Two Tears / Seeds in Augusts

He came home despite threats to his life. And as soon as his plane landed, he was escorted out and led through the tarmac .....and bang! He never got to set his foot on our soil but as he was falling, he made sure his lips kissed the ground. That was August 21, 2003... the first tear / seed.

She was a simple wife who was rushed to widowhood. She was calm but determined to get justice for her husband. In the process, the nation found someone who signifies the cause of democracy. The reluctant widow gave in to the voice of the people. The justice she sought for her husband has been given a new meaning. It's making sure that what he believes in - that the Filipinos are worth dying for - will not be in vain. Now it's about the welfare of a seemingly orphaned nation.

She and the people prevailed. The wife, widow, became the president. And she did not only govern but led with integrity, compassion and servitude - a complete opposite of her predecessor. Even after she governed, she continued to lead because what we fought against somehow slowly found its way back - a zombie that mutated to something far more corrupt, greedy and destructive.

After the presidency, she became closer to our hearts. Beloved Tita by many who never give up on her nation and one who walks the streets to be the voice of the people. It was not a surprise that despite her illness, she continued about her work - being the voice...inspiring many to fight on... to live on.

PAGASA said that AUGUST has the most rain among all the months. No wonder she had to "go" and leave us now. Like a seed planted, what she stood for will hopefully grow along with the seed of her husband 26 years ago. This is the second tear...and it continues to be poured out... by me...by many.

We love you Tita Cory and Ninoy. And we thank you for your lives. Now its time for us to live our own, guided by your life and what you stood for, we hope the next generation will experience the fruits of our labor that traces back from this two seeds of August.

2009 UPDATE

Dear Family and Friends,

We celebrate the New Year – 2009 with much hope – despite the seeming dark clouds that pervades the sky. God’s light continues to shine even brighter and we can only imagine how He will “make all things new.”

Rejoice with our family for the year that was – 2008:

We said goodbye to Town and Country Executive Village in Antipolo which has been our home for six years, and now live in Marikina at my sister’s place since she left for New Zealand last April. My kids now enjoy their grandmother – Lola Ave – as we share the same compound. Last December though Lola Ave left to spend Christmas with Archie and Zach at New Zealand. She will be back by May. Our new address: 7 Sampaguita St., Lamuan, Marikina City.

Chi ONGKIKO is on 2^nd year at her new assignment as a junior officer with systems in Metrobank. She endures being a Commuter – leaves by 6:30am and gets home before 8pm and can still prepare most sumptuous meal whenever she can. She finds joy in Netlog community as she is able to express her thoughts through blogging and gain new friends from all over at the same time. Check her site – www.en.netlog.com/tinklingjade

Regina Mae ONGKIKO is currently 2^nd year at UPLB and taking Development Communication. She recently joined Devcomsoc and now calls her papa – Brod. She is active

in school and was elected Student Council member of College of Development Communication. Reg, as she prefers to be called, sports a shorter hairstyle – and receives much compliment for it. She is so into digital photography and has been exploring this new found digicam.

Chiara Luz ONGKIKO transferred to Christian School International (Los Banos) as a 3rd yr HS Student. She is happy to renew ties with former classmates and teachers and enjoys being a choir member. She is into various arts-stuff, likes to draw and sketch anime. Chia, as she is fondly called, seriously considers going to Japan and learning its culture. For now, her thoughts are occupied on deciding what course to take and where to study in college.

Jayjay ONGKIKO is Grade One at Marist School. He graduated class valedictorian in his preschool and continues to get high grades. He is very active physically and took up badminton lessons, and articulated his desire to take up basketball when in Grade 2. Quite the OC in the family, Jayjay unceasingly offers corrections on some “inconsistencies” like – USA should really be USOA since its meaning is United States Of America.

Bea Marie ONGKIKO followed after her papa’s footsteps, and is now in Prep at Roosevelt College Elementary Department. She enjoys immensely chatting with classmates as she walks to and from school. For the UN day parade, Bea was supposed to wear a pajama-like costume as Ms. Thailand. But Chi saw a beautiful pink Korean gown and let Bea wear it instead instructing the yaya that if they are questioned, just say that they thought it was a Thailand outfit. Bea won first runner-up in costume wearing a cute Korean outfit with a well written diagonal sash that reads – Miss Thailand. Her infectious smile has been put to the test as she recently lost her two front teeth.

Boyet Ongkiko now has the longest hair in the family. Bea and Jay say they should call him Mommy instead. He discovered the joys of sulit.com when he was able to sell our car and refrigerator through the internet site. Boyet is busy with Eklipse, IVPM and various projects where he effectively employs the Dialogue Education approach to learning. He has become a regular speaker on a Bible Study program aired over Marikina radio (DZBF 1674Khz). He is constantly on-line so he’s usually only a click away.

There you have it - all six of us. We enjoyed being together during the holidays... and just being family, something we seldom do since Reg and Chia are studying in Los Banos. Thankfully there is the internet - the wonders of technology!!!

Called to shine in times of Crisis!

