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Editor, Mila Garcia Glodava EMAIL: editor@infanta.org Click here to send us e-mail! Please send your news items to: editor@infanta.org
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Mila Garcia Glodava is the president of the Metro Infanta Foundation. A graduate of St. Paul College of Manila with a bachelor of science degree in education, Mila is director of Communications and Stewardship at St. Thomas More Parish in Centennial, Colorado. |
by Mila Glodava
After Mark Bitara, a regular guest of the MIF Website, saw the news item regarding my "Medalya ng Karangalan" award, he sent me a message, saying: "I wondered where you were. Now I know, and what a great surprise (but not unexpected!) Congratulations!"
While it's true that I received Quezon's prestigious award (upon the nomination of Amb. Rudy Arizala) in August, I did not go to the Philippines in July and August for that purpose. The real reason for my trip: I was on a mission for St. Thomas More to continue to promote "Stewardship as a Way of Life."
I was supposed to return to the states Aug. 3, but received word from Awards Committee member Dading Arizala July 30 that I have been chosen as one of the Medalya honorees and asked if I might be able to extend my stay. Thanks to my pastor, who without hesitation gave the go-ahead , I was able to extend my stay.
More than a year ago Father Andrew Kemberling and I presented the first conference on "Sustainability of the Church of the Poor through Stewardship." My visit in July was a follow-up visit to the Cebu conference to see the progress of parishes that have embraced stewardship as a way of life. Stewardship encourages a grateful heart by giving to church and other charities in thanksgiving for all that God has given.
St. Thomas More's successful stewardship program, which Father Andrew and I have been sharing in the United States and abroad, has found some success in the dioceses that participated in the conference. Father Andrew hopes that my visit will generate a substantive report to present to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in January 2005. CBCP president Archbishop Fernando Capalla, who met with me while in Manila, extended an invitation to Father Andrew and me to address the plenary assembly July 11 in Manila, but due to conflicts in scheduling Father Andrew could not accept the invitation.
While in the Philippines I visited parishes in various dioceses including the Prelature of Infanta, the Diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija, Diocese of San Fernando, La Union, Vicariate of San Jose, Oriental Mindoro, the Archdiocese of Cebu, as well as various congregations including the Discalced Carmelite Friars, O'Carmelites, Camillians and ACT. In addition, I served as speaker and general resource person on stewardship for Catholic Association of Schools of the Prelature of Infanta (CASPI).
For Metro Infanta Foundation I also had meetings, among others, with the following:
• Infanta Central School and local government officials and a special meeting with Gov. Wilfrido Enverga. to discuss the Gabaldon Project.
• AGTA community in General Nakar. Metro Infanta has funded one of its programs.
• Lyceum of the Philippines, to evaluate the Arizala Scholarship program.
My visit in July also gave me the opportunity to visit Metro Infanta on a number of occasions, including the birthday celebrations of Bishop Rolando Tria Tirona and Bishop Julio Labayen.
In the next few editions of the website I will give more details on my mission and others. Sept. 1, 2004Mission not accomplished
by Mila Glodava
On Thursday, May 27, I celebrated my 59th birthday. I received greetings and gifts, mostly flowers and cards. I usually ask my family and friends not to give me any gifts, but if they so choose, they can make instead a donation in my name to Metro Infanta Foundation (This was good timing because it was good start to receive some matching grants from our special supporter, the Weckbaugh Foundation).
Reaching my 59th birthday was special to me, not because of the greetings and gifts, but because the night before, after a wonderful time celebrating my birthday (in one of Colorado's most spectacular country clubs with a view that some may say "to die for,") my friends and I came out of a car accident (thank God), unhurt in a badly damaged car.
As I was looking at a vase of beautiful roses (I was told there were a hundred roses) that came to my office from a good friend, I cannot help but think these flowers could have been for another reason.
Only two weeks ago, I had a near-miss experience on a Colorado highway involving a girder. It made national news, so some of you might have heard about it. Well I was there! I was coming home with a friend, Dolly Banzon, from Vail, and if I had driven just a bit faster than I did, it could have been us under that girder. While I did not see the girder falling (I must must have been concentrating on my driving), Dolly did.
