Isabel's Letter

Here is a letter from Isabel Losloso-Rivera, a close friend and former classmate from Class 58 of the old Quezon Provincial High School in Lucena City. It was emailed last 26 Dec 06 to another classmate and close friend, Milwida Sevilla-Reyes, and forwarded to me the same day. As I read it, I was struck by Isa’s honesty, genuine concern for family, most especially her apo, Jayden, her account of how it was to live in America, and on the whole, her reflection about her role in the family. These are the stuff that make great literature – they focus on the particular and relatively small events, and yet they succeed in another level of consciousness to address universal themes. Isa has given me pemission to publish her email in our website to share it to a broader audience; yes, even in one’s family, you can be a change agent, a development worker.

The letter is printed here unedited, straight from Isa’s heart. The only thing we contributed was the paragraphing:

drinking coffee is something i did not embrace here in america. in the phil., i was drinking cocoa. i remember when all the brothers/sisters/parents came one by one -- they were disappointed not to find coffee in our household. i stayed pretty much the same here in america. and that's one of my wisdoms that i find myself repeating to my mom, brothers & sisters & when i do i find them yawning, leaving the room. adding to that statement that america has so much to offer, that if you are not engrained w/ good values/virtues you will end up embracing the wrong ones left astray.

i am witness how my own families fall from them. just like my mother,irene, elmer they became addicted to gambling then --- going to reno behind my back but all these really never escaped me 'cause i have friends/acquaintances who repeated seeing them.. my mom would even tell me when i told her about it," nanay, why do you have to go to reno -- para kang may santong sinasamba duon hindi mo naman ginagawa ito sa pilipinas,why do you have to start?." and my mom will retaliate saying: "why worry, hindi naman pera mo ang ginagastos ko."

now, whenever my nanay got greeted by her grandkids, they usually jokingly, say, "how's reno." i said to myself, thanks goodness that's something i do not want my kids/grandkids to remember me by. sometimes,in exasperation i would say" why, i am just the daughter, why do i have to be the parent to you."

come to think of it, that's the role i played all my life to my family,agonizing at their falls,rejoicing at their victories even rejoicing at insignificant ones. or should it be rejoicing too, at their falls because from them their inner self will get better & in the end,good is victorious over evil.

it's already monday, i am still feeling the effect of that coffee -- we went home past 11 pm from our family's x'mas party at jennie. my mom, nana pacita & myself were playing w/ jayden after my son, cesar&phoenix left earlier for antioch & joel for home. we seldom are together w/ my mom, so we made sure that there that's group picture taken. it was raining since 12 noon of christmas,even as we came home.

i always relay to my mom everything that jayden does/did, so my mom has enough time to witness all of them last nite. in the side of my eyes, i also witnessed how cesar took care of phoenix -- bringing him to the johns -- phoenix was well dress(matching pa) & carried it well too,changing his clothes to sleeping pajamas complete w/ one of a kind disneyland slipper before boarding his van back to antioch (my plan to go w/ him got axed as he said he already have plans for that day),protective of jayden (his baby cousin,his word) -- if he goes by the door, he runs toward the door w/ his hands stretched as a barrier. he was so suplado earlier in the evening as he awoke from his slumber but warmed up later on.

it was not hard for us to get his hug at nagmano pa kay nanay (learned fr. maternal grandparents/g.g.(?). gg stands for great grandma. that's how nanay is addressed here too. from downstairs, i can hear them laughing/making funs of poses in jennie's family album,etc., phoenix/jayden racing to the stairs,door,x/mas lites,w/ the latter touching anything his hands can lay on,passing/scurrying from one room to another, downstairs,uptairs -- never still parang "kiti-kiti."

phoenix was showing us all the punches, jumps of a karate kid from all the videos/tvs he watched & what struck me was his words that his dad was the best (because of my senior moment, i forgot what we were talking about).

for their take home, i packed several plates of pansit, tamales, turkey meat,mashed potatoe & stuffing. if anything else i will be remembered for my famous good/delicious turkey cooking (see jennie invitation). w/ almost 20 years cooking it, i have perfected it having read /watch in tv all the secrets thereat to produce one. allan, a man who like the rest of his family, knows a good/fine food when he tastes one, commented that he wants to know all of my secrets, and jennie had always rated mine on top of allan's mom and all the turkey that she had eaten in her life.

jayden is well loved. any baby is not hard to love. there's not enough of jayden for jennie&allan & i already dread the time in 2 more years when "boyhood" will pretty soon engulf :"babyhood."

nestor, just like when senior moments takes over our junior moments.mil read nestor's latest entry in his blog. i got disappointed, because i already added my private message & got erased & i cannot retreive it. i was trying to rewrite it again but senior moments took over, i cannot rewrite it. goodbye junior moments, hello, senior moments.

