I always enjoy seeing the shock on the faces of friends I bring to Casa San Miguel because words cannot give justice to what Coke has achieved over these past six years. We visited him one late Sunday morning, a day when most urban children rest and play. Instead we saw at least 20 kids from ages six to 13 playing their violins and cellos in rehearsal rooms, in balconies overlooking 20 hectares of mango farm or in the flowering gardens. One of the star pupils, Miguel, who just turned six last week, followed us on our tour and played two very complex violin pieces for us. The other students looked like there was no better place to be but practicing with their young teachers whom Coke trains as well.
Casa San Miguel work is centered on the premise that the youth can be empowered through the arts. Children of fisher folk, farmers, tricycle drivers, carpenters, local professionals or the well-to- do develop self-esteem, and confidence. Coke says that this broadened sense of what is possible is acquired from the discipline and perseverance needed to hone a craft such as music. Many of the 60 students under the program, who might have never dreamt of leaving Zambales, have now expanded their aspirations to continue to study music in conservatories or to pursue careers in engineering and other professions. What is most inspiring is witnessing how Coke’s passion and dedication has become tangibly expressed as a cultural transformation of the community as a whole.
We also spent a day at Ocean Adventure, a truly world-class oceanarium and marine theme park, that offers false killer whales and sea lion shows , sea lion training demonstrations and a popular program called "Whale Encounter" where one can swim with the whales. There is also a very educational aquarium. All the shows teach about sea mammals, and have a very clear conservation message about the role each and everyone has to protect and maintain the oceans.
Its founder, Tim Desmond, has an enthusiasm and passion for his work that is truly infectious and exciting. He describes the oceanarium as an important economic model that demands conservation of the ocean to ensure a viable business. The business in turn helps watch over the environment because a clean ocean is a vital component in the sustainability of business. He is working with the communities in the coastal areas contiguous to SBMA to demonstrate and to teach how conservation of the oceans and coral reefs can be more beneficial to fishermen than dynamite and cyanide fishing. One exciting model he described was implemented in Anilao, Batangas where the fishermen entered into a pact not to fish in certain areas reserved for conservation. As a result of this self-imposed sacrifice, every fisherman has reaped greater harvests.
This model is being used in many conservation efforts all over the world. One Washington D.C.-based international organization, Conservation International, with a local arm chaired by Oscar Lopez, uses similar conservation strategies. In one success story, CI was instrumental in convincing a large clothing retailer to use the seeds collected from a tree found in the Amazon for buttons instead of plastic. Creating a market for the seeds has become an incentive for the natives to preserve the tree rather than to cut it down.
For a country so quickly losing its natural resources, more innovative models based on enlightened self- interest should be studied and adopted. Listening to Tim, whose effusiveness is contagious, and seeing the respect the oceanarium has for nature, made us feel that there are no limits to what is possible.
On the way back to Manila, I contemplated the power of passion and how many great men and women transformed the world through their unwavering belief and commitment against all odds. I also realized that most of the people I truly admire are those whose courageous steps in life are made with conviction and passion. At a dinner that night, Josie Lichauco made a toast to Washington SyCip, someone who can be described as a man whose many accomplishments were born out of passion and dedication. In a quote from Barbara de Angelis, she said, "You have the power to create a life of deep fulfillment. You have the power to create a life of great purpose. That power lies in your passion. When you rely on others to get excited about life, you are making him the source of your passion. Be the source of your own passion."