Starting anew again

"Ours is not the task of fixing the entire world all at once, but of stretching out to mend the part of the world that is within our reach...It is not given to us to know which acts or by whom, will cause the critical mass to tip toward an enduring good...What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing." Clarissa Pinkola Estes at http://theunboundedspirit.com/we-were-made-for-these-times/ And so on this fourth day of this first month of the new year, let us pick up from where we left off and start anew. A step at a time is good enough. "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9).

First on our list of priorities is the rebuilding of lives and communities throughout the disaster-affected areas. We hope during this first month of this new year, a complete inventory and mapping will already have been made about all those affected by the disasters, their identities, their numbers, their location, their needs and the responses given or yet to be given to them by what groups or individuals. Having this urgent list will pro-actively guide comprehensive and appropriate response and service for those affected by disasters. The inventory will also serve as monitoring guide to check if all those in need are responded to quickly and appropriately.

Transparency and vigilance should accompany all projects involving fund allocation and utilization for disaster survivors and their communities.  International and local funds for reconstruction and disaster management need to be accounted for clearly from hereon.

Our people and all others throughout the world responded magnanimously to the cries of the disaster victims. Managing all the resources pooled together locally and globally for the disaster victims and their communities will be a fitting tribute to both the beneficiaries and their supporters.

So much heartwarming stories of support for farmers through donations of seeds and carabaos, bancas for fisherfolks, building materials to rebuild homes and more serve as inspiration to share much more to many more from this year forward.

And while our focus isn't the disaster survivors, we also have to keep remembering to care for the millions of poor in our midst who have battled all sorts of storms, social and natural, to stay alive, to survive. May this year start the inclusive growth period for this nation so that the have-nots will finally see themselves lifted from their poverty, hunger, unemployment, homelessness and the haves sharing more generously their blessings and gifts with the most needy.

Corruption and patronage will continue to plague this nation unless we continue to vigorously and vigilantly unite to battle and succeed in ending the rule of evil and abuse in this country. Our united efforts paid off last year — let us be emboldened to continue even more, to be united more strongly until we have the good and the beautiful in our midst, assuring each and every Filipino a decent humane life in this country.

The pork barrel, the PDAF, seems to have been purged from the budget but lest the evil schemers have tried to hide it elsewhere within the national allocation, let us unite again to check and recheck every single public fund that is allocated nationally and locally so that from now on, from this year forward, public funds will be used solely for the welfare and service of our people.

So much hope to start with for this new year. So much tasks, yes, but so much inspiration and reminders from the past to inform us, to enlighten us what to do, for whom, with whom, how, and utilizing and pooling all our hearts and minds together, as a people, as a nation, with God's grace and blessings, let us proceed, with much joy and laughter and faith in our hearts, that this will be a better year. Let us all start over anew together and make 2014 our year of renewal, recovery and rebuilding.

"What is needed for dramatic change is an accumulation of acts, adding, adding to, adding more, continuing."

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