After I realized what had happened, I thought I had to change lanes immediately just in case we can still get through. I ended up just at the end of a guard rail under the bridge. After checking out what had happened (one van was cut in half, with the front end stuck under the girder and the other half thrown several hundred feet way to the median), we realized that there was no way we can get through the fallen girder.
Although saddened by the fact that there's no way anyone can survive the impact of the fall, our next thought was to get out of there before we get stuck in traffic. Because we were just outside the guard rail and had no obstacle to get out, we pulled out to the median and on to the opposite side of the highway and off we went.
The accident really did not hit me (same with Dolly) until I came home and heard on the news that three died in the accident. I cannot help but think, "What if the other half of the van was thrown backwards, there could have been a chain reaction that could have affected many more people, including us. Or what if the girder also pulled the rest of the bridge down. Again, more people could have been killed. Thank God nothing of the sort happened.
Right now all I can think of is, "thank God for making me reach my 59th birthday." Thank God for letting me have more time to be with my family and friends and to accomplish my mission on this earth.Spring 2004 Foundation Report in the mail
By Mila Glodava
The first batch of Spring 2004 Foundation Report went out Saturday, March 27. The next batch will go out in the next few days.
Based on the donations ($3,500) received the first three months of 2004, we concluded that the first Foundation Report has made an impact on our kababayans. Many actually thought that Metro Infanta Foundation was no longer in existence, because we discontinued the Metro Infanta News after the Spring 2000 issue. We thought we are continuing our communication link to our kababayans through our website www.infanta.org. which we started in 1998. It seems, however, that many of our kababayans have no access to the Internet and, therefore, unable to check out our website. The Foundation Report is our effort to connect with this group of kababayans.
If you don't receive our report in the mail, you can also access it by clicking here or the above heading.
Gift
Opportunities
Enclosed with the Spring 2004 Report is a Gift Opportunities
Form which describes in detail the many ways Infantahins can
help lift from our brother and sisters in Metro Infanta the
burdens of poverty."
We have identified the areas of education, religious, humanitarian and other causes which need our support.
Can you provide annually $100 tuition assistance per student for four years? Perhaps you have been blessed and can offer a gift of $300 per year, per collegiate student at NQCC.
Can you support a priest with a monthly stipend of $20, or $240 per year? If you had been a catechist in the past, you may want to support the $20 monthly stipend of a priest (the Prelature would like to raise the stipend from $10 a month per priest).
The Carmelites are building a seminary in Quezon City. Those who have very fond memories of the Carmelites may want to help them build a seminary. Some of our donors have expressed an interest in collecting for the chapel which will cost $27,500. If you are able to make a commitment towards this project, please consider this prayerfully now.
Recently we have received the plans to rebuild the Gabaldon-type schoolhouse, which will require some major funding too in the near future. You may want to consider this as your pet project.
Of course we can always use your donation to help offset the cost of running Metro Infanta Foundation. It costs nearly $100 to mail our report to each one on our mailing list of previous donors.
You can make a difference in our hometown. Please consider making a donation, whether large or small. Every small gift when combined with other gifts becomes a large one. Each one making a gift has made it possible for Metro Infanta Foundation to address the many needs of our beloved hometown.
Act now! Send your tax-deductible donation to:
Metro Infanta Foundation,
Inc.
7350 Braun Way
Arvada, CO 80005
U.S.A.
"A Scholarship of Love"
by Mila Glodava
"A scholarship of love." That was the headline in today's Second A Section of The Denver Post. The article was about, Berry White, a law student who created an endowment fund at the University of Denver for future prosecutors in memory of his sister who died at the age of 21 because of drug overdose.
What struck me about this article was that despite the tragic event, Berry White still has the presence of mind to pull something good from his family's tragedy. Berry's endowment fund, which an official thought was overly ambitious, is a tribute to his sister, a beauty queen who wanted to help people get off drugs, but herself sucked into the world of drugs. To date he has raised $25,000 of the $50,000 minimum to create an endowment fund at the university.
