Feeding Program of Yushi...

It was a blessing to accompany people with kind hearts on their quest to feed the children of Pangan-an, Olango Island in Cebu. Thanks to Yushi for pushing me into this activity. I nearly miss this fruitful activity as I am bound to cancel it on the last minute.

At first, the thought of going all the way to a secluded island to conduct a feeding program raised my eyebrow. There are lots of unfortunate children in the neighborhood waiting for our care and attention so going far is not practical. But after seeing these children, I realized that they too deserved to be visited. In our world of poverty, we need more people to be instruments of graces and blessings to our children.

The travel to the island is tedious. The trip requires a small boat as there are shallow areas on the way to the island. In the middle of our travel the boatman has to stop the engine and has to paddle carefully along the shallow area. His assistant was his son named Clark. Clark was just a small boy and looked frail but he was tasked to maneuver the front rear of the boat loaded with more or less twenty people and cargoes. Good thing that one of us took the dirty job from him and he then sat gladly on the front edge.

Good job Renz! You’re the man of the hour.

Upon arrival, the group has been occupied with their invididual task except me. They were well organized and dedicated in making it happen. What about me? I have no idea on what I am doing there so I roamed around and talked to some children while taking few photos.

After packing the meals, the group conducted games and awarded prices to the winner. At first there were only few children but as the sun grow more fiercer the number of children and mothers multiplied. Wow! These people enjoys the sun’s hot rays.

At lunch time, when these children and their mothers were all hungry with the fun games they had, the team distributed the packed lunch and juices. Seeing the excitement on children’s faces while holding their share was nourishing to the soul. No wonder why this group has been super dedicated, super persistent and super passionate on this endeavor.

In the end, we came home renewed and changed. I still believe in teaching a man to fish rather than giving him a fish. But showing these children the virtues of sharing, charity and generosity may somehow shape their character for good. They can be givers in the future and not the recipient anymore… Lets just hope and pray for them. Amen.

More Fun in Bantayan

Welcome to Bantayan… finally its a touchdown.

I’ve turned down invitations from friends before on their Bantayan escapade. My father did not want me to go because he heard so many stories about shipwreck or should I say boatwreck on the way to the island. Plus the place is also known for black magic and poisoning strangers for a living. But my main reason of turning them down was actually due to lack of spare funds for the travel.

Now its different as my father had travelled with me for several occasions and he had seen than I am able to manage our travel quite well. He learned to appreciate local tourism and to love travelling. He now reminds me that travelling is a good learning experience.

With my officemates @Lear, I visited Bantayan for the first time. We shared plenty of precious moments all the way to Bantayan and on our way back home. We were all glad of what we had built together. Our commaraderie had grown up to an intimate level and its super cool.

I had a memorable conversation with the daughter of one of my officemates during our short walk inside the thick mangrove forest in Bantayan. She kept asking her mother if there were animals living in the swamp. I interrupted and told her that there are lots of crocodiles in the area. She asked about their whereabouts and I told her that they are hiding underneath the mud. She asked again on why they are hiding and I simply replied that its because of daylight and they do not want to be seen because they are ugly. They will only go out at night to hunt for food. She then concluded that they were hiding as people may see them and may freak out. She amazed me with the way she process the information I gave and with the way she concluded. She will grow up to be a smart lady someday. I also cannot stop myself laughing at my stories. I should stop writing.

I just hope that she will forget that conversation in time. I do not want her to remember me fooling around her innocence. Forgive me baby because I am just my father’s well trained daughter. But after that she told her mother that I am knowledgeable and really knows the answers. Hopefully she will remember me that way. Haha!

Bantayan is famous for their dried fish production. With the vast mangrove plantation that I’ve seen, no doubt that plenty school of fishes have abounded the sorrounding seas. Drying these fishes under the fierce heat of the sun is the cheapest way of preserving them. Hmm… the picture of it makes me more hungry as I have not taken my breakfast yet.

Now here comes the most awaited part. Sunbathing over the powderly white sands. Okey, the best part is swimming into the sea but unfortunately I was not able to do that. I will be back just to do that and I will let you know in details on how will it felt like…

Quiros Clan - The Reunion (May 26, 2013)

In our barrio, there are only two clans. Therefore a local can either be from clan Quiros or clan Aguilar or both. Though not obvious, I am part of the Quiros clan. I had no idea of such fact until I received an invitation to join the Quiros Clan’s reunion fourteen years ago. The clan named me as an awardee. I wondered how I became part of the list. Fortunately, I now know the story and here it goes:

Clemente Quiros, a Spanish enterpreneur from San Fernando in Pampanga, landed on our shores during the 1700. He met a beautiful island girl, felt in love and got married. They both lived happily ever after on our serene locality around three hundred years ago.

They had eight wonderful children and each headed a tribe. The oldest child, Claudio, was known as “Teniente Alao”. He established Maslog, our barrio, as balangay and for that he became the first "teniente del barrio"

of Maslog. My father told me that he was super strong and the man with the loudest voice. He used to carry coco fruits using bamboo stems with twenty pieces on his left and another twenty on his right. His voice was like a thunder and can be heard from Sitio Tabunok to Sitio Pasil (two kilometers away). He sounded like a legend and if I was a kid, I would think of him as our clan’s superhero. More or less, to me he is still a hero. Not because of being an extraordinary but because of being ordinary yet able to lead us to where we are now.

I used to believe in legends. That is why I cannot ignore the feeling of being proud that a drop of his blood is circulating in my viens.

Claudio’s youngest child is Anunciasion. Fondly called as “Lola Anun”. She married Tereso Tacumba, a native from Liloan, Cebu. So here goes my surname... Tatay Tereso was the “teniente del barrio” of Maslog for more than twenty years. He started the “Moro-moro” (a famous stage play featuring the victories of Christians in their wars against the Muslims) which is still played until today during our fiesta celebration.

I was so surprise with these facts as our family is no longer prominent in the area. How can that be? Well I guess that is another blog entry.

My grandfather, Luis Tacumba is the son of Lola Anun and Tatay Tereso. Lolo Luis was not as active in politics as his forefathers but to me he was my “wonder Lolo”. He gave me my first lessons in geometry, geology and language. He spoke to me in spanish, english and chinesse. If only Lola Anun had not died early and Tatay Tereso had not drown to misery, Lolo Luis should have continued their legacy.

Luis Tacumba married Felixberta Curpos (with typo error on her birth certificate).  Their eldest son is my father.

It feels good to unleash part of your history. How I wish I could trace more.

 We will be joining again the reunion this coming May 26, 2013. This is going to be big and hopefully I can share that event here…