Tuloy sa Don Bosco provides bright futures for out-of-school youth
MANILA, Philippines - His CV is sterling: principal of Don Bosco Mandaluyong and president of its College of Engineering, he was also rector and parish priest of Don Bosco Makati, and had a PhD in Organizational Development and Planning to boot. What his resume didn’t have, however, was the experience, and by his own admission, the inclination, to run a project dedicated solely to street children. So it was to everyone’s surprise, himself included, that Fr. Marciano “Rocky” Evangelista, SDB, volunteered to lead such a project when the issue was raised in a Salesian Council meeting back in June 1993.
Coming to his senses, he thought of backing out, but struggled against it to save face. “What do you do when what God clearly wants you to do is precisely and very definitely not what you want to do?” he lamented in his memoir, Finally I Am Home. “If I quit now, what will they say? What will they think?”
Eventually, his struggle gave way to surrender, and the reluctant volunteer has since evolved into a tireless champion of poor, abandoned, out-of-school youth. Founding Tuloy Sa Don Bosco, a facility that provides 9- to 18-year-olds with the basics of food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare, as well as values, spiritual guidance, literacy, and vocational skills, he took 12 kids under his wing when he launched the project in a small room in St. John Bosco Parish Compound, Makati. In 2001, and through what he insists is “God’s work, not mine,” Fr. Rocky turned a 4.5-hectare dumpsite in Alabang, a property given to the foundation by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, into “a dream place for poor children” — a sprawling, modern compound complete with 10 residential structures, a school building, technical vocational skills workshops, multi-purpose complex, culinary center, chapel, and football field. At present, more than 800 kids avail of the non-formal academic and vocational schooling at Tuloy, while 240 youngsters call it their home.
Institutions like the DSWD, Department of Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority have recognized Tuloy’s efforts with commendations, as has a Philippine Real Estate Developers group, news of which makes Fr. Rocky chuckle. “Can you believe Tuloy received an award for real estate?” he says in disbelief. “I cannot fathom what is going on!”
To him, the real reward is seeing a hopeless street child change from the discipline, care, acceptance, and opportunities offered by the foundation. At the recent uniform ceremony of the Culinary Course, an 18-month program led by renowned French chef Jean Pierre Migne, 25 16- to 18-year-olds marched proudly into the dining room in full chef’s regalia. But it was more than a mere physical transformation: Erika and Jessarie, best friends who had been with Tuloy for three and eight years, respectively, have already dreamed big even before the start of cooking classes: both plan to run their very own restaurants some day.
As for Chef JP, who was previously connected with some of the finest five-star hotels and restaurants here and around the world, teaching kids how to cook is just icing on the cake. As early as now, he’s already set his sights on February 2011, the date of the prestigious culinary competition Chefs On Parade. Vying for top honors against more experienced chefs and students from premier culinary schools, Tuloy Chefs will be fielded in such events as the waiter relay, table setting, and market basket live competition. Besides months of training, the ambitious undertaking will cost an estimated P200,000, an amount chef JP intends to cover through donations from a special fund-raising dinner. “I met 25 wonderful kids,” said JP, who fought tears after his wards presented themselves before impressed guests. “They teach me more than I can teach them.”
Fr. Rocky can very well say the same about the countless street kids who have walked in and out of Tuloy’s doors in the past 17 years. “Our future belongs to the children,” he declares when asked why he chose to devote his life to helping the poorest of the poor youth. “What happens to a country when they have a bulk of children who have nothing to do except beg and steal? Whatever progress you make will be threatened by these children who are not given a chance. If I save one child from becoming a criminal,” says this once-reluctant volunteer, “I may be saving the lives of a thousand others.”
For ways to help the foundation fulfill its mission to provide a bright future for underprivileged children, visit “http://tuloy.sdb.ph/ or e-mail Fr. Rocky at frrocky@yahoo.com.
