The lesson of give and take

A very happy New Year to all! It seems all too easy to speak of charity, of giving, and trying to impart to our children the valuable lesson of being appreciative when they can count themselves among the “haves,” and endeavouring to explore what they can do to help the “have nots.” But it is another thing to see a whole family get immersed with that kind of spirit. And we aren’t talking about playing the guilt game, or using deprivation of one’s own fortunes in order to alleviate the plight of those we intend to help. Rather, it’s a deliberate discovering of who need help, what one can do within the context of one’s environment; and believing it can be done, taking those steps to make it happen and doing it well.

For Ruthy and Bobet Vera, it was never a question of inculcating their children (Anton, Francesca, Paolo and Miguel) with the spirit of altruism. If you really ponder on it, most children, with innocence and genuine goodness intact, will have that instinct. What made the Vera family’s efforts unique was how they harnessed those feelings, and transformed them into a call to action that spread within the Vera children’s school and the whole student body. That the school would be one as exclusive and, perception-wise, as insulated as the British School, makes the effort even that more noteworthy. After all, for a significant portion of the school’s population, students and faculty alike, they may see Manila as a temporary stop or layover, and it could be just as easy to think “Why bother?”

According to UNICEF Philippines, for the children aged between three and five in this country, only six out of every 10 have access to pre-school education. An essential foundation for formal learning, it is a sad plight that so many kids this age are already a step behind their peers, and will most likely spend a lifetime compensating for this. It was in response to this disturbing fact and statistic, that the Vera children, guided by Ruthy and Bobet, set up the Empowering Brilliant Minds Foundation (EBM). Along with AGAPP (Aklat, Gabay, Aruga Tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa) and the British School Manila, EBM conceived the Kaagapay sa Silid program — that aims to build pre-school classrooms and libraries in the poorest areas, and by providing the infrastructure, also supply the teacher training and sustainable curriculum needed to make the dream of pre-school education a reality for the selected communities. Anton Vera, the eldest among the Vera children, is EBM chairman and is all of 17 years old; while sister Francesca is EBM treasurer. Sitting on the board are classmates and schoolmates of the Vera children.

On the night that EBM was formally launched, a turnover of P2.5 million was made by EBM to AGAPP, represented by Pinky Aquino-Abellada, founder and president of AGAPP. Two classrooms in Aniban Central School, Bacoor, Cavite were also cited as having been completed and handed to the school principal, Gloria Mojica. Mojica was present during the ceremonies, and close to tears, she extolled the efforts of EBM of how much the classrooms would mean to the young children of the community and mentioned how it was hoped that the people of influence present that night, could also spare some thought for the plight of public school teachers, underpaid and often waiting for months for their salaries to be released. As with any foundation’s mission and vision, there never is enough being raised to alleviate the situation, which brought the foundation into existence.

EBM treasurer Francesca Vera hands the check to AGAPP founder and president Pinky Aquino-Abellada.

And to make the night more meaningful, an auction of extraordinary paintings, works of art and quality watches was conducted by Tessa Prieto-Valdes and Tim Yap. Prominent among the crowd gathered that night were the parents of the students of the British School, along with their children. This included the likes of Emerson Yao of Lucerne Watches, Kaye Tinga, Felix Ang of CATS Motors; and there were special guests such as US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr., Swiss Ambassador Ivo Seiber, Rep. Sonny Angara and wife Tootsy, EBM trustee Viel Aquino-Dee and media maven Dimples Cruz, to name a few. National Artist Arturo Luz, Betsy Westendorp, Impy Pilapil and Bernard Pacquing were among the artists whose works formed part of the auction. Angara donated the Pacquing. Betsy Westendorp was herself present and to the utter delight of Dimples Cruz, asked to pose with Dimples for a photo after she successfully bid for Betsy’s painting. Musical numbers were provided by Broadway stalwarts Robert Seña and Isay Alvarez-Seña, accompanied by the Manila Philharmonic.

In more ways than one, and so close to Christmas, the night was a potent reminder of what the holiday season can really mean. As Ruthy reminisced, when her kids were growing up, the children begging after Sunday Mass or when one is waiting for the traffic lights to change, always raised questions in the minds of the Vera children. Where they go home to, do they attend school, how often do they eat --— these were the queries they would ply their parents with. And truth be told, I know that a stock response for most parents would be to ignore the street kids, to turn deaf ears to their pleas for money or the rapping on the car windows. Bobet and Ruthy would explain the circumstances of these street children and Ruthy figured that their replies stuck in the minds of their children. For when it came time to broach the subject of setting up a foundation, the Vera kids immediately saw education, specifically, pre-school, as the cause they wanted to support. And watching the Vera children that night, one could see how they enjoyed the company of their schoolmates, had turned the event into one fun night, without losing sight of why they were gathered there — to celebrate what they had accomplished; at the same time, recognizing that this is just the start for a foundation that hopes to mean a lot to the “unfortunates” of their own generation.

Man of our times

The three novels today share a common theme of showcasing what it may mean to be a man of a specific day and age. In the case of Guterson, his novel is a somber retelling of the age-old Oedipal complex, while Lodge’s biographical fiction of HG Wells is a textured measure of the “man who dared.” As for Klosterman, his quirky book is an exposé of some of most potent psychological hang-ups.

Ed King by David Guterson (available at National Bookstore). From the author of Snow Falling on Cedars, this new novel of Guterson starts off as your typical foundling tale. Mild-mannered Walter is a small town actuary and when his child takes ill, he sleeps with 16-year-old au pair Diane. She gets pregnant and on account of Walter’s attempt to be the good person, without revealing anything to his wife or family, she leaves the baby on the doorsteps of a child care center. Adopted, and never told of his beginnings, Ed rises to be the “king of search” on the Internet. How the lives of these three characters tragically intersect make up the grist of this disturbing novel.

Novels that hinge on the peculiar obsessions of men.

A Man of Parts by David Lodge (available at National Bookstore). The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Island of Dr. Morreau — these are just some novels that made HG Wells such a prophetic writer, treading between early science fiction and fantasy. A highly complex individual, Wells was courted by the political parties of his time, in the hope that he would wield influence with the voters of England. An incorrigible womanizer, Wells disdained the conventions of marriage and consorted with a host of women. Composed as a novel with fictitious interviews, this is Lodge’s tribute to a confounding man!

The Visible Man by Chuck Klosterman (available at National Bookstore). Delusional to the extreme? A man referred to only “Y__” claims that. Thanks to a high security science project he was part of, he is in possession of a bodysuit that renders him practically invisible. This novel has therapist Victoria Vick as the first person perspective of the novel, as she has been approached by Y__, who suffers from deep personal issues on account of his “gift.” Charlatan out to get attention, your garden variety voyeur or just plain out of his mind yet functioning in the real world? These are the questions Vick must answer for herself, if ever she plans to help our “visible man.”