Eto ang panahon ng PAGMAMAHAL...

PAG MAHAL ng Gasolina...
PAG MAHAL ng Bigas...
PAG MAHAL ng lahat ng bilihin....

so with our income the only unchanging, makes one wonder how to live on...and yes for some, even survive!

We are meant to rise above our situations.
We are people meant to shine in times of crisis.
When the going gets tough, the faithful gets going;
when others would hoard, we take our cue from the Widow and his child in the time of drought who willingly gave all that they had - and from then on, never ran out!

We are committed to our calling - to be a people of blessing!
When cursing is the natural reaction, we choose to respond in love; we prepare our bread with fillings of love and we give them out -- yes even to those who threw us stones.
Our love will conquer them, even as we were conquered by His love.

We refuse to be controlled by the abundance or scarcity of our resources. Our Spirit is our major resource. And so we draw our strength from our inner resource who has abundantly provided for us -- not just meant to be enjoyed by us, but to be graciously shared to everyone especially the needy. In our weakness, we are made strong. And in our poverty, we are made rich.

This is our time.
In the midst of darkness, we will shine brighter!
For His Glory alone!

Truly this is the time for PAGMAMAHALAN in the truest sense of the word!

SPEED video

I developed a course on video production and called it SPEED video -
Producing Strategic, Practical, Effective, Exciting and Do-able Videos

This Five-day course dynamically integrates these three essential elements of video production – 1) skills and techniques in photo-video recording, 2) tools and principles of video editing using simple software (e.g., Movie Maker and ULEAD), and 3) key ingredients of creative Story telling. Specifically, the course will focus on producing short videos (less than 10 minutes) for various purposes like documenting events, program summary, project highlights, personal accomplishments, and others. All these contents will be taught using Dialogue Education principles and approaches.

We initially offered it in Davao where we had 9 participants. Below is a video summary of Day One in SPEED Video.




So, who will benefit from this course?
This course was designed to benefit groups who can use short videos for various purposes. These groups include: local Government Units, Government Agencies, Non Government Organizations, Local churches, church and mission organizations, Foundations and Civic Groups, Schools, Colleges and universities, and others.

and who may attend the course?
Any adult - ages 18 up - can. The participant must have, sufficient working knowledge on basic computer software program (i.e. Word), and an attitude and desire to learn. Participants are limited to maximum of 20 only.
To benefit the most are Program managers, officers and staff who participate in various events, monitors programs and other work-related initiatives. Anyone who needs to come up with a short but powerful summary that highlights the “essentials” without spending so much time and resources on the technical and tedious process usually involved in video production.


What are other requirements?
Each participant or pair* must bring the following:
1. a digital Camera and /or video Camera (preference on digital Camera with Audio-Video recording mode and I GB of memory card )
2. Laptop with at least 512 MB of RAM (higher would be better) and Windows XP
3. Samples of digital photos and video recordings (prints and/or soft copies – i.e., digital files)
4. a Flash drive/memory stick /thumb drive/ memory card with 512 MB minimum capacity
* - Note: it is best to have 2 participants coming from the same organization so they can work as a pair.


So when is the next course? We are running two special courses for the LGU of Butuan from January 14-18 where Barangay Information Officers will be the main participants. Then, another one the following week - January 21-25 for other NGOs, GAs and other groups. A course is set in Quezon City on February 25-29, 2008. we are also setting to schedule a run in Cagayan De Oro, Iloilo and Cebu in the coming months

These are what some of the participants in our maiden offering in Davao have to say about the course:

“The course was amazing and the process used was fundamental and in layman terms. Thanks to Boyet Ongkiko for making things easy for us”

“I’ve realized the power of SPEED in delivering messages to target audience.”

“I see myself as a creator of SPEED Videos which conveys the life of farmer-beneficiaries, including the landowners too.”

“Now I can produce my own video of family and friends’ activities as gift for any celebration.”

“Useful for training activities”

“The Method used in imparting the skills and experience is fun and effective.”

“It will be very useful and applicable for our PROGRAMS in 2008 which will focus on profiling our 86 Barangays”

“The technique and way in producing videos in a short time – that is SPEED Video”

For interested groups, email:
The Director – Strategic Training Unit
eklipse.is@gmail.com

For other inquiries send text to:
09209226840

When Learning is Fun!

And they are singing…. jumping and moving around the room….climbing on top of the table…. crawling under the table…cheering and jeering on the others…and marking charts with crayons. These are not children in a nursery class. No, these are Cambodian church leaders and community development workers – ADULTS highly engaged and having fun in my training class.



I always believe that learning must be an enjoyable experience. This is true for all ages and certainly, the adult learners included. The “child” in the adult, must be encouraged and allowed to “play”. The creative instinct and experimenting-inquisitive mind are resource that adult learners bring with them, which can be harnessed in the right learning environment. Sadly, the opposite seems to be true among most adult learning events. Learning has become anything but ENJOYABLE.