Laarni's Letter; April's Letter

For the past 20 Christmases or so, Mil Sevilla-Reyes, a close friend and former high school classmate from way,way back in Lucena City, has been carrying on the tradition of writing and distributing letters that tell friends about milestones in her family's life during the year about to end. Those letters have been a fascinating read; our classmates and other friends look forward to receiving this letter each year. It chronicles key family events which no Christmas cards can do. Mil used to write these letters until recently when she encouraged her daughters (April, Laarni and Carmel) to do so. This year, Laarni and April actually prepared a letter each. To give the wide readership they deserve, we will print them here in this section. I must thank Mil and Ces for keeping us in the loop after all these years.

Laarni's Letter:

Merry Christmas and Season’s Greetings to all! Hope everybody’s had an enjoyable year and doing well. Life over this way has been pretty good - another year swiftly gone though productively filled nonetheless.

My year began with another month long trip to the Philippines to see relatives and friends, as well as make the most of my three-month uni holidays. Some family friends from Sydney were also over at the same time so it was good to enjoy our holiday together. I stayed mainly in Manila and Lucena, but was able to spend time in Batangas and visit Villa Escudero with the Sydney folks. The month went by quicker than I expected and soon enough, I was back at uni beginning the first semester of my final year. I’ve actually just recently finished my course and am now awaiting the results to gain my degree in Bachelor of Arts in Organisational Learning.

Having majored in Human Resource Development, my plan is to find a job in the field sometime next year. For now, I’m still working as a casual in my retail job and I’d rather leave it that way so I can take a break, relax and have fun over the summer. Although there are no plans to go overseas this time, a few trips out of Sydney with mates won’t go astray.

April’s out of the country. She’s travelled to countless destinations since leaving in July for a yearlong venture. She and a friend are now based in London and by the sounds of all her adventures I’d say she’s having a great time. She’s started working with O2, a telco similar to Telstra, though not before she attended World Youth Day in Cologne and toured Europe. Definitely, a well deserved break from working life. She also flew to New York at the beginning of November to celebrate Lola’s birthday with the Reyeses. She had fun hanging out with all the cousins. Speaking to her on the phone the other night, she’s already filled me in on her next plan: to travel to South Africa sometime in 2006. Wouldn’t we all love to spend a year like that?

She and Carmel both moved back home at the beginning of the year, with April renting out her apartment to save money for her trip and Carmel focusing on completing her studies. Carmel has been working on her degree in Interior Architecture, while also teaching music (keyboard) to students in various primary schools. I think she’s gotten used to being called “Miss Carmel”. She always has funny stories to tell us about her kids. Approached by one kid’s dad, she began playing the piano for his local R&B cover band. She enjoyed performing different gigs around Sydney for a while. Heaps more active than I, she’s also taken up Capouera – a form of Brazilian street fighting/dancing. I guess it’s a really good workout and also a lot of fun because I always see it being performed in the City and attracting great crowds! Maybe I can take it up with Carmel as part of my New Year’s resolutions.

Now to Mum and Dad: they have yet another year of Bass High and ResMed under their belts, with Mum immensely enjoying her role as Librarian and Dad fully settling into his new work location and innovative facility. Mum’s still very happy at her school and I often wonder when she’ll ever get enough of it. Somehow I don’t think that will be for a while yet. Dad’s well and truly gotten used to travelling the distance to work everyday and is even keen to get me into a role related to my course with the company. We’ll see what happens.

The year saw a visit from Dad’s youngest sister, Tita Ludy, who flew in from Connecticut for a two-week stay here in Sydney. As well as doing all the sightseeing and touristy things around here, she was able to visit Cairns in Australia’s north when Mum and Dad and their friends flew there to celebrate my Ninang Salve’s birthday. Even though Tita Ludy fit in with all the ‘oldies,’ my cousins, sisters and I would often refer to her as our ‘big sis’! It’s always good fun having our relos from overseas visit so I wonder what (or who) is in store for next year.

Well, that’s about it from the Reyes camp for this year. As for the New Year, April’s still not definite about when she’ll be coming back, Carmel will be finishing her degree and I’ll probably be on a quest to find a new job. All the while having a good time no doubt! I hear there are plans for both Mum and Dad and the other parents to holiday in Las Vegas (?)

