Educating Nina Lim Yuson
December 18, 2002 | 12:00am
Persistence, thy name is Nina. For nearly 30 years, Nina has dedicated her life to children’s education. In 1974, her Early Learning Center in Makati City pioneered the style of preschool that gives kids a chance to be active in the classroom and to discover their interests. Instead of sitting quietly in chairs watching teachers talk, students were encouraged to explore and find out for themselves how things work.
Urged by her mother, our soft-spoken bachelorette expanded her commitment to children with the Museo Pambata. More than 1.7 million guests have played with the exhibits of the Museo since it opened its doors along Roxas Boulevard, Manila in 1994. Soliciting donations and managing the 53 employees of this exciting museum are some of Nina’s duties as the museum’s executive director.
Nina’s husband died 11 years ago. After "feeling like a zombie" from grief, Nina embraced her mission to develop children’s self-esteem. Today, she is the national assistant secretary of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines and president of TOWNES, an organization of outstanding women in national service.
How do you resolve your conflicts?
My conflict now is whether or not the city of Manila will honor their contract with our Museo. Our agreement was that we can use the building till year 2013. I keep our communication lines open.
What is your current state of mind?
I wish that our leaders would stop playing politics and list down what is important to our country today. Is it the children? Then they must identify those groups that have helped like Museo Pambata.
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Enjoying what I do.
Which living person do you admire most?
As my mother, Estefania Aldaba Lim, gets older, I really think she is the one I admire most. She has done so much. She was DSWD Secretary and a special UN envoy for the International Year of the Child.
What does your mom often say to you?
"You can do better."
What is your most fervent wish?
For us to have an equitable society. In my grade school days, I heard a song that began, "If each little child could have a glass of milk each day, it would be a wonderful world."
What film influenced your life?
I grew up in the culture of Cinderella where women needed to fall in love. After learning more about love, I realized that relationships are what is important.
What book influenced your life?
Norman Vincent Peale’s Positive Thinking. I also enjoy reading daring adventure stories like Shirley MacLaine’s autobiographies.
Which hero of fiction can you most identify with?
Roberto in The Insect Architect by Nina Laden. He wanted to be an architect but his parents opposed this; he used his resourcefulness and eventually became an architect.
What is your greatest fear?
Lack of sleep.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
My self-centeredness.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Their self-centeredness.
What do you dislike most about your appearance?
What I wear. Why do I have to bother thinking about what outfit would suit my image?
What is your motto?
Be prepared. I am a girl scout. I make a list of what I have to.
What is your greatest extravagance?
Making time to sketch the places I visit.
What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
People without hope. At times, even the poorest of the poor don’t seem so desperate but many of them feel that they can’t get out of their cycle.
What is your favorite journey?
Reading.
What is the quality you most like in a woman?
A great joy for life which leads her to using all of her talents.
What is your greatest regret?
Not attending college in the USA because my SAT grades were not good enough. I had joined the Bayanihan Dance Troupe and traveled on world tours from my second year in high school so I was often absent from school.
Who greets you when you get home?
My beagle, Narra. My three children still live with me; the youngest is 20.
Which historical character would you like to have been?
Moses as he crossed the Red Sea.
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