"Basta po hindi makakaabala sa aming pag-aaral"

About a month ago, Mrs. Deanie Go proposed to the ica-yclc core group a letter writing project for the victims of the flash flood at quezon last December. The project is entitled "Gift of Letters". Initial meeting was held at UP with the parish priest and parish head council of Dingalan Aurora Quezon and we were delighted that the parish priest welcomed the project. The ica-yclc also thought that the project wasa good way to expose the students since they cannot go out much due to security reasons. So anyway, we made a visit to Dingalan last Sunday to meet with the youth leaders of St. Patrick's Academy to discuss the project. These are high school students of the said school.(butt sore! we left at 5 am, arrived there at around 10? finished the meeting at 11, had lunch, left dingalan at 1pm, arrived in Manila at around 6:30! So, hi hello lang with the people there! was in there car most of the time! )Fourteen high school students attended the meeting and were asked to air out their thoughts about the project. We were delighted all of them found the project nice. A striking comment was "OKAY NAMAN PO YUNG PROJECT, BASTA LANG HINDI MAKAKAABALA SA AMING PAG-AARAL". This student knew the most precious things in life. It was strikin because most of us would welcome anything that could get us off school. The things that our students take for granted or come handy to us are precious stones to others. Apart from the that, the first thing that also struck me when we entered the classroom is that it only had one electric fan in the center. I was reminded of all our complaints when in is hot. Yet, these people manage to study even with such facilities. The school was nice and clean actually, but of course it's not a building. (I'll post a picture once i learn how! haha!) I believe its also in the desire. No matter how scarce your resources are, kung buo ang loob (sorry, can't find the perfect words in English), there's a way.

Just some stories about the the disaster. we saw the big trunks of trees that were toppled off by the flood. And that some families were literally on top of their roofs when the typhoon came. Until now, they still have traumas caused by the disaster. People instinctively move out when it's ranining, or can't help but still feel fear and anxiety. Although some said that because of the typhoon, they were able to taste luncheon meats and wear nice clothes that were donated to them :)