Moving on with our 6 national goals

 Starting and ending each day, individually and collectively, with prayers of thanksgiving and supplication for our people, our leaders, let us now proceed to imagine, plan, and implement our steps to achieve our 6 national goals for 2012 which are: Goal #1) a prayerful nation, Goal #2) less hungry in our country, Goal #3) more homes provided for the homeless, Goal #4)  more jobs for the unemployed, Goal #5) better health and Goal #6) widespread education for all Filipinos.

 After our January 5th discussion of Goal #1, that of a prayerful nation, let us now proceed to Goal #2: that of providing food for the hungry.

 Individually, can we imagine, examine what we can do, what we can share for even just one hungry person this year?

 Can we save some amount from our allowance or our salary to take care of one hungry person for the whole year? Or can one family take care of one hungry person for 2012?

 Can the students of one school wisely and responsibly use their water and electricity so the funds saved from less energy payments can be diverted as food coupons for the hungry? Can each one more responsibly manage their waste, segregate these wherever they are, so that less funds can be used merely for waste collection and disposal and again, the waste dividends to be diverted as food coupons or food production funds for the hungry?

 Can we all find the time to raise our own plants at home, even just in small pots, plastic bags, or hanging sacks where there are no gardens? Can schools, offices, other organizations, cities and towns all throughout our country assess their space/land area and start on a food production campaign? The objective is to raise food to consume for family use and/or to share with others more in need.

 Can you imagine utilizing indigenous resources within your locality to produce food? Those in coastal communities can start cleanup or eco-safe fishing campaigns to renew and sustainably protect the supply of marine resources in the area. For those in the forests, they can start anti-logging campaigns to preserve the precious trees and other resources for the forests that provide one of, if not the best shields for global warming.

 This food for the hungry goal can lead to stable food production, sustainable knowledge and utilization of our own local resources, better eco-friendly ways to raise steady supply of food for all, among other positive benefits!

 Can you already imagine the wisdom, the beauty, and excitement of starting our own self-reliant food production and food sharing campaign for 2012?

 Goal #3 seems more difficult to achieve as providing homes for the homeless seem to entail higher costs. But again, can you start to imagine a more creative and inexpensive home for our homeless?

 For sure, we have many creative artists and architects, carpenters and other home-building partners who can volunteer to design creative and inexpensive homes for the homeless? A beautiful home, featured in a recycling book, made of recycled bottles and cans come to mind.  

 One does not have to donate for the whole house. One can just pledge one brick, one tile, one small part, and all donations added up together, can build one home for a needy homeless. Or you can contribute your time and labor to build a home, in the style of Habitat and Gawad Kalinga.

 A home is not only the house, the structure – it is made up of people, of families. And so providing homes for the homeless can also be taken to mean providing time to help families build stronger homes, spiritually and emotionally. Surely, each one can find time to play and to take care of a child so that the parents, especially the heavily burdened mother can have time to rest or to work?

 There are still 3 more goals to go and I can already imagine everyone’s excitement upon realizing, like me, that these 6 goals are not at all difficult to achieve if we all put together our minds, our hearts and our actions to achieve for 2012.

 Please email your creative, positive suggestions to achieve these 6 goals for 2012, which we will continue to dialogue about in this column!

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