Wander Why so many Blah Blahs???

"Have you experienced the love of God in your life? Has He blessed  you and your family with His presence so that you know you are not alone? Do you feel so nurtured by God that you want to give something back to Him, to serve Him by serving others? We all know how to make monetary and goods donations, but few of us have the experience of getting to know the poor and getting involved."

Last Sunday, July 10, 2005, a few of our parish pastoral members (including Dex and moi) joined the Zhu Ai - Gawad Kalinga Activity. Zhu Ai, or Chinoy Catholic Action, is a movement under the Manila Filipino-Chinese Parishes Laity Association (MFCPLA) with the guidance of Msgr. Bong Lo and Fr. Ari Dy, S.J., of the Chinese-Filipino Apostolate Office. To celebrate the feast day of the 120 China Martyrs and Saints of China, Zhu Ai commenced this kick-off project in support of the housebuilding development at the Jaime Cardinal Sin Village, which is located at F. Manalo Street, Sta. Ana, Punta Pandacan. Chinoy and Pinoy Catholics gathered and participated in social action through this movement. A lot of representatives from the Filipino-Chinese parishes (i.e. Mary the Queen, Binondo Chinese Parish, San Jose de Troso, St. Jude, Damar, St. Peter, etc. ) attended this event.

There were 6 of us who were supposed to attend the event. However, the other 2 couldn’t make it so only 4 of us went. Meeting time was set at 7am and Orientation at 8am. As expected, Binondonians are always late. hehe.. We left LRA at 8am already which was 1 hour delayed. Had  a grand entrance and introduction when we arrived at the venue. Like in front of more than a hundred people? HEHE… So ok, we were late, only 4 of us attended, we catched enough attention.. that’s great.  What could be more embarrassing than that? J Anyways, mass was held at 9-10am. We had a some prep-talks before getting ready for the job. That was when the representative of Gawad Kalinga explained to us what their organization is all about (please look at the footer for more information). By 10:45am, Fr. Bong Lo started to count how many roller brushes and pans each organization brought and the housebuilding activity started.  We were assigned to paint the final coating of the walls and doors so that it’ll be easier for us.  The challenging work were left to the pros.  We had so much fun and learned a lot (thanks to the manong who taught us). Magkarpintero ay di biro talaga. hehe…   The girls painted the yellow walls, while our guy friend took care of the pillars. BF was the all around guy who did anything under the sun (i.e. painted the walls, grab elevated chair and other tools from somewhere, took pictures, etc). We’re proud we did a lot of work in a short span of time… and we did our job well too! J At around 12pm, everybody gathered together and had lunch.  We were asked to bring packed lunch and a little extra for sharing.  The people from Mary the Queen were kind enough to ask us to join them as we were only 4 in our group. They even shared their food with us. The kiampeng looks yummy but I didn’t get na nakakahiya kasi. hehe.. ako may hiya? hohoho…   The event ended at around 1pm.

Honestly, I wasn’t really enthusiastic when I heard about the activity coz I’m not really a fan of Jaime Cardinal Sin (for political reasons).  But now, I’m glad I joined coz I got to see the other side of the picture. Overall, this was an interesting experience as it wasn’t only fun, but there’s also the sense of achievement.  We experienced how to paint, met a lot of people, and more importantly, made a little contribution for those who are in need.

I’m looking forward to participate in another Zhu Ai and Gawad Kalinga activity.  It would be nice if my family and friends  could join as well.  By the way, Gawad Kalinga and Zhu Ai are both on-going movements, I urge everybody to inquire and participate in their activities. Masaya talaga… at bonding pa. J

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Gawad Kalinga Contact:
http://www.gawadkalinga.org
349 Ortigas Ave. East Greenhills,

Mandaluyong City

Tel No. - 727-0681 to 87 Local 47

Fax No. - 723-1603

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