Tsinelas.org - Featured Volunteer

Dear Chinny,

First, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to get to know you and what you could do for the benefit of the poor kids who are in dire need of good education. As a product of public schools myself (elementary to college, yeah!), I know how hard it is to beat all the odds just to reclaim your right to be educated and to further your dreams with good education. Thus, to have someone who understands the value of proper learning in this almost God-forsaken country makes me sleep better at night.

I’ve had classmates who had to walk for kilometers under the harsh Negros sun. Yes, some of my classmates are sons and daughters of sacadas who barely earn two dollars a day to feed their families. In public schools, most students had to drop out of school just to sustain their basic needs first. Very sad, indeed. But what can I do about it? I was only a young student then.

This thought stuck with me until I went to college in UP Cebu. As a Mass Communication student, Development Communication was my favorite subject then, mainly because I can roam around rural areas and have an excuse to travel and wander. It was only during community immersions when it would occur to me how important what little contribution I could give to the non-government organization I was volunteering for. It evolved from merely being a class requirement to a calling. I was no longer just a student. I was a student volunteer.

No, I am not trying to romanticize being a volunteer here. But it does, in fact, take a lot of commitment and love for the cause. Imagine carrying cartons of books to rural areas that city dwellers do not know exist. Imagine giving pens and notebooks to sons and daughters of farmers. The look on their faces is priceless.

This is also why I admire your student volunteers. They may not have a lot yet in life, but the time and effort they give you is worth more than any amount of monetary donation. But of course, it would really really be nice if we have a lot of that. Just imagine how many reading centers we could build!

So it was a great honor for me to represent them and our project Their Books during the search for Ten Accomplished Youth Organization of the Philippines (TAYO) Awards last October. It was indeed nerve-wracking as I had to defend our organization to those highly respected judges. We might not end up on the top ten, but we are a winner in the Visayas. That is a great feat in itself. The price money and the recognition are just bonuses for furthering our cause despite the challenges we face today. It should also push us to continue what we’ve been doing. As grateful as we are for this recognition, it shouldn’t be the end all and the be all. It is just an affirmation that what we are doing matters.

I just hope that more and more people would join our cause to advance the education system in this country.

2009 was a great year for you and I am so looking forward to working with you again.


Much love and respect,

Yowee