A Tale of a Hero's Wisdom: Ang Pagong at ang Matsing

 I am so glad to be a channel of blessings to these 150 aeta children who came from Pampanga, Tarlac and Caloocan with the help of my brothers and sisters in Alpha Phi Omega International of UST or Pi chapter as we call it.  This event made me so ecstatic because of the overwhelming children who had those eyes all focused with the program and expecting to see what's in store for them on that moment at the Rizal Shrine.  They knew they will be listening to a story of Jose Rizal but they were awed when they saw a performance is incorporated in that simple title.  The parents of these children were also happy interacting with the story teller.

The program was started with the national anthem led by Ms. Zeny M. Gonzaga- Shrine Guide, the invocation is supposed to be said by my brother in APO, Benjo but because he was still in assistance to the participants I did the invocation which was a real privilege for me to do in the entire activity and then I also welcomed everybody and told them to enjoy the story and see the underlying message of Rizal and Mr. Jonathan Balsamo gave a brief message and introduced the story teller and the actor.

The story teller is Oliver Quintana a.k.a kuya Ogee who superbly performed with his varied voice characters.  The children and their moms got excited with the changing of kuya Ogee's voice and of course how he interacted with his audience as an overwhelming inspiration.

The actor is Victor Robinson III, a real stage actor who plays an Atenean Rizal who spoke to the children and explained that he was the young Pepe and later on he sang ang "Bayan ko" thus making the crowd following with their own resonating voices.

After the show, the participants fall in line to have a pose with Rizalvic which made everybody happy to see how their national hero looked like when he was a student just like them.

I thank all who gave their time and effort on this project; UST SOCC, Alpha Phi Omega International, Heroes Square, my BCI family (who prayed), my staff and of course my Division chief who gave her support and understanding.                                                    

I always believe that all things works together for good. 12/08/2011