‘Til next Christmas letter everyone. I’m sure you’ll be filled in on the 2006 details then! Have great holidays and Happy Christmas!!!

Love, Laarni

Merry Christmas from London town!

Wherever you are in the world, I hope that this letter finds you well.

I have been very fortunate this year to meet and experience the people and places that I have. Laarni has summarised my year well and yes, my adventures have been brilliant! Before heading for London, I visited the Philippines in May staying most of the time in Lucena and spending some time in Bohol with the Pestelos family.

I’ve been in London nearly four months now and over this period have been able to settle in to this big and vibrant city. I’ve settled in my parish of Our Lady Queen of Heaven here in Bayswater, and joined a local hockey team. But there are things that I miss about Sydney – my family most especially, my friends and the good weather.

If I had to pick my favourite places so far, they would be Rome, Krakow and Prague. I’ve recently been able to visit Prague for the second time. My visit coincided with the opening of the Christmas markets in the old town square which had choirs from all parts of Europe performing, good traditional Czech food and it was snowing! It is a very pretty town.

Through my travelling adventures, I have also met some really great people from different parts of the world. And thanks to technology, we’ve been able to keep the friendships alive and meet up again on the road. Living in London has also meant that I have met many Australians, Kiwis and South Africans. It is true when they say that London is full of antipodeans.

The beauty of meeting so many fellow Aussies, is that we are travelling similar journeys and can share in each other’s experiences. The down side is that I’ve come all this way yet I struggle to meet English people!

On my agenda for 2006, is New Year’s Eve in Edinburgh, then Paris, South Africa (to visit my good friend Riefqah), Copenhagen and hopefully back to Spain and Italy. There is a lot to fit in before I head home to Sydney!

Happy Christmas and may 2006 bring us all blessings of health and happiness.

Love, April

P. S. Our thoughts are with Tito Pari as he and his colleagues celebrate their 40th year of ordination in his parish of Apad, Calauag on 18 December.

We’re also reaching out to Tita Laura Jardin and her children in San Diego. They are facing Christmas for the first time without Tito Johnny. He passed away on 2nd July

Senior Moments, Junior Moments

I just read an exchange of emails between my two close friends from high school, Mil and Isa. (Yes, we copy each other's emails). This last one was particularly interesting. Mil says she cannot remember something from way back and that it must be one of those "senior moments." Lapses of memory belong to the old, this phrase implies. But, then, it set me to thinking: perhaps we, as elderly, do have junior moments, too.

For instance, we are 63 going 64 and still we:

- dance the night away in a disco while surrounded by under-20s;
- remember the dress that our first date wore to the prom thirty years ago;
- memorize some cell phone numbers because for some reasons we do not want to store them in our phone's memory;
- eat roast pork as though there is no tomorrow;
- race up the stair and beat the elevator to the top floor;
- chat with our neighbors about the secret lives of singers and actresses we know;
-find our way to the john even during brown-outs;
-recite more than ten lines from a t.s. eliot's poem;
-use email rather than write letters or send postcards;
-drive a car even on rainy nights and not lose our way, or just park and call home for help;
-go to mass at 4.30 a.m. and still make it to the computer at 7.00 a.m.

More junior moments? I can't remember anymore what I jotted down over coffee. Well, Mil and Isa, this must be my senior moment creeping in.

Proposals

Whenever I meet old friends, and even a few new ones, I am always asked the question, "How did you end up with Habitat?" or something to that effect. Of course, the next query is almost always if I have met Former US President Jimmy Carter! In the popular consciousness, the name Carter and Habitat are closely associated due to several high-profile house builds that the former US President fund-raised for and personally led.

Yes, it's true, I have retired from UNDP after working in several projects mostly in South Pacific countries. I went home for good starting 14 Dec 2001. Home was and still is and, hopefully, will always be a village named Laya in Baclayon, Bohol. After three months of trying my hand in contour farming and mostly looking at our house helps raise native chickens, I felt if I had to live longer, I must go back to the chores I am used to for more than 60% of the lifetime I had lived. I need to do development work, identify problems, build a case for interventions, prepare proposals and other documents and basically move heaven and earth to get things on the ground, interest people to do their share, look back after all the confusions and resolutions and affirmations and endless reaffirmations of goals and shortcomings and new resolves and then move on to ... well, writing new proposals!

The need for writing project proposals was quite evident when I joined the provincial planning office on 01 April 2002. I looked at some office documents and felt the same way as before; this is another proposals factory. I felt the same way when I was with a public relations company that raised funds for civic causes; several NGOs in the past that were forever struggling; briefly with the National Economic Development Authority in a social mobilization project for children; and UNDP for twelve years trying to mobilize resources for atolls and other remote places that seemed invisible to planners.