This story reminded of other equally inspiring stories. One was that of a laundry woman, an 89-year-old African American, who also made the headlines when she gave $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi for scholarships. Another, a librarian in a college on the Western Slopes of Colorado gave a million dollars to her college. Both women lived very frugal lives, saved from their limited income , invested their money wisely and now are sharing the fruits of their investments to benefit others.
These are indeed touching stories of ordinary people with ordinary means, yet who believe in the value of education and its benefit to beneficiaries of the endowments.
Filipinos, too, value education, so much so that it is every Filipino's dream to earn a college degree and more. Families sacrifice to give children and siblings the opportunity for higher education. Indeed we receive high marks for taking care of our own. Filipinos do believe in the adage that "Charity begins at home."
There is something to be said, however, when we also give opportunities to others outside of the family. Many articles and essays have been written about parents who sacrifice everything to send their children to school. My own parents saved every penny they earned from their two stores in the "palengke" of Infanta to send my brothers and sisters to college. By the time my turn came, there was almost nothing left and they had to sell everything to start a boarding house in Manila.
Then came to the rescue, Fr. Cayetano Serafines who suggested without my knowledge to the newly installed Bishop of the Prelature of Infanta, Bishop Julio Labayen, to find a scholarship for me. At the time I was working as Fr. Serafines' secretary in Burdeos. To my surprise, Fr. Serafines told me to go to St. Paul College of Manila and take the admission test there for a full scholarship. If I pass I also would work for my board and lodging and be an "interna." And the rest as they say is history.
I am very grateful to Fr. Serafines and Bishop Labayen for giving me that opportunity to go to St. Paul's. Had the bishop chosen to give scholarships only to his relatives, I would not be where I am today. Bishop Labayen's generosity to someone he hardly knew was an inspiration for me to reach out to others I do not know, and not just my relatives. The ripple effects of his benevolence to me are countless.
The moral of the story: Do not limit your outreach to members of your family! Reach out and help others you many not know, and experience the ripple effects of your generosity. All of our scholars are required to implement some project that benefits the community.
You too can give give others an opportunity to go to school, and at the same time pay tribute to a loved one. Why wait until a tragedy strikes before doing something similar to Berry White's incredible tribute. Metro Infanta Foundation can be your vehicle to pay tribute to your loved ones. An Endowment Fund the likes of Berry Whites's would be nice if you have been blessed, but it doesn't have to be that huge. One hundred dollars can send a student to a year of high school at Mt. Carmel (those in public schools have free tuition), and $400 can get them to graduate. Or you might want to send a deserving student to college with just $300 per year at the Northern Quezon Cooperative College.
Perhaps someone is celebrating a birthday or an anniversary. Instead of spending for a gift that they really don't need, why not make a donation to Metro Infanta Foundation in their honor and give someone who is not a relative a scholarship? I have often encouraged my children to do this for me on my birthday or for Mother's Day, because I don't need any more than what I have right now. What a valuable lesson it is for them. Their gift goes to a good cause and they learn the value of giving out of love.
Sacred space
by Mila Glodava
A few days ago an article about "sacred space" appeared in the local paper. It seems that Americans have found that having a sacred space in the home is good for their mental and spiritual health. Usually however, this sacred space is in connection with eastern traditions such as yoga for healing and other metaphysical experiences. Usually they are complete with incense, bells and Buddha.
Sacred space is nothing new among Filipinos who, more often than not, reserve a space for an altar, modestly adorned or an entire room where a Mass could be celebrated. For many, the altar is a simple table adorned with the statue of the Sacred of Jesus and of Mary and of course the ever-present "Santo Niño." For others, it's a simple sacred image posted on the wall, and lighted by a "lampara," or a simple cross hanging on the wall.
Filipinos now scattered around the world carry this tradition with them in their new homes. It is not unusual to see a huge Santo Niño greet guests of Filipino homes.
Do I have an altar? You bet I do! I do have a small Santo Niño right at the foyer of my home. My main altar, the top of a bureau in my son's room has all the statues and sacred objects I have collected over the years. I have a number of crosses, and baby Jesus, holy water from Lourdes and other sacred places, and statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and of course candle lights. A huge votive candle holder collects my dried up palms from previous year's Palm Sunday.
