-Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP). "We ar truly grateful for this grant, as this will go a long way towards fulfilling our goal of improving career opportunities for the Deaf through employment and entrepreneurship," remarked SDEAS Dean Theresa Christine Benitez-dela Torre.

This victory comes at the heels of another SDEAS success: last year, a group of Deaf Benildeans won in the Youth Employment Spark Business Plan Competition, a national contest that resulted in the creation of the Deaf Benildean Multi-Purpose Cooperative (DBMC). The Deck Coffee franchise in the College's Taft campus is DBMC's first business venture.

The "Youth Entre-ployment Support for the Deaf" project proposal is a joint effort of SDEAS, DBMC and the Philippine Resources for Sustainable Development (PRSD). It aims to empower DLS-CSB's Deaf students and graduates to become micro-entrepreneurs, enabling them to conceptualize, lan and implement their own businesses under the coooperative set-up. Consequently, these efforts shall generate more opportunities for sustainable income and employment among Deaf people, enabling them to become job makers, and not just job seekers.

The SDEAS entry also earned a People's Choice award for best project proposal during Panibagong Paraan's two-day exhibit at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall. This special award came with two prizes: a digital camera and cellular phone, gadgets that are vital to Deaf people.

The participation of SDEAS in this year's Panibagong Paraan contest was made possible by the support of Postsecondary Education Network-International (PEN-International), a partnership of colleges and universities serving the postsecondary education needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing students worldwide.

- Taken from the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde Perspective June 13, 2006

the poster boy of philippine social enterprise

2006-06-12T11:12:00.000+08:00

Someone's been at it, and he's been doing one heckuva job. Social Enterprise may be a rather new concept in the country, but it has no less than Illac Diaz as its trailblazer. Awarded as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men for social entrepreneurship last December, and a 2005-2006 MIT Humphrey Fellow, Diaz has founded organizations such as the My Shelter Foundation (they build classrooms through earthbag technology), and Pier One (a dormitory for migrant sea laborers).

Links to some of his projects:
Full Belly Project
My Shelter
Feature in the Sunday PhilStar Mag

as fate would have it

2006-06-11T23:03:00.000+08:00

The Idea!ists: seated on the floor is Dan a.k.a. Pink Five; standing (L-R) Rhea a.k.a. Red One, Berns a.k.a. Blue Three, Dang a.k.a. Green Two and Yelle a.k.a. Yellow Four

How interesting. I started this blog in September of last year. I also invited as team members of this blog, a few friends with whom I shared some crazy dreams as well as bits and pieces of quarterlife angst. I figured it would be nice to have some forum to exchange hopes and dreams and to help each other out with advice and encouragement. For some reason though, they never got my invitations, and this blog never really took off.

But now we're all in the same project together--one of the crazy dreams is coming to reality. With quite a bit of hard work-- tears, white hairs popping out, zits erupting and us crazy kids randomly jumping off cliffs, we've managed to survive working collectively via the virtual world and over meetings at starbucks (with the free wifi). Soon, thanks to the masterful painting skills of Dang and Dan, we'll be able to move into the Idea!s office this week! We should also be picking up the office furniture Gay left us before she moved to Thailand this week as well. I just can't wait to move all the resource material and doodads I've collected to the office. Dan's also prepared a layout! We're scheduled for a mini-windfall in a couple of weeks for some of the projects we've been doing for a certain big development organization in Ortigas. When that comes, it'll be time for a new monster machine.

I'm so excited. Once we're all settled, things will really fly.

It's amazing though how things fall into place, how things seemingly unfold as they have these past few months.

Rhea's off to a planning this week for Children's Hour, and Berns' is off to Greece! For the meantime, Dan, Dang and I will hold fort--we've got a couple of meetings with some organizations next week. Coincidentally, they're both organizations whose activities deal with the deaf. Wish us luck.

Tulungan tayo, ha.

2005-09-19T17:17:00.000+08:00

Para ito sa mga confused. Tulungan tayo, ha. Hehe. ;-)

I Live My Life
Rainer Maria Rilke

I live my life in widening rings
which spread over earth and sky.
I may not ever complete the last one,
but that is what I will try.
I circle around God's primordial tower,
and I circle ten thousand years long;
And I still don't know if I'm a falcon,
a storm, or an unfinished song.