Looks like the first skill to learn is how to write project proposals that will get government and external donors to fund. It is like you are thrown into the water and if you do not know how to swim, you will surely drown. Same way with development work; if you do not know how to prepare project proposals, you will not survive. Whether you are with an NGO, a government agency, a planning authority, an international UN agency or an international Christian ministry such as Habitat for Humanity International, you need to know how to put together a project proposals using formats prescribed by the donors or funders.

No way to escape this and my advice to romantics who have somehow ended up with development agencies these days; leave your literary biases behind or the illusion that you can just plunge into doing your chores based on your technical expertise. In most cases, the modality for the exercise of such skills is through projects, and you will first help produce the resources to enable you to practise such skills. Hence, it pays to know how projects get prepared, submitted, appraised and approved. Otherwise, you will have no project to hire to pay for the exercise of your skills.

Now I have not really answered how I came to join Habitat. You see, I have yet to finish this proposal I will submit to ... well, there is no end to this; I just had a break.

Bibo Bohol

For almost a week, prior to my trip here to Bangkok, I was preoccupied with Bibo Bohol. It was quite an intense experience from 25 November, when I had the trip to Bilar, to 03 December when I participated in a planning workshop at the Governor's Mansion in Tagbilaran City. I reflected on this experience 05 December on my trip to Bangkok on this Cathay Pacific flight via Hongkong.

Gardy Labad invited me to present the LPRAP (Local Poverty Reduction Action Plan) software being developed for the past two years by our Foundation, in collaboration with the Provincial Planning and Development Office. I had to present the context first before showing how the software works. After all, the software is just a tool to process the data from the household poverty surveys. We talked about the program framework on poverty reduction; the overview of the program based on the framework; the linkage of the poverty reduction program to peace and development efforts; the restructuring of the provincial government based on this new thrust; and the reallignment of the annual and medium-term development plans consistent with the poverty focus at policy level.

As always, Bea Zobel quickly responded to this development. I think she saw quite clearly that Bibo Bohol is part of the provincial development agenda. It is not something cooked up as a stand-alone initiative by the Metropolitan Museum of Manila and the local cultural and arts council. Its emphasis on what it calls the sunrise creative industries can be a potent intervention against poverty in Bohol. Heritage-based social enterprises and marketable eco-tourism sites can benefit directly Bohol households, 47.3% of whom are still below the poverty line.

I had to fly to Manila on from Bohol to work with Gardy Labad, Ino Manalo and Bea on a slide presentation on Bibo Bohol. The slides were critiqued by marketing experts from Ayala Foundation.

(Note: I am doing this on the run. I have to attend a presentation by the SGS group here at the Habitat regional office. Will get back to this as soon as possible).

3.00 p.m. It was a very interesting presentation by Robert Jourdain, assistant vice president of SGS about Habitat Thailand. SGS has been hired by Habitat for Humanity International Asia Pacific to assess selected affiliates in several countries (Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and India) in terms of global best practices of NGOs. It is an NGO benchmarking exercise. His findings can shed light on current problems and, hopefully, the national organization and the affiliates can move on from there to implement measures to improve performance.

Now back to Bibo Bohol. The slide presentation was seen and commented on and the following day, I joined Gardy and Ino and Bea to work on the revisions. It was a nerve-wracking exercise. Finally, thirty five minutes before the scheduled presenation at 10, we moved on to the Globe building in Mandaluyong.

It was like presenting a research study before a panel. Ino presented the revised slide presentation. Bea and Gardy provided inputs and answered questions. The Globe panel was cautious about making making cash commitments, but on the whole they saw the merits of participating in the Bibo Bohol program.

All of us were happy about the result. Bea treated us at the Shang Restaurant at the Shangrila, where Monette Flores joined us. Monette has had a remarkable track record developing eco-tourism sites and her expertise will be valuable for Bibo Bohol. She practically walked us through the process of developing such sites. Bea suggested we go to Calatagan, Batangas the following and continue our meeting there so we could take pictures of her bahay kubo (native house) that I could show to the architect who would design local houses for us in our place in Laya.

That trip is a story in itself. It is apparent that as we tackled issues related to Bibo Bohol and some possible projects, we were also learning details about our personal lives. In brief, we were actually engaged in team building efforts.

In the end, I can say, Bea's vision for Bohol hasbecome ours too.