My special sacred space, however, is in my living room, where I have my prayer chair and my daily sacred readings. This is where I actually say my prayers daily, before I start my day to work or otherwise. It seems that my day is not complete until have done my daily ritual of prayer and meditation. I find this place to be my place of solace. My husband and children know that they are not to disturb me when I am in my sacred space. When I have guests, I sometimes invite them to join me in prayer in this place.
Do you have any other Filipino tradition that you have continued to do in your new country. Please share them with our guests and readers. You may send it to: editor@infanta.org.
Class of '57 planning a reunion in 2007
by Mila Garcia Glodava
Marilyn Buñag Ibañez, who just arrived from the Philippines along her husband Manny and her mother Dr. Alicia Buñag, reported that the Infanta Central School Class of 1957 is planning a reunion in the year 2007. The class which is shown in the one and only class photo below (Grade 3, with Miss Emelinda Buñag), is the same class that initiated the creation of Metro Infanta Foundation.
For those who are new to the Metro Infanta Foundation, members of this same class planned a reunion in 1997, but it was supplanted by the grand celebration to commemorate the opening of the Carmelite mission in the Prelature of Infanta.
With Metro Infanta Foundation now firmly established, the class is hoping that this reunion will go on as planned. So those of you who belong to this class, please plan on coming to this grand reunion celebrating our 50th year.
We held a contest in 1996 to identify everyone in the photo. Lorna Telan, who works for the Caceres Catechetical Ministry in the Basilica Compound in Naga City, won the contest and received $25 for her efforts.
Seated in front, l-r:
Benjamin Asis and Blandino Aumentado
First row, l-r: Emer Orozco Caliwara, Rebecca Larita, Erlinda Tena, Josefina Robles Ravago, Betty Grajeda Gonio, Marilyn Buñag Ibañez, Emilie Gurango, MD, Brenda La Torre, Lorna Telan, Myrna Eclar, Tessie Leodones Pagalilawan and Carmen Aumentado Galpo.
2nd row, l-r: Carmelita Orozco, Leander Conchada,Naida Penaojas Garin, Rodolfo Villaflor, Melba Flores, Josefina Leynes Naguit, Melvin Aumentado (deceased), Mila Garcia Glodava, Amelia Marasigan Recio and Megele Combalicer.
3rd row:, l-r: Carlito Moises, Bayani Corpuz, Jose Escolano, Erano Ravago, MD, Pedasor Dimaculangan, Celso Villaflor, Leandro Suaverdez, Leovinio Orozco, Epifanio Crisostomo, MD, Manuel Ruanto, Leodosco Vera-Cruz (deceased) and Nilo Fortunado.
We know that a few of us are residing in other countries including the United States. Marilyn Buñag Ibañez works for the police department in Pomona, California), Emilie Gurango has a successful medical practice in Ohio. Tessie Leodones Pagalilawan is a homemaker in New York, Josefina Leynes is a school teacher also in New York. Benjamin Asis works as an engineer (is this right?) in New Jersey. Jose Escolano was also known to have resided in California but we are not sure right now if he still does. And this writer, Mila Garcia Glodava is director of Communications and Stewardship for a Catholic church in Colorado. Eraño Ravago is currently practicing medicine in London, England. For a while Rogelio Rutaquio, (not in photo but graduated with us in 1957), was working in the Middle East.
Carmen Aumentado Galpo, works in the municipal office; Mely Marasigan Recio and Naida Penaojas Garin teach in Infanta Central, Celso Villaflor teaches in Panukulan, Epifanio Crisostomo practices medicine (and dabbled in politics?) in Real, Josephine Robles Ravago still works at the BIR, Manuel Ruanto is in Manila (not sure if he still works for an insurance company) and Lorna Telan, who belongs to the Notre Dame De Vie Institute, is in Naga City. We also know that Myrna Eclar and Emer Orozco Caliwara are in Infanta.
Miss Emelinda Buñag is currently residing in Metro Manila.
Does any one know the whereabouts of the rest of the class. Pleas share with us any information you have and share this reunion plan with them if and when you see them.
Also, those who are not in this photo but who graduated in 1957, please know that you are included in this plan. Please make all the connections you have to make our reunion a success.
We will sure have a blast at this 50th Anniversary of the Class of '57.