Most of the time adults go through the motion of listening (and sitting it out) to a litany of ideas that subject matter specialists sincerely believe they need to know. As such, a typical room can be filled with participants and yet have only ONE voice – that of the teacher. These participants called as such but whose PARTICIPATION is limited to warming their sits and passive listening.

When the learning environment is fun, participants feel relax and more “open” to new ideas and possibilities. They are able to interact and engage each other in a non-threatening atmosphere of play. Like children, they begin to ask questions that matter to them and articulate it to the group – even if the questions seem “stupid” to adults. They freely share their thoughts on the questions asked without fear of what others may think. As such, what usually happens in a typical adult learning environment is the complete opposite. Here, the teacher doesn’t dominate but is among the many voices that resonates.

Who ever said that “play” is meant only for children? Oh may we never grow up…

A Reading in Reverse

During a devotional time in my training class in Cambodia, I suddenly remembered a Youtube video where a reading in reverse of the same article drastically changed the entire meaning. Suddenly, I felt the urge to do the same in this passage of 1 Timothy 4:12-15

The Passage:

Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young.
Be an example to all believers in what you teach,
in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.
Until I get there,
focus on reading the Scriptures to the church,
encouraging the believers, and teaching them.
Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecies spoken to you
when the elders of the church laid their hands on you.
Give your complete attention to these matters.
Throw yourself into your tasks
so that everyone will see your progress.

Now the reading in reverse:

So that everyone will see your progress
throw yourself into your tasks
Give your complete attention to these matters
when the elders of the church laid their hands on you
Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecies spoken to you
Focus on reading the Scriptures to the church
until I get there
Encouraging the believers, and teaching them
in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity
Be an example to all believers in what you teach
Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young

Notice the difference?
The first started with a negative assertion.
The reading in reverse begun with a positive assumption.
Both, like bookends, laid down the instructions and reasons for asserting and assuming such.
But at the center of both readings, is the admonition to "Focus on public reading of the Word."
Hmmmmm.... what more can I say.

In Search of Kaginhawahan

We have heard and read so much of Pinoy Pride. I guess time longs for the Pinoys to live it out and be the kind of people that other nations would begin to respect. Shall we wait for our country to be “developed” for this to take place? Perhaps more importantly, “What should we BE as a people so that we gain the respect of others?”

I don’t long for the current form of development that seems to be the goal of our government and most development practitioners. In tagalong – we call it “Kaunlaran” which is a rather foreign concept to us. Perhaps it is taken from the root word “unlad” which is closer to the word “growth” in which case it does not necessarily refer to the material sense alone. But really “Kaunlaran” seems closer to the word “Kanluran” which means “west”. And rightly so, for the development that preoccupies us directs us to be a copy cat of the west where the indicators are mostly measured in the material sphere. Ultimately, the more we become like our western counterparts, the more “developed” we are supposed to be. Developed? Perhaps. Respected? Hmmmm

Now what is truly a Pinoy aspiration then? From my dealings with various people from all walks of life, I am beginning to see a glimpse of this aspiration. Like pieces of the puzzle, all the pieces make sense only in the context of being together. Each piece finds meaning and value as it allows itself to be attached to another piece so that in community the larger picture is seen and appreciated.

I would like then to focus on one of this puzzle piece. Kaginhawahan – from the root word “ginhawa” which means “comfort”. This I first heard from Senator Dick Gordon in a speech he delivered then at UPLB while I was a student in the 80s. I agree with him when he said that most of our people are going out of our country as OFWs simply to find a little comfort for their family here. This they are willing to do even if they must sacrifice being away from their love ones. So when even the very little things are taken away to ensure “kaginhawahan”, like land and the means to be productive, the Pinoy would venture out to the unknown.

This is true for our Kulot brothers (curly-kinky hair) –Indigenous People specifically the aetas and badjoas– who take to the streets and beg for what ever resource we can share. Begging is the only hard work left for them as they are natural hunters and fishermen.
And certainly even for the Unats (straight hair) – the dominant people. Our teachers, being unable to earn a decent living to sustain their family, would prefer to be domestic helpers and serve other people. Both begging and being domestic helpers have their own set of risks and sacrifices but it is all worth it for the Pinoys as they meet the need for kaginhawahan.

We are a simple people with simple dreams. Our song – “Bahay Kubo” says it all. Kaginhawahan is aspiring for the basic needs and the capacity to be a blessing to others. That’s from the other word, “hawa” which means to “affect or infect”. How true it is for a genuine Pinoy comfort can not be isolated. One cannot find rest knowing that the other is in need.

I have seen this mostly expressed by Pinoys who are not in a state of abundance but more in a state of contentment. Giving is very natural to us, and consequently, we aspire to give more especially to the hurting and needy. We see this every year, from one calamity to the next; the Pinoys will sacrifice and share so that others will have a little Kaginhawahan.

There is just so much to say about this puzzle piece but I guess its best to stop for now. I now feel a sense of “kaginhawahan” being able to share my thoughts even as I actually workt hard to “walk the talk” daily.

Until the next puzzle piece.