Volunteering stories

I've heard a few anecdotes about what life was like for members of my husband's family when his uncle, Tito Mon, and his wife, Tita Iting, were in jail during the Martial Law era. Those stories were told years after they had been released. I never got around to asking them how they ended up being arrested. My husband only remembers visiting his uncle in prison every Sunday.

I got my answer when I read Tita Iting's essay "A Papal Visit Episode." Her essay is among those included in "Be Hands On! Inspiring Volunteer Stories" published by Hands on Manila Foundation, Inc. and Anvil Publishing, Inc.

In her essay, Tita Iting writes about the crucial role that five to seven-year-old children played in making Pope John Paul II aware of the plight of their parents who were political detainees. "It took a while to tell this story because it would mean reliving those dangerous years of martial rule," Tita Iting wrote. I think that her story and the stories of other political detainees should be told more often so that we will never forget what the Martial Law period was like.

The book is a collection of vignettes from persons who do volunteer work with different organizations. There are 22 essays in all, some of them funny, all of them interesting.

John Silva, an arts and cultural heritage advocate, writes poignantly about his senior year in high school in La Salle Greenhills. In his essay, "It Started with Sandwiches", he recounts preparing tuna sandwiches for protesting farmers and how meeting them altered his life.

Carlos Celdran, a performance artist who is well-known for his walking tours around Intramuros writes about how volunteering for an NGO was initially an excuse for him to get out of the house in high school. He also writes about how his experience with the Heritage Conservation Society trying to save the Jai-Alai Building taught him "how to deal with crushing disappointment."

Lorelei dela Cruz, a Gawad Kalinga volunteer, has a funny essay about how volunteering for GK made her discontinue her expensive salon treatments to re-bond her hair and whiten her skin.

In "The Chronicles of Doctor Una," Popie Laudico writes about the adventures of her black Labrador, Una, who visits and cheers up sick children for the Doctor Dog project facilitated by the Philippine Animal Welfare Society.

Chris Tiu, the captain of the Ateneo college basketball team and tv host, shows his idealism in his essay entitled "Giving It My Best Shot" when he writes that his long-term goal is to make our country a better place by improving public education.

Marc Nelson, tv host and Amazing Race Asia finalist, writes about the different organizations he is involved with. He found one, World Vision, while walking around a mall. His endorsement contracts now include a provision for the company to sponsor one child indefinitely for every year that he signs up with them.

I attended the book's launch at Powerbooks in Greenbelt 4 in Makati last week. I realized that I still have not outgrown my fan mentality when I sought the autograph of former Miss Universe Margie Moran-Floreindo (and yes, I also got Marc Nelson's autograph). In "Building A House, Expecting No Return," she tells the story of using her celebrity to secure funding for her projects. She is a trustee of Habitat for Humanity.

I highly recommend the book. Apart from the essays being well-written, I think that the stories about the different ways that volunteers gave their time and resources make timely reading for the Christmas season.

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